Date: 14 June, 2001

New Customer Needs Will Force Call Centres to Become Contact Centres

The rise of e-business and customer demands to use multiple media (mobile phones, fax, e-mail, and web-chat) to talk to businesses, are set to revolutionise the call centre market, according to new research by Ovum, the analyst and consulting company.

Ovum predicts 50 per cent of global call centres will develop into contact centres by 2006, with revenues generated from sales of Customer Interaction Solutions worth $45 billion. Customer Interaction Solutions are the products and services which allow call centres to interact with their customers over multiple channels, seamlessly.

David James, Senior Consultant at Ovum, explains the reasons behind this revolution:

"If a Company wants to remain competitive it needs to cater to the needs of its customer base. Customers want to be able to contact organisations when it suits them, any time, any where, using the medium of their choice, whether that's e-mail, fax, web-chat or even plain old voice. This can only be achieved through multi-channel contact centres."

A Customer Interaction Management (CIM) solution - from a software product company like CosmoCom, or an outsourced solution provider like White Pajama - is required for a fully functioning contact centre. Merely implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software will not be enough to meet increasing customer needs, as these cannot handle the multiple media at the transactional level. A CIM solution will facilitate an organisation to provide a personalised service to the user.

David James explains:

"CRM software provides a base for analysing and reporting information about a customer base. However, if businesses want to talk directly to their customers, discover their requirements, persuade them to do business and satisfy their demands in a contact centre, integrating a CIM solution is paramount."

"CIM services are able to handle individual interactions over all available channels, directing any customer contacts to agents within the contact centre. Deploying a customer-centric business solution has never been so important."

There are no dominant vendors in the market for CIM at present, leading to a huge opportunity for suppliers to exploit this multi-billion dollar market. But alliances must be formed to minimise costs, satisfy user requirements and maximise on long term customer value.

About the report

A detailed report on this topic, "Customer Interaction Management: Developing Call Centres into Contact Centres" by David James and Alex Kwiatkowski is available now. The report evaluates the business case for the multi-channel contact centre, the revenue opportunities for CIM suppliers and analyses the systems needed to provide a successful multi-media service. For further sales information, please contact Ovum at WWW.OVUM.COM or call +44 (0) 20 7551 9021.

For pricing information click the link.

White Papers

A white paper with detailed information about this topic is available by accessing the Press Packs at WWW.OVUM.COM. If you do not have password access to the Press Room please register online. Your request will be processed and access will be granted to all accredited journalists.

About Ovum

Ovum, the analyst and consulting company, is a global leader in the rapidly changing world of converging technologies and markets. Genuinely original thinking coupled with exceptional knowledge and experience allows the company to provide its customers with a definitive map of this complex environment and to guide them through it.

Ovum serves the world's telecoms operators and service providers, telecoms equipment suppliers, IT and software vendors, IT service providers, consultancies, investors, regulators and large users of IT solutions. Working with both the supply-side and the user community gives the company a unique insight into the demand and the drivers for future technology and market opportunities.

Ovum's analysts and consultants are located at centres of expertise in London, Boston, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Melbourne and Sydney.