Enhanced Security and Analytical Capabilities Will be Key to CMS Delivery in 2008
by Suvradeep Bhattacharjee
Vendors will continue to fine tune their CMS delivery capability during 2008 with a strengthening in nearshore delivery locations and home agent services. At the same time, there will be a requirement for stricter security standards and enhanced customer analytic services in support of customer retention and growth....
- Telecoms, high-technology and financial services sectors will continue to drive customer management services demand worldwide: customer account management, billing inquiries and device technical support for wireless operators will represent one of the larger opportunities in North America while customer support in Spanish and English will represent a substantial and growing opportunity in high-tech and financial services sectors. Major vendors will increasingly expand in most major economies with more than 85% targeting markets in North America, Latin America and Europe
- Stricter security standards: major vendors will increasingly adapt the security standards of the payment card industry, e.g. PCI and DSE and even implement biometrics authentication to eliminate the opportunity of using other agent's accounts on client systems. North and Latin American players will gain security certification particularly for their centers serving U.S. financial services clients
- Bilingual Spanish/English capabilities: development of Spanish speaking capabilities would be a key priority for majority of CMS players in the U.S.
- Customer analytics services for customer retention and growth: customer analytics services will be further developed primarily for the financial services and telecom sectors to increase revenue and reduce churn. Vendors are likely to pursue targeted acquisitions to strengthen customer analytics and automated CMS services
- Industry specific offerings for financial services, energy/utility and healthcare: development of loyalty programs for retail banking customers using customer analytics, multi-channel customer retention and growth services for non-life insurance clients, IVR services for security checking of credit card customers, and, development of service offerings to provide healthcare-specific customer management services will dominate the service offerings space in 2008
- Delivery capability expansion in offshore and near-shore locations, home agent services expansion for on-shore: delivery capabilities will be significantly strengthened in Philippines and South Africa among the off-shore locations; Mexico, Central America and Morocco among the near-shore locations; and, China and Brazil among the on-shore locations. Home agent services will become a compelling delivery option in the U.S. particularly for the telecom, high-technology, travel and healthcare sectors