Competition abroad, unforeseen challenges and diversification, it’s a difficult tight rope to walk for UK BPO’s at the moment. In this article, our Partner Success Manager, David Taylor, reviews the the current state of the UK BPO landscape and how external factors are pushing UK Outsourcers to diversify and adapt to changing market conditions.
The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the UK has faced significant challenges in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit creating much chaos, uncertainty and disruption. Over the past few months, we have unfortunately seen two sizeable UK BPO’s placed into administration – which ultimately has led to job losses and undue stress in a time where the UK is experiencing it’s highest rate of inflation since March 1993.

As part of this article, I wanted to explore the challenges facing the UK BPO market, what to expect over the next two years, and what UK BPOs can do to diversify and adapt to changing market conditions.

Challenges facing the UK BPO market:

  1. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the BPO industry here in the UK. Many businesses have had to re-evaluate their outsourcing strategies as a result of the pandemic, with supply chains disrupted and remote work becoming the norm. This has led to a decrease in demand for some BPO services, particularly those related to office-based functions such as customer service and administrative support.
  2. Brexit has also created challenges for the UK BPO market, particularly around access to talent. Many BPOs in the UK rely on skilled workers from the EU, and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit has made it more difficult to recruit and retain these workers. This has led to a shortage of skilled workers in the industry, which is expected to continue over the next few years.
  3. The high rate of inflation here in the UK has caused a significant squeeze in the cost of living. Many employers have reacted to this by increasing employee wages to help with the cost of living, and right so. However, this has huge implications on a market that is run on very fine margins, hence many UK BPO’s making the difficult decision of raising customer/client facing costs.
  4. In addition, the rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) has had an impact on the BPO industry in the UK. Many businesses are looking to automate certain tasks and processes, which has reduced the need for certain BPO services. While this has created new opportunities for BPOs that specialize in automation and AI, it has also led to increased competition in these areas.

What to expect over the next two years:

Whilst I don’t own a crystal ball, I believe there are still opportunities for growth and innovation in the UK BPO market. Here are some trends to watch for over the next two years:

  1. Increased demand for automation and AI services. As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation and automation, there will be increased demand for BPO services that specialise in these areas. BPOs that can offer expertise in areas such as robotic process automation, machine learning, and AI will be well-positioned to succeed in the market.
  2. Greater emphasis on flexible and remote work. Whilst this could be an article all in itself, demand for remote and flexible working will continue over the next few years, which will create new opportunities for BPOs that can offer remote support and services.
  3. Focus on innovation and digital transformation. Innovation and digital transformation will be key drivers of growth in the BPO market over the next few years. Time and time again our clients are looking for partners that can take them on a journey of continuous improvement and technological innovation.

Diversifying and adapting to changing market conditions:

In order to succeed in the UK BPO market, BPOs need to be able to diversify and adapt to changing market conditions. Here are some strategies that UK BPOs can use to do this:

  1. Expand into new markets. One way to diversify is to expand into new markets. BPOs can look to offer their services in new geographies, or target new industries and sectors. This can help to reduce dependence on a single market or sector, and create new opportunities for growth (as well as offering clients the same service at reduced rates).
  2. Embrace automation and AI. As mentioned earlier, automation and AI are key trends in the BPO market – just look at the recent explosion of ChatGPT. BPOs that can offer expertise in these areas will be well-positioned to succeed. By embracing these technologies, BPOs can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and offer more innovative solutions to their clients.
  3. Focus on customer experience. Sounds simple, right? Customer experience, something which has been forgotten about a little over recent years, is becoming increasingly important in the BPO market. BPOs that can offer exceptional customer service and support will be in high demand. This means investing in training and development for customer service teams, and using technology

So I go back to my question at the top of this article, are traditional outsourcers in the UK struggling to regain their balance? Well, I think the answer is yes (from a traditional sense), however we’ve definitely not seen the last of the UK BPO market as a whole. Many BPO’s in the UK have already woken up to what’s going on around them and have successfully diversified their business to adapt to this new environment – just look at the success of homeworking since the pandemic. However, I predict further change will be needed for some of those remaining BPO’s who have yet to fully embrace the changing UK BPO landscape.

