ISG Provider Lens™ report says companies have been building up omnichannel services while introducing new tools to manage and secure remote workforces
Brazil’s contact center industry has grown rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many enterprises have partnered with service providers to better meet customer needs under social-distancing restrictions, according to a new report published by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
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“Successful contact center providers in Brazil have responded to diverse demands during the pandemic”
The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center – Customer Experience Services report for Brazil finds many contact centers faced much higher demand with the onset of the pandemic as Brazilian consumers increased their use of e-commerce and delivery services or sought assistance with issues including health care and unemployment benefits.
“Successful contact center providers in Brazil have responded to diverse demands during the pandemic,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “While some providers were overwhelmed by the new business realities, those that were prepared expanded their client rosters into new industries.”
The COVID-19 crisis also pushed Brazilian contact centers to implement new technologies, including omnichannel services, cloud migration and artificial intelligence bots. A broad automation drive has made Brazil the world’s second-largest market for chatbot and voice bot deployments, the report says, citing industry research.
Following the rapid transition to working from home early in the pandemic, Brazilian contact centers are beginning to see the longer-term effects of remote work, the report says. Productivity is up for some operators, while others say remote work lags brick-and-mortar contact centers when it comes to outbound calls and complex operations such as collections. Onboarding and training for remote employees are more challenging, and workers are more likely to suffer from isolation. Nevertheless, most contact centers plan to establish home-based work as a permanent model.
The growth of remote work has also accelerated Brazilian service providers’ efforts to protect their operations against cyberattacks in less supervised work settings, ISG says. Providers are investing in advanced authentication measures, such as facial recognition, but local labor regulations have prevented them from adopting other tools, such as 360-degree cameras in home offices to enforce clean-desk policies.
In recent months, contact centers have also had to ensure their operations comply with Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD), a Brazilian data protection law similar to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The law, which came into effect in May 2021, is expected to have a significant impact on business models, ISG says. Among other effects, LGPD is intended to curb the use of cross-selling campaigns that use unauthorized or leaked mailing lists, with the first fines having been imposed on financial companies.
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The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center – Customer Experience Services report for Brazil evaluates the capabilities of 37 providers across four quadrants: Digital Operations, AI & Analytics, Work From Home Services and Social Media CX Services.
The report names Atento, Neobpo and Teleperformance as Leaders in all four quadrants and AeC, Connvert and Sercom as Leaders in three quadrants each. Algar Tech, AlmavivA, Konecta and Plusoft/Pluris are named as Leaders in two quadrants each, and Home Agent and Sitel Group are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.
In addition, Sitel Group is named as a Rising Star—a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition—in two quadrants. Callink and TTEC are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each.
Customized versions of the report are available from AeC and Home Agent.
The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center – Customer Experience Services report for Brazil is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.