A Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines

Transcription

1 A Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines A Research Report Commissioned by Oracle July 2008

2 Research Overview Despite significant growth in the contact center industry in Asia, currently growing on average 20% per annum, as measured by seat size, the industry experiences increasing operational challenges. This study set out to quantify these operational challenges by researching three key contact center markets in the region, each at a different level of maturity. India, has about 500,000 contact center seats and is regarded as the largest and one of the most mature markets in the region. India is growing in seat size at about 10% per annum. The Philippines has about 129,000 seats and is a reasonably mature market, growing at an aggressive 23% per annum. China, a developing market has about 286,000 seats and has a growth rate of 20% per annum. Despite the differences in maturity of these markets, there appears to be several consistent areas of operational challenge across contact centers in each country. These challenges in order of magnitude are customer service, human resource management, finance, operations and technology. Commissioned by Oracle and conducted by research company, callcentres.net, this study explores current challenges faced by contact centers in China, India and The Philippines and the notion of decentralization of the contact center as a potential solution to these challenges. This White Paper details the results of the study. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 1

3 Areas of Research Focus Specifically the research focused on: 1. Assessing the level of challenge of the following areas (detailed in Table 1): Table 1: Challenges and issues for each functional area Functional Area Customer Service Human Resources Finance Operations Technology Challenge or issue Improving the customer experience Effectively measuring customer satisfaction Acquiring/retaining customers Increased Human Resource costs (wages, benefits, training, etc) Employee turnover or attrition Retaining employees Managing Generation Y (under 30 year old) employees Agents up-selling and cross-selling Revenue generation in the contact center Moving from a cost center to a profit center Maintaining operational costs (telecommunications, technology, rent, equipment, etc) Pressure to outsource / offshore Increasing productivity of the contact center Managing an outsourced contact center relationship Optimizing existing contact center technology Upgrading contact center technologies Replacing contact center technologies Pressure to move to an IP (Internet Protocol) enabled contact center environment Integration issues between existing PABX systems and new technologies (including but not limited to IP) 2. The degree to which the decentralization of the contact center could aid in overcoming the key challenges faced by contact centers in China, India and The Philippines; 3. The current use of hosted contact center solutions in China, India and The Philippines; and 4. The likelihood of contact centers in China, India and The Philippines moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 2

4 Definitions of terms The following sets out definitions used in the study. These definitions were also used during the research interviews with contact center managers and senior executives involved in the management of the contact center. 1. Decentralization Decentralization of a contact center can be achieved by locating parts of the contact center operations in different locations, onshore or offshore. It can also be achieved by virtualizing the operations such as through the use of teleworkers (employees based at home or remotely) or where any channel of communication into the contact center (e.g. telephone calls, , chat, fax, web callback, etc.) can be routed to any location in the world (e.g. regional office, remote location, etc.) through technology. 2. Hosted contact center solution A hosted contact center solution is defined as: a way of delivering contact center software over the Internet, removing the need for organizations to buy and manage applications internally. 3. Single-provider hosted contact center solution A single-provider hosted contact center solution is a pre-integrated, multichannel contact center platform that takes communications from any channel into the contact center (e.g. telephone calls, , chat, fax, web callback, etc.) and routes them to any location in the world (e.g. regional office, remote location, etc.). It also provides blended predictive and preview dialing, interactive voice response (IVR), multichannel reporting, tools for supervisors to manage the contact center, and call recording, for a comprehensive, unified solution. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 3

5 Research Methodology The research methodology involved 111 in-depth quantitative interviews with contact center managers and senior executives involved in the management of the contact center. The following sample profile was obtained. Figure 1: Country location of contact center Only contact centers with at least 20 seats or 20 agent positions were targeted for this research. Over half of the contact centers included in this research have at least 100 seats, including approximately one in four centers that have at least 500 seats in their contact center. This sample stratification is demonstrated in Figure 2. Figure 2: Number of seats per contact center A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 4