Looking for further guidance after reading this article? Get in touch, we are here to help!

We’re all told that necessity is the mother of invention, but today it’s probably equally true to say that headcount reduction commitments are the mother of innovation.

Over the past couple of weeks, both BT and Vodafone have announced plans for massive job cuts – 10% of the workforce for Vodafone and a whopping 40% (55,000 jobs) for BT. These cuts will take place over years, not months, and many will be on the back of natural attrition, will include the non-retention of contractors and will no doubt be eased by some attractive voluntary redundancy terms.

It won’t come as a bit surprise that both the firms themselves and the media has made much of claims that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and techniques will be a big enabler of falls in headcount. For some, this has been a very positive illustration of the game-changing benefits AI can bring. For others, it’s a chilling harbinger of an AI-driven jobs cull.

There’s no part of the economy in which the mass adoption of AI won’t have massive potential impacts and even the true AI experts don’t pretend to know what these impacts might be; what roles and processes will be changed, upended – or just ended.

The contact centre world is far from unique in the impact that new technologies has and will have on people, but it’s way ahead most because so many AI solutions (or solutions that claim to use AI) have been deployed in the customer service and customer experience world. Bots – whether they rely on defined logical rules or have genuine AI, self-learning capabilities – have already had a massive impact on contact centres and their customers. Ultimately, the applications of AI techniques and insights in contact centres will go far wider than assisting and automating interactions with customers, but for many struggling centres they can be a great start. When applied correctly.

One of the real world examples that has contributed to the recent – understandable – clamour of concern and excitement over the impact of AI on work and jobs comes from Octopus CEO, Greg Jackson. He has gleefully revealed that that AI solutions are saving the work of 250 customer service advisors, while delivering better quality scores than humans (though head to LinkedIn and you’ll find that not all customers agree).

Ofgem figures have revealed that energy customer contact volumes have increased up to 300% through the energy price crisis. So Octopus – like all energy providers – will have had a compelling reason to seize the benefits of technology, especially in customer service.

What is maybe of note, though, is that Octopus has started with the automation of emails. A relatively low-risk, text-based, asynchronous communication channel. To do so is sensible and shows a degree of understandable caution, allowing a controlled roll-out of new technology through which quality and customer impacts can be monitored and assessed. No doubt if the achievements Mr Jackson describes are sustained then Octopus will embrace AI still further, but it seems to be doing so in the way you would hope it would any new solution; in a managed and measured way.

We’re all told that necessity is the mother of invention, but today it’s probably equally true to say that headcount reduction commitments are the mother of innovation. If you want to see an organisation rapidly seeking the productivity benefits promised by AI, then find one whose executive team has already committed to reduce headcount. Then the real organisational challenge is how they go about realising those opportunities.

The profound business and employment changes that BT and Vodafone anticipate over the next few years will obviously stretch far beyond customer service and bots. But, at its best, the contact centre world can potentially prove a useful example of how AI can be implemented in a measured, balanced way – ideally with customers and colleagues at the centre of use cases and decision making.

The UK new anti-fraud strategy looks to ban (a) ban the cold calling of financial services products, (b) ban SIM farms, mass texting and number spoofing and (C) utilise Action Fraud services.

A few days ago, the UK Government announced its new strategy to help combat fraud. It’s not surprising that this provoked generated a lot of publicity, as current estimates are that fraud accounts for 40% of all crime and scams have already cost UK consumers over £4 billion since March this year.

So, what does the Strategy mean for business and those of us involved in the management of contact centres?

In truth the strategy is a mixed bag of things that were already in train, things that should have already happened and some promised new innovations.

