The BGL Business Services Insider – The Mid-Game Pivot: Contact Center Industry Adjusts Rapidly to Market Forces

Contact centers were forced to become more agile in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating timelines for technology adoption, remote work, and omnichannel customer engagement, according to an industry report released by the Business Services investment banking team at Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL).

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The report examines developing trends as well as the current state of the contact center M&A market, where consolidation is continuing across a fragmented landscape.

• Technology is transforming customer care. Cloud migration has made artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and predictive analytics more practical and achievable. Organizations are investing in AI capabilities contributing directly to improved customer experience (CX), cost savings, and operational efficiencies.
• Customer needs and expectations are continually evolving, and interaction levels are increasing rapidly, with an omnichannel service approach now expected to deliver a frictionless, cohesive, and personalized customer experience. By focusing on providing ever-improving levels of customer service, the contact center is now viewed as a critical component to maintaining and increasing brand loyalty versus being a necessary cost of doing business.
• Work-from-home is a permanent shift in service delivery, promoting higher employee and customer satisfaction while reducing operating costs.
• As technology transforms CX solutions, it is also influencing M&A activity, with digital-first service platforms in high demand. Acquisitions remain a primary lever in value creation as buyers look to augment digital capabilities and diversify industry verticals and geographic markets. The proposed merger of Sitel Group and Majorel and acquisitions by WNS (Vuram) and Teleperformance (Senture) are examples of recently announced strategic transactions. Bain Capital (VXI Global Solutions) and ChrysCapital (ResultsCX) are among the private equity sponsors to establish growth platforms in the contact center space.

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