ISG Provider Lens™ report says
work-from-home requirements and a growing consumer preference for
digital channels over voice calls have permanently changed the
industry
Contact centers in Europe and the U.K. are adopting remote work
models and new technologies to address changes in consumer behavior
and customer service in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,
according to a new report published today by Information Services
Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and
advisory firm.
The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center – Customer Experience
Services report for Europe and the U.K. finds major trends seen
over the past 18 months, including consumers choosing digital
channels over voice calls and employees working outside physical
call centers, are likely irreversible. The contact center industry
now must develop seamless, efficient omnichannel experiences for
customers, delivered securely by decentralized workers and
automated personas.
“Companies in Europe and the U.K. have begun to recognize they
need new technologies and operating models to survive in a
post-pandemic world,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global
leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “They have drastically changed
their business approaches in the past 18 months and are
accelerating their transformations.”
Enterprises in the region are increasing their use of artificial
intelligence (AI) and machine learning, as well as automated
personas in customer-facing roles, the report says. For secure and
effective support by an increasingly remote workforce, companies
are investing in real-time performance dashboards, automated
coaching, agent performance analytics and gamification.
Geography plays a major role in the strategies of some contact
center operators in the region, ISG says. European companies
increasingly are turning to Eastern Europe for outsourcing, taking
advantage of lower labor costs and local proficiency in other
European languages. U.K. companies continue to favor India and
other English-speaking countries, their traditional sources of
offshore talent.
In the U.K., changes to the country’s IR35 regulations, which
cover the use of temporary workers, disrupted the use of
freelancers, digital consultants and experts and made the rules
governing those engagements less clear. This complicated what has
been a standard practice in the U.K.’s contact center industry.
However, the changes also created opportunities for organizations
willing to collaborate with providers, startups and technology
vendors for nearshoring or offshoring of labor.
As in other regions, enterprises in Europe and the U.K. have had
to adopt new working models that allow nearly all contact center
agents to work remotely, the report says. These new models provide
benefits including cost savings, access to talent, worker
flexibility and higher productivity. Operators are making
investments to address poor connectivity, background noise and
security in remote work settings. With tools such as virtual
private networks (VPNs), facial recognition, voice biometrics,
screen monitoring and near environment monitoring, they are closing
the gap in security between in-office and home-based work.
The 2021 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.
The report names Atento, Capita, Firstsource, Sitel Group,
Teleperformance and Webhelp as Leaders in all four quadrants. It
names Majorel, Transcom and Wipro as Leaders in three quadrants
each. Concentrix, Conduent and HGS are named as Leaders in two
quadrants each.
In addition, Tech Mahindra is named a Rising Star—a company with
a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s
definition—in two quadrants. Majorel and Wipro are named Rising
Stars in one quadrant each.
Customized versions of the report are available from Capita,
Firstsource and Sitel Group.
The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center – Customer Experience
Services report for Europe and the U.K. is available to subscribers
or for one-time purchase on this webpage.
About ISG Provider Lens™ Research
The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only
service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical,
data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world
experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team.
Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis
to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners,
while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market
knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The
research currently covers providers offering their services
globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Germany,
Switzerland, the U.K., France, the Nordics, Brazil and
Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the
future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research,
please visit this webpage.
A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype
reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the
perspective of specific buyer types.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading
global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business
partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the
world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping
corporations, public sector organizations, and service and
technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster
growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services,
including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory;
managed governance and risk services; network carrier services;
strategy and operations design; change management; market
intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006,
and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300
digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a
global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence,
deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research
and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most
comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit
www.isg-one.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211112005422/en/
Will Thoretz, ISG +1 203 517 3119 will.thoretz@isg-one.com
Kate Hartley, Carrot Communications for ISG +44 (0)20 3457 6403
kate.hartley@carrotcomms.co.uk
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