1. Ban on the cold calling of financial services products

This is the proposed measure which created most media interest. Even in the age of mass digital adoption, unwanted or ‘nuisance’ calls continue to be an irritant to consumers – and the outbound channel continues to be attractive to fraudsters.

The government’s Strategy, which is currently a proposed set of measures under consultation rather than an agreed series of changes, is a little unclear on specifically what falls under the scope of this measure. At times the government has suggested any financial services product will be banned from cold calling and at others it has referred specifically to investment products – which would seem to be a very logical extension of the current ban on pensions cold calling.

However, even as the GDPR and the 2018 Data Protection Act still slowly percolates its way into the consciousness of some people who’d still prefer to forget all about them, hadn’t true ‘cold calling’ supposed to have stopped anyway? In any event, none of us should be calling consumers ‘cold’ to offer them financial services products, now, because the FCA bars the activity anyway. (see its Handbook and the imminent Consumer Duty).

Although if you call a customer or prospect that you deem to have a relationship with and who you think will anticipate hearing from you by phone and they don’t agree, then that’s a different matter! And if you use a business partner to provide you with sales leads – especially for financial services products – then some rigorous due diligence is called for.

2. Bans of SIM farms, mass texting and number spoofing

Sim Farms

Another key proposal contained in the strategy is a plan to ban both SIM farms and mass texting. It would be hard to work out what legitimate reason anybody would have to operate a SIM farm, which is a cheap device that allows mass calls and messages to be generated using numerous SIMs and mobile numbers. The USP of a SIM farm is that it allows the CLIs (outbound calling / texting numbers) to rapidly rotate, thus avoiding detection and the risk of being blocked by the networks.

Mass Texting 

Likewise mass texting is to be reviewed. As the government acknowledges there are obvious, beneficial use cases for the use of mass texting, but not many in the arena of sales and marketing.

Number Spoofing 

Fraudsters love the apparent ease with which legitimate calling numbers can be ‘spoofed’, so that the real origin of scammers’ calls are hidden. You might think that spoofing can best be addressed by the network operators, and you would be right. This proposed change is just a reflection of work Ofcom has finally started to focus on, getting the networks to deploy technical measures to stop spoofing. As well as applying more pressure on the networks and their re-sellers to undertake proper due diligence of contact centres and communication providers using numbers.

3. Action Fraud action (again)

Like Mark Twain, reports of the death of Action Fraud are greatly exaggerated. Action Fraud is a fraud reporting service run on behalf of the City of London police. It carries out a triage and assessment function, helping collate the volume and type of fraud, nationally, as well as providing data and insights. However, only a small minority of the c.1,000 cases reported to it each day by consumers go on to be actively investigated by the police.

Now the government has pledged to invest £30m over 3 years to replace Action Fraud with “a state-of-the-art reporting centre, including a simple to use reporting website and upgraded call centre with reduced waiting times”. In fairness, while that doesn’t sound especially ambitious it will a step-change improvement over the current service.

So, if you might benefit from a chat about how you handle your outbound calling, CLI treatments, how you assess marketing permissions for proactive communications including by SMS – or anything else the new Strategy touches on – then just let us know (unless you’re a fraudster, of course).

You’ll need to tailor that approach according to sector, profile and demographics, but speaking to people is where you start to bring all that hard work together.

However, as I’ve learned over the past 12 months, Morocco has become a fantastic outsourcing alternative to the UK, European and also for US businesses that are looking to reduce inhouse costs, whilst maintaining the highest level of standards/service.

Since 1993, Morocco has followed a policy of privatisation of certain economic sectors, which were previously in the hands of the Moroccan government. This has allowed more foreign investment into Morocco, which has subsequently seen a boom in the outsourcing sector. As a result, Morocco now boasts some impressive statistics, which include:

So why should you look at Morocco as your next outsourcing destination? Well:

Strategic location

Morocco is located on the doorstep of Europe, circa 14.3 kilometres between it and its nearest European neighbour, Spain. A flight from London Heathrow to Casablanca International Airport takes just over 3 hours to complete, which is much more favourable than the 11 hours and 40 minutes it would take to fly from London to Cape Town, South Africa. This means businesses can feel a lot more at ease knowing they are a short plane ride away from their outsourced partner.

