Downturn boosts call centre business

IPscape says the current economic downturn has boosted sales of its pay-as-you-go call centre solutions and pay-if-you-use disaster recovery service, reports CIO.com.

“The concept of transforming a capital cost into a variable cost is very compelling when available capital is limited and the outlook uncertain,” said Simon Burke, CEO of IPscape.

“Call centres can be extremely capital intensive and we've had a rash of new sales from businesses wanting to break free of the 'constant investment' cycle.”

Between the decision to employ an enterprise-wide software solution and its implementation and acceptance, lies perhaps the most treacherous ground in the corporate IT landscape, writes TMCNet.

Many research groups report that an extraordinarily high percentage of software projects fail to meet their goals after completion, are delivered over-budget or late, or are simply cancelled outright.

Gartner says half the projects in its study exceeded their initial budget tolerance by 200%. Standish Group suggests one-third of software projects are scotched before a single user has drawn benefit from the application.

With tighter budgets, it is becoming harder to invest in exciting new technology or hire more agents to do a better job and many experts advise that it's time to do more with what you have, reports Newsfactor.com.

According to the Web site, companies have for years viewed customer service hubs as cost centres; a part of the organisation that tries to soothe angry callers, answer their product questions, and keep customers happy enough not to leave.

In today's business environment, however, rampant price and product commoditisation has companies and industry pundits proclaiming that contact centres have a whole new meaning for organisations. "The macro trend we're seeing is that customer service is the sole differentiator out in the competitive marketplace," explains Zachary McGeary, associate analyst at Boston-based industry analyst firm Forrester Research.