In analyzing our advertising program with Google, we have discovered that "Virtual Call Center" is the most searched term in our industry. So what makes Virtual Call Centers so hot? I believe that several global trends and market forces are changing the call center landscape, creating a migration from a single call center entity, a silo, managed as a cost center, to a strategic business, becoming a competitive tool for the enterprise contributing to its profits. In the following article I will try to explain what these forces are and how they are propelling the trend of "virtualization" of the call center.

Probably the most powerful market trend is globalization. As the international commerce barriers are falling, we see companies seeking out new international markets for their products. Enterprises need to offer services to a wide range of international clientele, and need to offer these services in many languages. The business must utilize language-skilled global manpower, wherever they are. The need to "centralize" this often far-flung global workforce is being met through the implementation of distributed virtual call centers.

A recent Yankee group report claims that VoIP technology creates more efficient data routes to seize full advantage of dispersed agents in a virtual call center. Contact centers with packet switched technology could generate cost savings of 7% from additional utilization.

Global competition forces companies more than ever to watch rising costs, while at the same time improving quality. With regard to call centers, these objectives can only be met by: a) employing high quality personnel; b) optimizing the use of the scarce manpower resource in the most cost effective way; c) lowering operational costs.

To address the personnel issue, companies are looking at offshore, near shore, and home-shore (home agent) options. Furthermore, companies are also looking to involve those employees that normally are not part of the customer service process, to bolster their workforce during peaks and emergencies, and to tap into the specialized knowledge already vested in many employees.

The only feasible way to achieve the goals of cost containment, maximum quality, and full utilization of a skilled workforce, is to build a Virtual Call Center.

Savings are realized not only through the employment of low cost work force, but also through the more efficient operation of technology. Network based, multi-tenant, hosted or self hosted call center technology is a key enabler for lower cost operations. Enterprises can now build one platform and utilize it for all customer service applications within the enterprise. This arrangement provides several benefits: the one-time purchase of cost-effective technology, the ability to support the technology with a smaller, highly-focused team, and the ability to create one application and roll it out immediately and uniformly across many geographical locations. Additional savings can be realized when the technology is acquired as a service directly from the service provider. This strategy allows the business to focus on its core competencies while providing maximum flexibility. On-demand models allow the business to pay only for what they use.

Yet another requirement for a successful business in today's marketplace is the ability to rapidly respond to ever-changing markets, where the swift roll out of new products and services is imperative. Such responsiveness mandates rapid call center setup to support new offerings. In the traditional silo, the per application "purchase-build-operate" model, the rollout time for an application is far too long for today's business needs. To address this, businesses need to either acquire the services directly from a service provider, or set up an internal, multi-tenant, multi-application platform that is readily available for any new challenge in any location. All that's needed is to set up a new "tenant" on such a platform, and a new call center can be ready for operation in matter of minutes.

All these options would not be possible without the enabling technology. The proliferation of the IP networks and bandwidth makes virtualization feasible, and leads to the introduction of IP call centers. CosmoCom is very well positioned to take advantage of these market needs and this paradigm change. CosmoCom's technology and architecture is built from the ground up to create virtual and hosted call centers. The technology is field proven, as evidenced by the many telecoms now offering these benefits to the market around the globe, and the many organizations now doing internal hosting. Furthermore, CosmoCom also supports this paradigm change through its flexible on-demand business model.