Language availability

Due to its proximity to Europe and the Middle East, Morocco has a workforce that is culturally diverse and multilingual. BPO leaders find that English is the language most commonly used by employees, yet French remains a second language for most citizens and is used in the majority of business dealings. Other languages can be sourced in Morocco, albeit in smaller volumes, including German and Spanish.

Availability of talent

Currently, the unemployment rate in Morocco sits at 11.8%. Simply put, there is an abundance of resource and talent available in the market. This means that businesses that demand incredible flexibility during peak/promotional periods, will have no issues in managing these challenging peaks and troughs.

Cost competitiveness

On average you will see cost savings of 50% when outsourcing in Morocco. Over the past 12 months we have seen some very competitive rates, with some clients asking “is this too good to be true?”. Not only can Morocco deliver some eye opening cost savings, but it can do it whilst maintaining the highest level of service that you come to expect.

World-class outsourcing business parks

Morocco has built some fantastic outsourcing business parks to attract overseas work and investment. Located in the likes of Casablanca, Fes and Rabat, these business parks are equipped with the latest and best infrastructure to support your needs, including optical fibre internet connection and uninterrupted power supply.

Furthermore, to show its willingness to develop the outsourcing industry in Morocco, the Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade (Ryad Mezzour) and the Minister of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform (Ghita Mezzour) recently signed off on a $5 million package to support investment projects in the outsourcing sector.

Interested in hearing more about Morocco? Get in touch, we’d love to chat with you.

In late March Concentrix made the surprising (but far from shocking) announcement that it was purchasing Webhelp, creating a $10bn revenue BPO giant. Currently, the global BPO market is in a constant state of flux with mergers, acquisitions and the occasional business failure. In recent years multi-billion pound BPO M&A deals have included

Where does this leave customers and other operators?

Firstly, if you work for one of the big, global BPO firms you’ll know that there tends to be a lengthy gap between a deal being announced and it ‘closing’. Unless you’re one of the very senior management team who already knows whether you’ll be either spending more time in your garden or racking up your air miles, then you’re likely to have to wait and see what your role will be in the new structure. If you’re a client of one of the big BPOs, though, you are less likely to be comfortable waiting to see what happens. In the same way you won’t experience any significant changes in the short term, though it pays to prepare for what might come your way.

Most of the acquiring firms are experienced and have gone through similar transactions before. It is a truism that corporate acquisitions and mergers tend to destroy value and culture as often as they create and reinforce it, but BPO players are very conscious of the dangers of a mishandled acquisition. They operate in a relatively low margin business, commercially reliant on the retention of stable business in which relationships are still very often key. So, the BPO players recognise the important of continuity when appropriate and the maintenance of clients’ ‘share of voice’ and sense of recognition through and beyond merger processes.

Potential areas of change

People

Senior management is likely to change and as mentioned changes at the supplier C-Suite will probably be the first to take place. Middle and supervisory management changes are unlikely in the short-term, but will inevitably happen – either as a result of a conscious process of selection or through people choosing to move on voluntarily in the face of expected disruption and change.

Locations

Even in an increasingly hybrid world, contact centre locations costs and strategy remain key concerns for BPO providers. Most businesses are still grappling with the challenges of how to configure and manage their property resources for the post-Covid workforce, so a major BPO going through a business merger will have infrastructure consolidation and ‘right-sizing’ as a key priority.

Operational techniques and processes

There are no real ‘silver bullets’ in the world of outsourced customer experience delivery (though if there are and you have one, I’d continue to keep quiet about it!). Most approaches, techniques and operational models are established and largely shared between BPO providers. However, there are variations and if a particular process or workaround delivers value to you and your customers you may need to ‘defend’ it in the face of operational standardisation pressures.

