Economic Turmoil Motivates More Enterprises to Examine Benefits of Contact Center Outsourcing, Says Frost & Sullivan

- Enterprise demand for low-cost, high-quality contact center outsourcing solutions is rising

LONDON, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The contact center outsourcing market in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) experienced relatively low growth in 2011 in comparison to other major regions in the world. This trend is expected to persist over the next 5 years due to the prevailing economic situation in Europe and stiff competition from in-house contact centers.

"Cost savings for enterprises, multi-shoring options and customer contact expertise offered by providers in the market, together with a large, educated labour pool will promote the outsourcing of contact center services," noted Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst, Sathya Subramanian. "The current economic situation, which has resulted in enterprises demanding higher quality customer services, will add further impetus to market development."

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.contactcenter.frost.com), Analysis of the European, Middle Eastern and African Contact Center Outsourcing Market, finds that the market earned revenues of €12,874.5 million in 2011 and estimates this to reach € 14,732.6 million in 2017.

Deteriorating margins in certain sectors due to the economic recession has resulted in the need to revise cost structures. This has been accompanied by a heightened focus on high quality customer interactions. To achieve this, enterprises have started to seek the expertise of third party outsourcers.

"Industry is now being driven by the growing demand for low-cost, high-quality customer contact solutions," remarked Subramanian. "Multi-shoring capabilities for the various languages in the region and the presence of a large workforce that can offer multi-lingual contact center services will boost the industry's growth in the forecast period."

Even as the contact center outsourcing market expands, it will face a host of challenges. These range from in-house contact centers, the impact of the economic recession and strict labour laws to the presence of unions and the increasing demand for more self-service options.

"In-house contact centers are preferred over third-party outsourcers by many enterprises due to quality and security concerns," explained Subramanian. "Difficult economic conditions have led to enterprises adopting a 'wait and watch' approach with contact centers."

Outsourcers are confronting these challenges by offering multi-shoring capabilities and high quality solutions at optimal costs. Such strategies are expected to help enterprises understand the benefits of outsourcing to third-party specialists.

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail with your contact details to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com.

Analysis of the European, Middle Eastern and African Contact Center Outsourcing Market (NB08-76) is part of the Contact Centers & CRM Growth Partnership Services programme. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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Joanna Lewandowska
Corporate Communications – Europe
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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan