For anyone who is in the contact center solutions business, you are aware that the most important industry trend globally is the move of customer experience solutions to the cloud. Whether it be by your company to a private, public or hybrid cloud, or the decision is to use an outsourcer, the trend to take advantage of the cloud for next generation customer interactions is transforming customer experiences and is poised to be the dominant way in which such interactions are conducted in the future.
This brings up the question as to just how big an opportunity cloud-based customer experience solutions are likely to get in the next few years. The answer, as explained in the new "Cloud Based Contact Center Market by Solution (IVR, ACD, CTI, APO, Dialers, Analytics & Reporting), & by Application (Chat Quality Monitoring, Real Time Decision Making, Work Force Optimization) - Worldwide Forecasts and Analysis (2014 - 2019)" by MarketsandMarkets, says really big.
In fact, it is not just big but will grow rapidly. The report estimates that the cloud based contact center market will grow from $4.15 billion in 2014 to $10.9 billion in 2019, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.3 percent from 2014 to 2019. It also notes that North America is expected to be the biggest market in terms of revenue contribution, while emerging economies such as Middle East and Africa (MEA), Latin America (LA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC) are expected to experience increased market traction with high CAGRs, in the due course.
As can be seen from the title, the report breaks the market into several sub-segments and contains a detailed analysis and forecasting of revenues. It also identifies the drivers and restraints for this market with the insights on trends, opportunities, and challenges. In addition, there is a look at uptake by vertical markets which include: BFSI, consumer goods and retail, healthcare, government, transportation and logistics, telecommunication and Information Technology (IT), media and entertainment, travel and hospitality, and others.
As noted, the realities of the market are that the cloud is moving to being the preferred place for customer interactions solutions. And, as the report highlights, regardless of functionality sub-segment, all of the capabilities organizations are looking for in an increasingly omni-channel world are or will be moving to the cloud. This is a global phenomenon with a strong tailwind pushing it along, as cloud based contact center solutions gain appreciation for their ability to serve as platforms that can provide the ability to create differentiated sustainable value along with operational efficiencies and effectiveness.