Call centers all over the world are growing at commendable rates, thanks to cloud solutions and other customer service technologies.
Energized by the proliferation of cloud solutions and other tech tools, the global call center market continues to demonstrate a laudable growth. According to the latest report by technology research and advisory company Technavio, this industry can exceed $9.7 billion by 2019, as it grows at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 9% during the forecast period.
“The global contact center market has been registering a positive growth rate for the past five years, and this growth is expected to gain momentum in the coming years,” Amit Sharma, lead analyst for the IT and business process outsourcing research in Technavio, said.
The report emphasizes the role of cloud or hosted contact centers in making this feat possible. As customers and companies demand faster and more responsive services, contact centers started to operate on a hybrid environment to meet these expectations. Hybrid setups allow call centers to keep some of their resources on their premises and others on the cloud. This way, they can personalize all aspects of their services to fit the needs of the brand they represent.
To provide an overview on the current landscape and the growth prospects of the global industry, Technavio’s report analyzed the following three major regions and their performance as contact center hubs.
The Americas
The United States, Canada, and Latin America are the three key areas in this call center market. As a whole, they can generate $5 billion by 2019 as they grow at a CAGR of more than 7%. This makes them the largest contributor to the global market among the three major outsourcing regions.
Outsourcing companies in this area boast of their proficiency in the English and Spanish languages, as well as easy access to sophisticated technologies. Plus, their proximity to potential clients is a major advantage. However, what slows down their growth according to Technavio are strong currencies, language barriers in some areas such as Brazil, and unstable political environments in some nations.
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)
Growing at a CAGR of more than 11%, the EMEA is expected to contribute $3 billion to the global industry in three years. As the major call center hub in this region, Europe places the entire EMEA at a competitive standpoint because of its proximity to outsourcing clients. Like the United States, Europe offers high-quality services and various languages.
On the other hand, Eastern Europe and Africa are seen as rich potential markets for outsourcing functions. According to Technavio, some countries in this region, such as South Africa, Tunisia, Ghana, Kenya, and Poland, are seen to rise as outsourcing hubs in the near future.
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
It’s currently the smallest contributor to the global industry, but it’s the fastest growing within the forecast period. The APAC region is expected to reach $1 billion in 2019 with a commendable CAGR of almost 13%. APAC accounts for 11% of the world’s call center industry in 2014. The leading nations are the Philippines, India, China, Australia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
What this growth means
All these good news about the growth of the global contact center industry stresses the relevance of outsourced services in helping business grow. As numerous tech tools make their way to mainstream consumption, outsourcing companies capitalize on them to provide more powerful, impactful services. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but for contact centers, the way forward is definitely clear.