Harnessing Technology to Improve Customer Service

Singapore , 2006-04-24

The Asia Pacific contact center applications market was valued at US$538.5 million in 2005, and is forecasted to reach a market size of US$609.2 million by end-2006, representing a year-on-year growth of 13.1 percent. This promising outlook in the Asia Pacific contact center market is attributed to the increased focus on customer service in the domestic markets in Asia Pacific.

2005 saw contact centers across Asia Pacific evolving towards becoming multi-channel contact centers, with increased effort in opening-up more communication channels for customer interaction through email and real-time web collaboration. Managing SMS (short messaging service) interactions has also gained greater prominence given the exponential growth in this mode of communication.

A significant trend also is the revolution of IP contact centers. Many organizations today are beginning to embrace the dynamics and benefits associated in transforming to IP-based platforms and applications. This trend has been especially strong in markets like Japan, South Korea and Australia in 2005.

Recent times have also seen a surge in contact center outsourcing and off-shoring. “More and more companies in Asia Pacific are considering outsourcing as a strategic option to realize benefits such as reduced costs, flexibility, and scalability of operations. Outsourcing such operations will enable organizations to focus on core business processes without having to manage the technology infrastructure and staffing issues of a contact center,” said Shivanu Shukla, industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

All these alternatives come with its fair share of opportunities and challenges for contact center directors towards making contact centers a true value generator.

Frost & Sullivan’s exclusive Executive MindXchange Summit on the Asia Pacific contact center industry - Customer Contact Asia Pacific 2006 will feature keynote insights, best practices, case studies and panel discussions addressing contact center technologies, trends, issues and more. The summit is designed for senior decision-makers involved in driving strategic, tactical and operational initiatives to enhance contact center performance and value. Hear from our line-up of experts as they share their experiences and insights on striking the right chord with your customers. Speakers include representatives from Great Eastern Singapore, Starwood Hotels, AIS Thailand, Avaya, GN Netcom and Frost & Sullivan, amongst others.

The summit will be held at the Marriott Resort & Spa in Bangkok, Thailand, from May 14-16, 2006, with the support of the Contact Centre Association of Singapore (CCAS), Hong Kong Call Centre Association (HKCCA), Call Center Industry Association of Thailand (CCIA), Asia Pacific Call Centre News (APCCN), FooBooOnline.com, InfoTalk and Customer Relationship Management and Contact Centre Association of Malaysia (CCAM).

For more information/registration details, please visit www.frost.com/prod/servlet/events-asia-pac.pag. Media passes are also available to the press. You may also send an email to Letticia Leopold, Corporate Communications at [email protected] with your full name, media/company name, title, telephone number, fax number and email. Upon receipt of the above information, the conference brochure and registration form will emailed over to you.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com


Contact

Media Contact Details Sarah Lourdes, Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan +603.6204.5878 [email protected] Letticia Leopold, Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan +603.6204.5816 [email protected] Sharmin Jassal, Australia Frost & Sullivan +61.2.8247.8900 [email protected] Surbhi Dedhia, India Frost & Sullivan +91.22.5001.3431 [email protected] , ,