CRM , Multimedia and IP Set to Attract Most Investment from Contact Centres in the Next Two Years

Key technology-related findings from the report, based on in-depth interviews with over 200 UK contact centre operations, show that:

• CRM, IP infrastructure and multimedia are stated as the top 3 areas for technological investment within the next two years

• 17% of contact centres currently have a pure IP infrastructure, with a further 28% having a hybrid IP/TDM network

• By the end of 2009, 41% of contact centre respondents expect that their operations will be fully IP-architected

• Of those respondents who are actually using IP already, the greatest benefits are accruing from the greater flexibility to add and change agents easily, as well as reducing the telecoms costs between sites.

The report’s author, Steve Morrell commented:

“The next two years will see a major technology refresh across the industry, focused upon upgrading the network to carry voice as well as data. Contact centres that are using a pure IP infrastructure report improvements in flexibility, decreased telecoms costs and easier application integration, especially in multi-site scenarios.

“There will also be significant investments made in CRM, multimedia and self-service technology.”