Contact center worlds collide (Technology Focus)

As Middle Eastern enterprises adopt Western customer service behaviors, having the right technology to respond to queries and requests will become important. Vendors must understand that the technology in the contact center will sometimes be the back-seat passenger; it is the business culture that will drive purchases.

Report Highlights

The adoption of text messaging in all sectors of the Middle East presents an opportunity for enterprises to gain significant commercial advantage by using SMS alerts to inform customers of service notifications, specific offers and promotions. SMS is a vehicle which enterprises in the Middle East cannot afford to ignore. E-mail is very much a business solution. It is deeply integrated in an organization's process and is a strategic form of communication for most enterprises. Outside of the business community, email has become an increasingly useful communication channel for households in the Middle East. However, the largest issue for Middle Eastern enterprises with many smaller contact centers is handling multiple systems and platforms that are unable to interoperate with each other. An example can be seen with the retail banking industry in Saudi Arabia.
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DATAMONITOR VIEW 1
CATALYST 1
SUMMARY 1
ANALYSIS 2
There is room for non-traditional call center technology in Middle Eastern sites 2
SMS is a ubiquitous channel for enterprises and has the potential to strengthen revenues for vendors 2
Email is the next channel to gain traction in the Middle East 3
Outbound capabilities open communication channels for commercially orientated customer care 4
Video contact centers are attractive but not all enterprises are likely to adopt this solution 5
Workforce optimization applications will gain traction in the Middle East 5
Vendors must educate end users about the competitive opportunities provided by better customer service 5
IVR use has increased but may not be successful if cultural sensitivities cannot be resolved 6
IVR will grow in the Middle East - vendors will need to price accordingly to benefit from this situation 6
Middle Eastern enterprises will pay top dollar for a top notch solution 7
A groundswell in system convergence will impact contact centers 7
Silos in the organization breed inconsistent customer information 7
Vendors need to introduce and enhance consulting services in the Middle East 8
The 'switch independent' debate is not occurring in the Middle East 8
ACTIONS 9
Understanding business and technology is critical to execute a reliable contact center 9
Vendors should not be fooled into thinking that the Middle East will adopt multi-channels 9
APPENDIX 10
Methodology 10
Further reading 10
Ask the analyst 10
Datamonitor consulting 10
Disclaimer 10
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Figure 1: An email flow in the contact center if using an automatic response unit 4
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