This publication has been discontinued on July 19, 2011.
Introduction
Abstract
Overview
Introduction
For the past 10 years the primary motivation to purchase hosted contact
centers has been to reduce cost. But if growth is to continue, then vendors
must look beyond cost as a marketing message. Vendors need to shift their
marketing campaigns to address business processes.
Scope
Market Opportunity: Hosted contact centers play a strategic role in an
organization
Technology Evolution: Many technology debates arise from new-generation
software-based platforms
Customer Impact: Vendors must know the pain points if they are to
understand the customer
Go to Market: How to position the solution to Service Providers and
end-users
Highlights
Hosted contact centers were seen as solutions which were geared for the low
end of the enterprise market. They were seen as providing basic contact center
functionality, namely network routing. However, over the past 15 years hosted
contact center technology has developed. The hosted model goes beyond pure
network routing.
Reasons to Purchase
Understand the key drivers in purchasing hosted contact centers.
Discover the impact SIP will play on hosted contact centers.
Realize the growing importance of Unified Communications in the context of
hosted contact centers
Table of Contents
Overview
Catalyst
Summary
Key Messages
Unified Communications and hosted contact centers make a formidable
partnership
IP in hosted contact centers has led to an increased take-up in SIP
architectures
Hosted contact center are business not technology solutions
Table of Contents
Table of figures
Table of tables
Market Opportunity: Hosted contact centers play a strategic role in an
organization
The hosted model has evolved over the past 15 years
A quick history on the contact center
The hosted contact center arrives and further disrupts the market
The hosted contact center market is set to grow by 45.3% over the next
5 years
The drivers for hosted contact centers is a combination of meeting
organizational change and technology requirements
The nascent hosted Unified Communications market is a hook to bait
enterprises
The product lifecycle for hosted UC will begin through hosting
component parts
Hosted UC and Hosted Contact Centers have one major commonality:
reducing OpEx and CapEx
Vendors need to promote hosted UC hook to reel in mid-sized contact
centers
Business continuity and resilience is an important hook for vendor' s
to bait contact centers
The mid-market will be most vocal for hosted contact centers,
particularly in the US and Western Europe
Multi-tenanted environments will be more attractive to
cost-conscious SMBs
Economic slowdown will accelerate uptake of hosted contact centers
Technology Evolution: Many technology debates arise from new-generation
software-based platforms
The migration from a premise-based to a hosted contact center
The next step in the evolution of managed services is the deployment
of a hosted contact center
Hybrid Solutions are a valid alternative to pure hosted environments
Multi-tenant platforms are not complex but uptake is slow in WE
The evolution of the PSTN to IP plays an important role in the
development of hosted contact centers
A vendor' s dummies guide to contact centers in a PSTN environment
Dummies guide to contact centers in an IP environment
Hosted IP contact centers rely on multi-tenanted environments
The function of IP in the hosted contact center raises the debate
between SIP and H.323
Key differences between SIP and H.323
Dummies guide to H.323
Dummies guide to SIP
SIP vs H.323: which horse wins in the multi-channel and hosted
environment?
Over time CTI sales will drop as SIP becomes common in hosted contact
center environments
Quick overview of CTI
CTI in a SIP environment
New applications have evolved to take advantage of hosted contact center
platforms
Workforce optimization will become more accessible in a hosted
environment
Middleware vendors acquire contact center vendors to facilitate
customer interaction routing
Customer Impact: Vendors must know the inhibitors to purchasing hosted
solutions if they are to understand the customer
Existing contractual arrangements can hinder hosted uptake
SPs offering complementary services should enhance existing
contractual arrangements
Enterprises that entering into arrangements with new entrants is a
growing concern among SPs
Vendors and SPs need to market a transparent solution to end-users.
Sell business solutions not technology solutions
For vendors contact center de-centralization is good for short term
revenue, but hosted environments lead to long term revenues
Hosted contact centers can bridge the gap in asset consolidation
post-merger/acquisition
The hidden cost of a contact center is driving up the price of hosted
models and repelling users
Customers do not understand the true cost associated with a hosted
contact center
Contact centers are a large drain on an enterprise' s cash flow
Customers are price sensitive and vendors need to be able to push the
right buttons with proper purchasing options
Usage - based pricing for contact centers
Concurrent verses log-in pricing
Bundled minutes and contact center services
As a result of recent acquisitions hosted CRM vendors have
influenced hosted contact center prices
Go to Market: How to position the solution to Service Providers and
end-users
The hosted contact center supply-chain revealed
Vendors explaining the different hosted delivery models can confuse
end-users
Vendors as implementers in the value chain is a new phenomenon to
the hosted contact center
Combining vendor, SP and consultancy firms competencies can
strengthen a hosted solution
The increasing market for mobile solutions will impact go-to-market
strategies
Mobile solutions will transform the hosted contact center
Enterprises will continue to invest in all mobility technologies
over the next two years
Recommendations
Vendors, SPs and ASPs need to understand the business process to
successfully sell hosted solutions
Vendors should invest in SIP as hosted IP contact centers will grow in
importance
Vendors must market Unified Communications to hosted contact centers
