[September 27, 2012]

Demand for Home-Based Agents in U.S. Customer Care BPO Market Grows, IDC Forecasts Spending Will Reach $6.1 Billion in 2017

A new International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast estimates that U.S. spending on customer care business process outsourcing (BPO) using home-based delivery was $1.6 billion in 2011 and will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.1% to $6.1 billion in 2017, making it one of the fastest-growing aspects of the U.S. customer care BPO services market today. Demand for home-based agents and hosted/on-demand contact center services is impacting the dynamics of the provider ecosystem creating new challenges and opportunities for established customer care providers and new entrants to the market.

"IDC (News - Alert) expects that the home-based agent delivery model for customer care BPO services will grow significantly over the next few years," said Melissa O'Brien, research analyst, Worldwide Contact Center Services at IDC. "Pressures such as changes in the way companies and consumers are communicating, cost and a need for talent are impacting the customer care BPO market, and home agent delivery is one ay that providers are addressing these issues. As demand for home-based agent services increases, many traditional customer care BPO providers are investing heavily in building their home-based agent offerings. The competitive playing field is diverse, with small niche providers, hosted platform providers, traditional BPOs, and large IT outsourcers all participating in this growing aspect of the customer care BPO market."

Additional key findings from IDC's research include the following:

• For large customer care BPO organizations, home-based agent delivery has become a must-have in the portfolio of capabilities as a provider.
• While customer service interactions currently make up the bulk of home based agent work, IDC believes that marketing interactions will have the greatest growth opportunities through the forecast period.
• For the home-based agent delivery model, head count is growing at a slower rate than revenue, meaning that revenue per head count will increase over time.

The IDC report, U.S. Home Based Agent Customer Care BPO Services 2012-2017 Forecast: Home Work is Working (IDC #236834), is based on demand-side and supply-side analysis of key trends and events and their predicted impact on the outsourced customer care services market, particularly the delivery model of home-based agents, for the period up to 2017.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community, to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

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