6 Key Findings The following graphs set out the key operational challenges faced by contact centers in China, India and The Philippines, the perceived assistance decentralization of the contact center could provide in overcoming these challenges, the current use of hosted contact center solutions and the likelihood of moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years. Key differences between countries are also highlighted. 1. Overall contact center challenges The key topic of this research was to identify the key operational challenges faced by contact centers in China, India and The Philippines over the last 12 months. The research revealed that the main challenge for contact centers across China, India and The Philippines over the last 12 months was Customer Service. This is illustrated in Figure 3 below. Figure 3: Challenges faced by contact centers over the last 12 months Mean ratings Scale: 1=Not at all 2=Extremely low, 3=Very low, 4=Moderately low, 5= Moderately high, 6= Very high, 7= Extremely high 1.1 Focus on: China Contact center managers in China cite Customer Service as their main challenge over the last 12 months, followed by Human Resources, Finance, Operations and Technology. It is interesting to note that Customer Service is the only challenge rated as moderately high by contact center managers in China. All other areas of challenge are rated as moderately low. This is perhaps a sign that the China contact center industry is moving away from a traditional focus on speed and efficiency to addressing the needs and requirements of contact center consumers. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 5

7 1.2 Focus on: India Contact center managers in India cite Customer Service as their main challenge over the last 12 months, followed by Human Resources and Finance equally, then Operations and Technology. Customer Service, Human Resources, Finance and Operations are all rated as moderately high challenges, with Technology being the only challenge rated as moderately low. This result is not unexpected as the contact center industry in India is a mature market, characterized by a large number of outsourced contact centers, which tend to have a statistically significantly higher level of advanced technologies, when compared to captive or in-house contact centers. 1.3 Focus on: The Philippines Contact center managers in The Philippines cite Customer Service as their main challenge over the last 12 months, followed by Human Resources, Finance and then Operations and Technology equally. Operations and Technology are rated as moderately low challenges. The results suggest that a stronger focus is now being placed by The Filipinos on improving the quality of service and also on staff recruitment and retention. 1.4 Country differences Whilst the main challenge for contact centers across China, India and The Philippines over the last 12 months was Customer Service, crucial differences do exist between the countries in the challenges they face. Contact center managers in India rated Finance and Operations, as being a statistically significantly higher challenge over the last 12 months than contact centers in China. Contact center managers in both India and The Philippines rated Technology, as being a statistically significantly higher challenge over the last 12 months than contact centers in China. It is also worth noting that India has the highest challenge rating for Human Resources, a reflection of the growing staff recruitment and retention problem in India. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 6

8 2. Key challenges within functional area In order to gain more detailed information on contact center challenges, respondents were also asked to select the one challenge or issue that was of greatest concern over the last 12 months within each of the functional areas: Customer Service, Human Resources, Finance, Operations and Technology. Figure 4 below demonstrates those key challenges or issues within each functional area across China, India and The Philippines. Figure 4: Key challenges or issues within each functional area 2.1 Focus on: China Within each functional area, contact center managers in China cite the following issues as being the greatest challenge: 1. Customer Service improving the customer experience; 2. Human Resources employee turnover or attrition and increased human resource costs; 3. Finance moving from a cost center to a profit center; 4. Operations increasing productivity of the contact center; 5. Technology optimizing existing contact center technology. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 7

9 2.2 Focus on: India Within each functional area, contact center managers in India cite the following issues as being the greatest challenge: 1. Customer Service improving the customer experience; 2. Human Resources increased human resource costs; 3. Finance moving from a cost center to a profit center; 4. Operations increasing productivity of the contact center; 5. Technology replacing contact center technologies. 2.3 Focus on: The Philippines Within each functional area, contact centers in The Philippines cite the following issues as being the greatest challenge: 1. Customer Service effectively measuring customer satisfaction and acquiring / retaining customers; 2. Human Resources employee turnover or attrition; 3. Finance revenue generation in the contact center; 4. Operations maintaining operational costs; 5. Technology optimizing existing contact center technology. 2.4 Country differences When analyzing differences across countries the results show that although contact centers in all three countries name Customer Service as the greatest challenge within the last 12 months, contact centers in The Philippines appear to have focused on different aspects of the key challenge by concentrating on effectively measuring customer satisfaction and acquiring or retaining customers. Contact centers in China and India appear to have been more concerned with improving the customer experience in general. Also, in the area of Finance, whilst the main challenge for contact centers in China and India is moving from a cost center to a profit center, contact centers in The Philippines cite increasing revenue generation as the main challenge. This suggests that contact centers in The Philippines are further ahead in transitioning from traditional reactive service units to revenue generating operations, when compared to contact centers in China and India. It is also interesting that contact centers in India indicate their greatest concern within the area of Technology is the replacing of contact center technology, as compared to contact centers in China and The Philippines that appear to be focusing on optimizing their existing technology. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 8

