Enterprises seek new contact center technologies and services to meet growing expectations and rising stakes for company reputation, ISG Provider Lens™ report says
Enterprises across Europe and the U.K. are quickly adopting new contact center technologies and services in response to dramatic changes in customer experience (CX) demands over the last 24 months, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center — Customer Experience Services report for Europe and the U.K. finds customer experience has become a central focus of most companies and an important measure of business success in the eyes of enterprises, shareholders and analysts. At the same time, the disruption of work during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a talent shortage, making it harder to attract and retain a strong contact center workforce. To meet consumer expectations across an expanding range of channels, many companies are shifting in-house or outsourced contact centers to external service providers.
“Customer experience is becoming more vital to sustaining business success and, at the same time, harder for European enterprises to deliver in-house,” said Wayne Butterfield, partner, ISG Automation. “Enterprises should tap into the investments made and the expertise provided by experienced service providers.”
A growing number of providers in Europe and the U.K., in line with emerging trends in the U.S., offer cloud-based CX solutions that use new technologies to improve performance and efficiency, the report says. AI is enhancing customer satisfaction and accelerating resolutions, with tools such as chatbots, while also reducing costs. Analytics platforms are generating insights that give more context to interactions with customers across multiple channels.
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Enterprises are also seeking more strategic ways to monitor, analyze and moderate conversations about their business on social media, messaging apps, online review pages and other forums, ISG says. Using AI, analytics and cognitive tools, and often working with providers, companies can respond to concerns more quickly before they spin out of control and damage brand reputation.
“Companies are constantly being judged on the customer experience they deliver,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Automation is helping them join the conversation when it’s needed.”
The report also examines other contact center trends in Europe and the U.K., including the growing importance of agility and heightened concerns about security as workers go remote.
The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center — Customer Experience Services report for Europe and the U.K. evaluates the capabilities of 28 providers across four quadrants: Digital Operations, AI & Analytics, Work From Home Services and Social Media CX Services.
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The report names Atento, Capita, Firstsource, Sitel Group, Teleperformance and Webhelp as Leaders in all four quadrants. It names Conduent, Majorel, Transcom and Wipro as Leaders in three quadrants each. Concentrix and Tech Mahindra are named as Leaders in two quadrants each, and [24]7.ai and HGS are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.
In addition, [24]7.ai is named as a Rising Star — a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in two quadrants. HGS and WNS are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each.