Technology

Over the medium-term technology solutions are also likely to be standardised with support and maintenance for some tools ceasing as a prelude to their removal or migration to a preferred alternative. There are obvious potential benefits to clients from this process, but the business needs of a single client may be lost amongst competing needs.

Commercial

The financial logic for acquisitions is most often based on economies of scale and the reduction of shared resources. However, some may also seek to re-base pricing to a higher level or remove some of the legacy commercial idiosyncrasies that can develop over time as suppliers’ services develop. In addition, if you are a client of an acquired firm you may have benefited from a growth-over-profit strategy if had pursued one prior to sale.

What should you do next?

If you are a client of a newly merged or acquired BPO supplier here are some actions you should get started straight away:

If you’d like further guidance on this subject, get in touch.

How easy is it to sign up or subscribe to your company’s products or services? Pretty easy I should think (or hope). Now more than ever, organisations understand that in our hyper-competitive world, a friction-free way to make consumers aware of what you offer and to make it as easy as possible to become your customers, is vital.

However, deliberately creating friction and barriers for customers looking to leave is almost as common. We all know that it takes a lot of effort and expense to acquire customers, so surely making it a bit of an up-hill slog for customers to leave is just common sense?

Maybe, but possibly that’s all about to change. Be warned!
In the US, Ericsson-owned Vonage has been fined $100m by the US Federal Trade Commission for using a raft of measures which meant that domestic and small business customers found it almost impossible to cancel Vonage’s VoIP services.

Vonage’s services were easy to start using, with many customers offered ’free trial’ opportunities allied to less-than-transparent switches to default sign-up and auto-billing. But when it came to trying to cancel their membership, things were difficult and ‘friction’ was everywhere. The tactics Vonage used ranged across: the sophisticated use of ‘dark patterns’ on the web; making customers speak to ‘retention team’ advisors in order to cancel; hiding the ‘retention’ phone numbers; routing cancellation calls to barely-staffed phone lines with inconvenient opening times.

“Do as I say, not as I do”

The FTC gleefully highlighted Vonage’s own advice to its business customers which it totally failed to take itself – a classic case of “do as I say, not as I do”.

Vonage’s advice included:

They don’t mean us though, do they?

However, most of us aren’t in the US and not under the jurisdiction of the FTC, so does this really matter?

Well, first of all, a lot of us work directly or indirectly supporting US clients and their customer experience delivery, so it’s always helpful to know if you’re potentially part of delivering illegal customer journeys!

But equally, government regulation tends to – slowly – follow international trends. So, Vonage’s recent experience might be a $100m sign of things to come in other markets and jurisdictions. In the UK we know that government is still determined to tackle the consumer ‘loyalty penalty’ (the fact that many products and services are cheaper for new customers than for loyal, long-established users), which is closely related to a customer’s ability to exit expensive deals and relationships – and similar concerns are voiced in the EU and expressed through its Digital Services Act.

So, if part of your customer retention strategy is the creation of challenging journeys for people looking to cancel, then it may be time to do some redesign!

M&S recently announced that they plan to invest £480 million in their ‘Store Rotation Programme’ which would entail “180 higher quality, higher productivity full line stores…[and] opening over 100 bigger, better food sites”, generating 20 more stores overall. Whilst growing a brick-and-mortar presence may seem surprising to some, due to the general shift towards online shopping caused by the pandemic, research suggests that high street stores are bouncing back.

Analysis conducted by PwC demonstrates that current consumer preferences between online and offline shopping are polarised. 37% of consumers prefer physical stores for enjoyment or pleasure, compared to 32% for online shopping. Additionally, 56% of consumers believe that customer service is better in-store as opposed to online (19%).

Though online shopping continues to be a key part of the buying journey, physical stores will remain significant in customers’ experiences. Stuart Machin, Chief Executive of M&S, echoes this stating that “stores are a core part of M&S’s omni-channel future and serves as a competitive advantage for how customers want to shop today.”

