Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

May 24, 2007

Strong Move to IP Contact Centers Likely in Next Four Years

By Susan J. Campbell


As companies are bringing into focus the importance of the contact center on the overall corporate strategy, some are recognizing the need to expand their contact center operations. In fact, according to Forrester, 22 percent of enterprises indicate plans to expand their centers. What grabs the attention in the industry is whether or not these organizations plan to expand their own infrastructure and keep operations in-house or if they plan to outsource.
 
Most large companies have indicated that they plan to continue to directly manage their operations in-house. Today, only a small percentage of enterprises use managed services, however 38 percent of European and 22 percent of North American companies have expressed some interest in managed services for IP contact centers.
 
The trend in the industry right now is that companies are gradually migrating to IP contact centers. The key word here is gradual as less than one-quarter report full or partial deployments for converting their operations to IP. This trend indicates that these companies understand the potential benefits of the IP contact center, but have not yet made it a priority as perhaps they lack a complete understanding of the impact on the bottom line.
 
Companies that currently deploy IP for their contact centers expect strong adoption during the next four years. Concerns regarding reliability and scalability for IP are continuing to diminish and Forrester predicts that a greater number of enterprise will upgrade their legacy contact center to an IP platform during the next five years.
 
The contact center is the one area of the organization that faces the biggest challenges when trying to implement changes. The center already consumes a significant amount of corporate fiscal resources just to operate and many C-level executives turn a blind eye to the benefits that the center provides, viewing it more as a necessary evil rather than a customer retention and expansion tool.
 
While this perception exists, logical thinking would suggest that solutions that promise to make the contact center more efficient and less of a drain on resources would be an easy choice. The reality is that the return on investment for any contact center solutions must be strong and easy to prove. When facing those executives that have no contact center experience, this can be a hard battle.
 
In the end, the market will most likely demand these changes as the organization will have to remain competitive. The benefits for an IP contact center are compelling and proven, so a strong ROI is practically a given. Over the next four years, there will be other advancements as well that could alter the direction of the industry as a whole. Any such innovations are unlikely to thwart the adoption rate of IP contact centers, and may actually help to speed the process. Of course, only time will tell.
 
Want to learn more about contact centers? Then be sure to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. The papers are authored by industry leaders, who, in turn, receive qualified sales leads from interested parties. Check here for the latest in CRM information.
 
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.


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