10 3. Decentralization of the contact center overall challenges Once the research had established the key overall challenges for contact centers in China, India and The Philippines, respondents were then asked to indicate whether they believed that decentralization of the contact center would help reduce these key challenges. 3.1 Focus on: China In China, the respondents level of agreement with decentralizing the contact center as a solution to overcoming current challenges is demonstrated below in Figure 5. Figure 5: Decentralization of the contact center reducing functional area challenges Mean ratings (China) 1=Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Somewhat disagree, 4=Neither agree nor disagree, 5= Somewhat agree, 6=Agree, 7=Strongly agree Of the 6 key challenges within the 5 functional areas identified by contact centers in China, respondents somewhat agree that decentralization of the contact center will reduce 3 of these 6 challenges: improving the customer experience, employee turnover or attrition and increasing productivity of the contact center. Respondents neither agree not disagree that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the remaining 3 challenges: increased human resource costs, moving from a profit center to a cost center and optimizing existing contact center technology. The highest level of agreement by respondents in China is that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the challenge of upgrading contact center technologies and have the lowest level of agreement that decentralization of the contact center will reduce integration issues between existing PABX systems and new technologies. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 9

11 3.2 Focus on: India In India, the respondents level of agreement with decentralizing the contact center as a solution to overcoming current challenges is demonstrated below in Figure 6. Figure 6: Decentralization of the contact center reducing functional area challenges Mean ratings (India) 1=Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Somewhat disagree, 4=Neither agree nor disagree, 5= Somewhat agree, 6=Agree, 7=Strongly agree Of the 5 key challenges within the 5 functional areas identified by contact centers in India, respondents somewhat agree that decentralization of the contact center will reduce 2 of these 5 challenges: human resource costs and replacing contact center technology. Respondents neither agree not disagree that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the challenge of improving the customer experience and moving from a cost center to a profit center; and somewhat disagree that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the challenge of increasing the productivity of the contact center. The highest level of agreement by respondents in India is that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the challenge of agents up-selling and cross-selling and they agree least that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the challenge of increasing the productivity of the contact center. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 10

12 3.3 Focus on: The Philippines In The Philippines, the respondents level of agreement with decentralizing the contact center as a solution to overcoming current challenges is demonstrated below in Figure 7. Figure 7: Decentralization of the contact center reducing functional area challenges Mean ratings (The Philippines) 1=Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Somewhat disagree, 4=Neither agree nor disagree, 5= Somewhat agree, 6=Agree, 7=Strongly agree Of the 6 key challenges within the 5 functional areas identified by contact centers in The Philippines, respondents somewhat agree that decentralization of the contact center will reduce 2 of these 6 challenges: acquiring or retaining customers and maintaining operational costs. Respondents neither agree not disagree that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the remaining 4 challenges: effectively measure customer satisfaction, help with employee turnover or attrition, help with revenue generation in the contact center and help optimize existing contact center technology. The highest level of agreement by respondents in The Philippines is that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the challenge of upgrading contact center technologies and they agree least that decentralization of the contact center will reduce the challenge of increasing the productivity of the contact center. 3.4 Country differences When analyzing data from the three countries the results show contact center managers cite that decentralization potentially can assist in reducing challenges in each of the functional areas under discussion, namely, customer service, HR management, Finance, Operations and Technology. There is perhaps a stronger level of agreement across the three countries that decentralization will assist the most with technology considerations, such as upgrading call center technologies, and assist the least with operations. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 11

13 4. Hosted contact center solutions Decentralization of contact centers can be achieved by virtualizing operations. Operational virtualization of contact centers may be enabled by utilizing a hosted contact center solution. As such, the research also sought to discover the current and predicted level of usage of hosted contact center solutions in contact centers in China, India and The Philippines (Figure 8). Figure 8: Status of hosted contact center solutions 4.1 Focus on: China Currently 71% of contact centers in China do not use hosted contact center solutions. However, 46% of contact centers will consider hosted solutions within the next 3 years. 29% of contact centers in China currently use some level of hosted solutions. 11% will consider using more within the next 3 years and 11% will not consider using more within the next 3 years. 7% of contact centers in China currently use hosted solutions for all of their contact center technology. 4.2 Focus on: India Currently 64% of contact centers in India do not use hosted contact center solutions. However, 38% of contact centers will consider hosted solutions within the next 3 years. 35% of contact centers in India currently use some level of hosted solutions. 15% will consider using more within the next 3 years and 15% will not consider using more within the next 3 years. 5% of contact centers in India currently use hosted solutions for all of their contact center technology. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 12

