The growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) contact centre outsourcing market has been slower than it has been in the past, with revenues declining to EUR11.1bn in 2009 from 2008, according to a new study from business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
However, the vast majority of large, medium, and small businesses in EMEA continue to seek cost reductions, focus on building core competencies, and gain economies of scale through smart investments with experienced outsourcers.
The research firm expects the EMEA contact centre outsourcing market to recover and grow from 2010 and onwards, reaching EUR14.7bn in 2016.
Michael DeSalles, senior analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said: “Tech support, help desk and general customer service outsourcing continue to be the fastest growing segments for contact centre outsourcing across EMEA.
“The increased adoption of IP and multi-media technology and hosted/software-as-a-service (SaaS) models have been important drivers for EMEA outsourcing growth. In the last year, we also saw that customer retention activity is more important than ever for enterprises.”
Frost & Sullivan said that the EMEA outsourcing market seems to hinge on the fact that to be successful, providers must offer multilingual agent populations in order to attract and keep key clients.
DeSalles said: "Many outsourcing providers have gone to a more centralized staffing model in order to bring in and keep agent talent in particular countries. This is a real shift in operating philosophy and away from the historical notion of maintaining a large footprint on the European continent."
