| Analyst Quote
Keith Dawson, Editor, Call Center Magazine, February 4, 2005
“Because it dramatically decouples location issues from
operations, IP hosting is having an impact on the offshoring movement.
And paradoxically, it may help integrate the offshore call center
industry more tightly with the U.S. domestic industry. EagleACD
(New York, NY), for example, is an outsourcer that offers hosted
IP tools to its clients globally. Using IP as the platform for
hosting allows EagleACD to bundle value-added elements like Web
chat functions, e-mail management, and predictive dialing, on
top of the call routing substrate, using CosmoCom's IP technology
as the platform underneath its call center offerings. And because
IP allows the labor force to be distributed as widely as the client
wants, even across continents, an offshore outsourcer can plausibly
make the case to a potential U.S. end user that calls can be handled
at whichever location is most appropriate. U.S. locations can
be used for high value customers, offshore for lower value or
less sensitive contacts.“
The Internet and IP telephony have changed the way call centers
are implemented and managed around the world. Because of the revolutionary
changes brought on by these technologies, multisite centers and
the efficient, effective use of remote agents have become commonplace
components of modern contact-center business operations. Full-featured,
IP-hosted solutions are alternatives to the more traditional on-site
enterprise-based products of the past. Providers of these so-called
on-demand contact centers (ODCCs) have done a good job of redefining
three of the traditional "Four Ps" (product, promotion,
and place) of contact center marketing. However, the fourth "P"
(price) has yet to go through a complete change.
IP-hosted contact centers eliminate the up-front capital expenditures
on contact center hardware and software. However, the fixed, recurring
monthly usage fees for a hosted solution--based on the number
of agent seats required to support the center--tend to scare off
many potential users. This is especially true for centers with
volatile, unpredictable levels of traffic that may fluctuate based
on varying levels of customer demand, changing promotional campaigns,
and business seasonality.Now that the technology has been bolstered
by IP telephony, IP-hosted call center solutions, such as those
offered by Angel.com, Contactual, EagleACD, EchoPass, and Five9,
are truly competing with the more traditional enterprise call
center solutions of the past. Customers are including IP-hosted
solutions on their product evaluation short lists, and hosted
contact centers are becoming a rapidly growing portion of total
contact center purchases. The main potential throttle to sales
growth in the future is vendors´ reluctance to be aggressive
and innovative with the ODCC pricing model.
It is time to assess the needs of the customers and change the
pricing paradigm, putting the focus on more risk-aversive pricing
models. It´s time for new ideas regarding on-demand pricing
models designed for companies trying to keep a close correlation
between fluctuating revenues and business expenses to better manage
cash flow. A utility-grid usage-pricing approach to IP-hosted
contact center offerings allows customers to select exactly the
features they require and pay for only the minutes and functionality
used. It caters to end users wishing to mitigate their financial,
as well as their technological, risk.
According to the founder and CEO of EagleACD, Kent Charugundla,
the company has experienced a high level of success helping call
center operators outsource their telecom and data infrastructure
without imposing up-front capital investment or fixed monthly
expenses. Instead of charging a startup fee and a fixed monthly
fee based on the number of agents required, the company offers
a no-minimum, pay-as-you-go pricing model. EagleACD charges a
per-minute agent-usage rate based on the feature package selected.
Customers are billed at $0.06 per minute for inbound voice calls
and $0.03 per minute for Web-chat calls. Predictive dialing (outbound dialer)
calls, if required, are also charged by the minute. Customers
are not required to pay up-front fees, fixed monthly charges,
or any other extras. This approach is certain to be popular.
The convergence of the Internet, VoIP networking, and creative
pricing models is likely to change the contact center landscape.
The IP-based, hosted contact center offers connectivity and integration
of multiple distributed centers and applications (ACD, chat, IVR,
email, etc.), virtually unlimited scalability, and more effective
use of both on-site agents and globally dispersed remote workers.
With creative, attractive pricing there can be little economic
risk to the user. We are looking at a future in which an enterprise
may never again have to buy hardware or software to provide superior
and cost-effective customer care and service to end users.
Ken Landoline is a principal analyst of Saddletree Research, which
specializes in contact centers and customer service.
Contact him at klandoline@saddletreeresearch.com
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