One of the reasons for this is that the high street offers a unique shopping experience that cannot be replicated online. Physical stores offer the opportunity for consumers to see and touch products before buying, as well as receive immediate satisfaction of a purchase. Additionally, physical stores offer the opportunity for face-to-face interactions with sales associates, which can be helpful for making informed purchasing decisions. Some retailers are also experimenting with new technologies like virtual reality, interactive displays and in-store events to enhance the in-store shopping experience and drive foot traffic. More than a third of all consumers would gladly pay more for an enjoyable shopping experience, whether that be a multisensory buying journey or receiving a human touch.

Another reason for the resilience of the high street is the fact that it is a vital part of the community. The high street provides a range of services and amenities to local residents, including shops, restaurants, cafes, and other community services. As local authorities continue to invest in the regeneration of inner cities across the UK, it makes sense that developing more spaces for retail, dining and living are a key part of these plans.

Interestingly, retail brands who are opening brick and mortar stores are also witnessing what they are now coining the ‘halo effect’. That is, the positive effect physical retail can have on online channels. On average, brands see a 36% uplift in online traffic the quarter following the opening of their physical store.

As consumers demand more channels of interaction with a retail brand along their buying journey, physical and digital retail are becoming more and more blended. As a result, brands must now look to ensure channel integration is a key part of their customer service solution. This means creating an omnichannel experience, such as the ability to purchase online and pick up in-store, or the ability to return online purchases in store.

To conclude, whilst the purpose of brick-and-mortar stores may be redefining itself, they remain a crucial part of the retail landscape and thus a brand’s strategy. The high street has stood the test of time, with a post-pandemic bounce back and research suggesting that consumers understand the value of and unique experience offered by high street shopping.

However, I’ve been trying to catch up over the Christmas period. Mainly in between my leftover turkey sandwiches  and watching some questionable films I would not normally watch – but hey it’s Christmas!”

One of those recent finds was that of ChatGPT. A curious sounding name that had me intrigued instantly. I thought “what is ChatGPT?” and “what is a GPT, is this the new lingo the kids use?” Bingo, it was time to do some research! Here’s some of the more pertinent details on ChatGPT that I found:

What is ChatGPT?

Launching back in November 2022, ChatGPT is a chatbot that uses conversational AI to interact with the human user at the other end. ChatGPT uses natural language processing (NLP) to understand the user’s question(s) and responds accordingly.

The tech itself was developed by San Francisco-based OpenAI, a research company led by Sam Altman and backed by Microsoft, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Khosla Ventures.

What can ChatGPT do?

In the context of Contact Centres, ChatGPT will be able to perform a number of functions. This includes, but not limited to:

How does it work?

Through the use of NLP technology, the chatbot is able to understand user input by recognising patterns in conversations and breaking them down into key components such as context, intent and entities. Once it understands what the user is asking, it can then provide an appropriate response.

ChatGPT also has the ability to learn from its conversations, meaning that it can grow and improve over time. This allows it to become more efficient and better at understanding customer needs and providing useful answers.

Will we be using ChatGPT anytime soon?

So far, the response to ChatGPT has been overwhelmingly positive, with many praising its advanced capabilities and ease of use. It remains to be seen how ChatGPT will be used in the coming years, but it’s clear that it has the potential to be a major player in the world of NLP.

By the way, ChatGPT wrote that last paragraph. When asked by a reporter at CNBC to write a news story on ChatGPT, it came up with a very well-rounded response (including that last snippet).

Why not give it a go?

Whilst we wait for a simplified solution that can be integrated within our current contact centre technology stack, you can still give this piece of tech a whirl by visiting OpenAI’s website.

Here’s a joke that ChatGPT put together for me:

Me: Tell me a joke about Batman and Superman?

