Good find on the Teleservices article:Copied for the thread:
Monday October 26, 8:07 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan: Is Outsourcing the Answer for Call Center Services?
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/-- Sick of being placed on hold for twenty minutes? Due to the growing need for organizations to improve customer relations, call center services are among the fastest growing segments of the telecommunication services markets in the United States.
According to new strategic research from Frost & Sullivan (www.frost.com), U.S. Call Center Services Market, there is an increasing trend towards outsourcing as a less costly alternative to in-house call centers. In 1997, revenues for call center services reached $18.3 billion. For the purposes of this study, the market has been segmented into three main categories: telecommunications carrier call center services, service agency call center services, and technology provider, systems integrator and consultant call center services.
''Improved call center technologies are attracting more call center subscribers for carriers, service agencies and systems integrators. Unfortunately, the rapid advances mean that systems can become obsolete in as little as three months,'' says Frost & Sullivan Telecommunications Industry Analyst Kim Antonnacio. ''Interactive voice response (IVR), and computer telephony integration (CTI) are growing in popularity. IVR solutions are being implemented for call routing, answering customer inquiries and taking orders. CTI solutions help reduce overall length of incoming calls and enhance agent productivity.''
Currently, there are more than a thousand companies providing some form of call center services to business customers. Realizing the potential of the market, more players are entering the market and competition is gaining strength.
The call center services market is largely dominated by the hundreds of service agencies who provide inbound and outbound services. MATRIXX Marketing, West Teleservices, APAC Teleservices and ITI Marketing Services constitute some of the leading market players.
Among the telecommunications carriers, the IXCs are the leading providers of call center services. AT&T -- the founder of 800 number and call centers -- MCI and Sprint control the carrier market. Competition in the carrier market will become intense as the RBOCs are able to offer inter-LATA long distance service.
The technology provider, systems integrator, and consultant market is comprised of firms like Lucent Technologies, Nortel and Aspect who offer call center services to an array of customers. Firms such as Andersen Consulting, Ernst & Young along with the computer companies and software developers are among the other players in this market. This market is largely dominated by the technology providers/systems manufacturers who are considered to be the leaders in the product/service development.
''The latest trend in the call center market is the integration of the Internet with call centers,'' says Frost & Sullivan Telecommunications Industry Analyst Imran Khan. ''Web-based solutions allow callers to browse the Web and talk to an agent simultaneously. The popularity of the Internet solutions will continue to rise as the number of Internet users grows.''
One of the key success factors in the call center services market is the ability to fully understand the challenges in the customer's business and then implement a solution that is both efficient and effective. With thorough coverage of the major end-user market, U.S. Call Center Services Market addresses the needs of potential customers, giving readers a leg up on the competition.
Frost & Sullivan presents Market Engineering awards to the U.S. call center services industry to recognize companies that have worked hard to make a positive contribution to the market. These awards are based on Frost & Sullivan's telecommunications research and consulting work in this industry in 1997. Winners are selected from an in-depth analysis of the market competitors and interviews with those companies that make up the industry.
The Market Engineering Leadership Award was given to MATRIXX Marketing Inc. for exhibiting world-class leadership in the U.S. call center services industry by being highly market oriented. MATRIXX is expected to emerge as the leading player in 1998 as a result of their acquisition of AT&T Solutions Customer Care Unit. MATRIXX offers a high level of service to their clients. Its training standards for employees is among the highest in the industry. MATRIXX focuses on offering its clients a customized approach that meets each client's specific goals.
The Market Engineering Sales Strategy Award was given to Precision Response Corporation [Nasdaq:PRRC - news] for demonstrating excellence in sales strategy. PRC aims to increase sales through targeting its already existing customer base. PRC is already providing call center services for various Fortune 500 companies. By expanding its business with existing clients they are able to increase their revenues significantly.
The Market Engineering Marketing Strategy Award was given to Aspect Telecommunications Corporation [Nasdaq:ASPT - news] for demonstrating excellence in marketing strategy design and implementation and based on their strong performance in the call center services market, along with their focus on R&D activities giving them a prominent position among its competitors.
The technologies reviewed include computer telephony integration (CTI), interactive voice response (IVR), web-based call centers, IP-based call center solutions, predictive dialers, intelligent call routing, automatic number identification (ANI) and dialed number identification service (DNIS).
