Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

March 24, 2008

Report Examines Contact Center Industry Trends for 2008

By Susan J. Campbell


With the dynamics of the contact center industry, it is understandable that a variety of companies struggle to be successful in this area. Consumer demands continue to intensify and parent organizations apply consistent pressure to reduce costs.

At the same time, the global approach can seem more appealing while domestic customers are crying out to keep operations local. With so much to keep tabs on, it stands to reason that some just are not cut out for this industry.

To help keep organizations up-to-date on current happenings in the industry, Datamonitor has released its “2008 Trends to Watch: Contact Center Markets and Technologies.” In is report, Datamonitor analyzes the industry from a competitive and technology standpoint, providing insight into innovative strategies that work and what the future of the contact center holds for all players.

According to Datamonitor, economic indications show that 2008 will be a tough year for many on the financial front. The contact center projects that are likely to feel the impact are large infrastructure and architecture refresh initiatives. On the other hand, contact center technology remains the best lever for extracting more value from employees and make better use of customer data.

The report also indicates that the hosted contact center sector will reach prime time, while mid-market applications will flourish. Workforce optimization is expected to mushroom as enterprises increasingly turn chaos into predictability. In addition, partnership and channel strategies will be re-evaluated in order to initiate change.

Although contact centers operate as the front-end of many organizations throughout the world, they will find themselves facing the pinch as companies are seeking to reduce costs fast, while also demanding high service standards within the center.

This report has found that while service has been a key differentiator for a number of companies, how the organization manages and maintains its customer relationships will be of even more importance if an organization is to remain solvent and competitive.

In order to anticipate and respond to these changing trends, a number of contact center vendors have begun to expand their product offering to large enterprises. In the event of an economic downturn however, these large enterprises may prove to be short on resources that have been allocated for expansion. Those vendors aiming to sell contact center solutions to the large enterprises may hit a brick wall and will be forced to change their sales strategy.

The contact center is nothing if not dynamic. It is constantly changing and companies must be able to be flexible enough to embrace the change in order to be effective and competitive. Understanding the trends today and in the future will go a long way in positioning a company for leadership in its market.

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.

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.


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