ChatGPT: Why did Batman bring a ladder to a fight with Superman? Because he knew he’d have to climb up to Superman’s level!

Oooo burn.

However, it might be that you provide services to a financial services firm at some point along its customers’ journeys, or that you are in a customer-facing part of a financial services firm that tends to be the last involved in these big programmes of work. In which case, what do you need to know?

If that is the case, it will almost certainly pay dividends to take some time to read through the FCA’s documents and guidance, which you can do here. You don’t need to be an expert in it all, but it’s good to be able to put the customer contact tasks in a wider perspective of what’s trying to be achieved, which is “delivering good outcomes for retail customers”.

The Consumer Duty is broad in its scope. It naturally has a major focus on how B2C financial services products and services are designed. As well as the changes at executive level that need to be made to recognise the Consumer Duty’s demands. But – I hope – you don’t need to worry about that, because your colleagues or clients should already have that in hand. Where they might benefit from your help is in how firms communicate with customers and support them. This is where the contact centre and customer engagement teams’ detailed understanding of customers and their needs can really help.

Customer Communications

Even if you have no direct role in the creation and distribution of automated communications (letters, texts, emails, in-app notifications, etc.) you will have ‘from the horse’s mouth’ an understanding of how they are received, understood and acted upon. Previously firms were obliged to be “clear, fair and not misleading” in their communications. Now they need to be “understandable” to a whole range of customers, in a variety of circumstances, including those considered to be vulnerable.

This is likely to require:

All of which you and your teams are perfectly placed to help with.

Training

Your teams are directly interacting with customers. To do this as well as the Consumer Duty will demand, your people will need the skills and tools to:

If you feel that this is not already the case, then you need to ensure that training, coaching tools and resources are made available to you. If all these elements are already in place, then now might be the time for you to start training the rest of your organisation on these vital skills and aptitudes!

If you’d like to discuss how you are facing up to the Consumer Duty’s customer management challenges, just drop us a line.

Yes, it’s great to see old friends face to face again, but more importantly, it’s energising to see so many great vendors, buyers and influencers interested in what they have to show and tell. Sixty years ago, in his address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, President John F. Kennedy said “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

My observation about the C&CC Expo this year was that it demonstrated the reality of what we knew was possible ten to twenty years ago in terms of the SaaS business model and the benefits of the API driven economy. The show was dominated by the Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) community and those Value-Added Resellers offering their best choice CCaaS partner, combined with an ‘on the ground’ representation of that CCaaS providers marketplace.

What was so striking to me was how much the show layout itself represented the contact centre technology landscape. With the big CCaaS vendors occupying the premium space, the palm trees in the oasis next to the waterholes, and the specialist application vendors nestled closely around them. The more relevant and important the application vendor, the closer they were to the palm trees and the waterholes. The most relevant and interesting to visit were those application vendors that could help make sense of unstructured data. The less they could, the closer they were to the desert at the back of the hall.

Gartner estimates that unstructured data now represents an astounding 80 – 90% of all new enterprise data, and it’s growing 3X faster than structured data. Remembering JFK’s quote, now take a look at this article published in 2019 Insight-driven organisation | Deloitte Insights.

From an industry veteran’s standpoint, it feels like the future has now arrived. The beauty of SaaS delivering the ‘pay as you go’ CCaaS functionality, combined with a structured array of supporting AI driven application vendors, is that they all demonstrate a slightly different way that their product delivers the same solution to the same old set of problems that we’ve struggled with for decades.

What that means for ‘the contact centre tech’ customer’ is a huge amount of choice and a world of opportunity to refresh and upgrade operational functionality. The key point is that the tech’ on show at C&CC Expo this year gives every buyer (big and small) a chance to improve the engagement process (CX & EX) whilst at the same time, make a significant improvement in margin across the short, medium and long term.

If you need help in understanding what contact centre tech’ is the ‘best fit’ to improve your operating margins over the short, medium and long term, then get in touch. We’re here to help.