Market participants include: 800 Direct, Advanced Data-Comm, Advanced Telecom Services, Advanced Telemarketing Corporation, Advantages kbs, Inc., Alert Communications Company, Americall Corporation, American Call Centers, American TelNet (ATN), Inc., Amerdial, Inc., Ameritech Corporation [NYSE:AIT - news], Andersen Consulting LLP, AnswerSoft, Inc., APAC Teleservices, Inc., Applied Voice Technology (AVT), Inc., ARKSYS, Aspect Telecommunications Corp., AT&T Corporation, Bell Atlantic Corporation [NYSE:BEL - news], BellSouth Corporation [NYSE:BLS - news], Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc., Brite Voice Systems, Inc., Call Interactive, Inc., Communication Service Centers, The Connection, Consolidated Market Response, Inc. , Coopers & Lybrand, Inc., DAC Systems, Inc., Dakotah Direct, Inc., Davox Corporation [Nasdaq:DAVX - news], Deloitte & Touche LLP, Digital Equipment Corporation, Direct Marketing Solutions, Inc., DMS Direct Marketing Services, Ernst & Young, Executive Call Centers, Inc., EXECUTONE Information Systems, Inc., The Faneuil Group, FutureCall Telemarketing West, Inc., Gage Marketing Group, Inc., Gannet Telemarketing, Inc., GE Capital Corporation, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, GLS Direct, Inc., GM Voices, Inc., GTE Corporation [NYSE:GTE - news], Harte-Hanks Response Management, Hewlett-Packard, IBM Global Services-Professional Services, ICT Group, Inc., IMC, Ltd., Impact Telemarketing, Inc., Integrity Quality Innovations (IQI), Inc., IntelliSell Corporation, Inter-Media Marketing, Inc., ITI Marketing Services Inc., King TeleServices, KPMG Peat Marwick, LCS Industries, Inc., Lucent Technologies, Inc., MarCom Technologies, Inc., Market USA, MATRIXX Marketing Inc., MCI Communications Corporation, Microsoft Corporation [Nasdaq:MSFT - news], Mosaix, Inc., NCR Corporation [NYSE:NCR - news], Nortel, Novell, Inc., NTS Marketing, Inc., Precision Response Corporation, Pro Direct Response Corporation, The Product Line, Inc., ProMark One Marketing Services, Inc., Quintus Corporation, Reese Brothers, Inc., RMH Teleservices, Inc., Rockwell Switching Systems Division, Ron Weber and Associates, Inc., Ruppman Marketing Technologies, Inc., The S.A.C. Companies, SBC Communications, Inc., Siemens Business Communications Systems, SITEL Corporation, Sprint Corporation [NYSE:FON - news], SPS Payment Systems, Inc., Syntellect, Inc., Tandem Computers, Inc., TCIM Services, Telemark, Inc., The Telemarketing Company, Telenational Marketing, Inc., TeleQuest Teleservices, Inc., Telerx, TeleService Resources, TeleSpectrum Worldwide, Inc., Telesystems Marketing, Inc., Trase Miller Teleservices, Inc., Unibase Direct, Inc., Unisys Corporation [NYSE:UIS - news], UNITEL Corporation, U.S.A. 800, Inc., U S West, Inc., Vanstar Corporation [NYSE:VST - news], Versatility, Inc., Vertical Marketing, Inc., VoiceCom Systems, Inc., Voice Integrators, Inc., Wang Laboratories, Inc. and West Teleservices Corporation [Nasdaq:WTSC - news].
This Telecommunications Industry research has integrated the Market Engineering consulting philosophy into the entire research process. Critical phases of this research included: Identification of industry challenges, market engineering measurements, strategic recommendations, planning and market monitoring. All of the vital elements of this system help the market participants navigate successfully through the telecommunications market.
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that monitors the telecommunications industry for market trends, market measurements, and strategies. This ongoing research is utilized to update a series of research publications such as #2764-62 North American Premises Wiring Media Markets and to support industry participants with customized consulting needs.
Visit Frost & Sullivan's web site at: frost.com
Report: 2702-63 Date: October 1998 Price: $2950
SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan
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