14 4.3 Focus on: The Philippines Currently 52% of contact centers in The Philippines do not use hosted contact center solutions. However, 20% of contact centers will consider hosted solutions within the next 3 years. 44% of contact centers in The Philippines currently use some level of hosted solutions. 20% will consider using more within the next 3 years and 12% will not consider using more within the next 3 years. 12% of contact centers in The Philippines currently use hosted solutions for all of their contact center technology. 4.4 Country differences Whilst hosted contact center solutions are used across each country, current usage of hosted contact center solutions is higher in The Philippines than in China and India. Analysis of the data shows that in China and India that those contact centers that do not currently use hosted solutions are statistically significantly more likely than centers in The Philippines to consider using hosted contact center solutions in the next 3 years. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 13

15 5. Single-provider hosted contact center solution Hosted contact center solutions can be provided either as best-of-breed multi-system solution where more than one vendor provides the hosted application, or it may be provided by one single provider of a full contact center technology platform. Respondents were asked about the likelihood of their contact center to consider moving from their existing contact center systems to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years (Figure 9). Figure 9: Likelihood of moving from existing systems to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years Scale: 1=Extremely unlikely, 2=Very unlikely, 3=Somewhat unlikely, 4=Neither likely nor unlikely, 5= Somewhat likely, 6=Very likely, 7= Extremely likely 5.1 Focus on: China 19% of contact centers in China are likely to consider moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years, with 4% extremely likely to consider. 59% are unlikely to consider moving, with 26% extremely unlikely to consider. The mean likelihood of contact centers in China to consider moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years is 2.9/7.0 which translates as somewhat unlikely. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 14

16 5.2 Focus on: India 52% of contact centers in India are likely to consider moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years, with 11% extremely likely to consider. 35% are unlikely to consider moving, with 16% extremely unlikely to consider. The mean likelihood of contact centers in India to consider moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years is 4.1/7.0 which translates as neither likely nor unlikely. 5.3 Focus on: The Philippines 29% of contact centers in The Philippines are likely to consider moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years, with 5% extremely likely to consider. 46% are unlikely to consider moving, with 12% extremely unlikely to consider. The mean likelihood of contact centers in The Philippines to consider moving to a singleprovider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years is 3.6/7.0 which translates as neither likely nor unlikely. 5.4 Country differences It is interesting to note that whilst the research shows that those contact centers in China, not currently using hosted solutions, have the strongest consideration of using hosted solutions within the next three years, contact centers in China are the least likely to consider moving from their existing systems to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years. Furthermore, contact centers in India are statistically significantly more likely than contact centers in China to consider moving from their existing systems to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years. Approximately half of the respondents in China and The Philippines (59% and 46% respectively) are unlikely to consider moving from their existing systems to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years. Conversely, 52% of contact centers in India are likely to consider moving to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years. These results reflect the maturity of the three countries involved in this study, with India being the most mature and also the most likely to consider a single-provider hosted solution. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 15

17 6. Conclusion 6.1 What are the challenges? The main challenge for contact centers across China, India and The Philippines over the last 12 months has been Customer Service. This is a particularly important challenge for China which appears to be moving away from a traditional productivity and operational focus to a focus on customer experience. The increasing labor problems in the contact center industry in Asia have also proved a challenge for contact center managers. Although India has the highest challenge rating for Human Resources this is a challenge for all three countries in the study and indeed for region as a whole. Contact centers in both India and The Philippines rated Technology as a higher challenge over the last 12 months than contact centers in China. This is unsurprising given the maturity of the contact center industries in India and The Philippines compared to the China contact center industry and consequential longer period of technology investment. This period of investment has meant that India in particular now faces the issue of having to replace contact center technologies rather than upgrade its existing technologies. As a strong outsourcing market this is imperative in order to attract contact center work by offering access to advanced technologies. Interestingly, the research findings also suggest that contact centers in The Philippines are further ahead in the process of moving from traditional service centers to revenue generating centers, than China and India, and therefore face less of a challenge in this area. 6.2 Will decentralization of the contact center help? This research suggests that decentralization of contact center operations may assist in reducing contact center challenges in China, India and The Philippines. In China contact center managers state that decentralization may assist in improving the customer experience, employee turnover or attrition and increasing productivity of the contact center. In India, contact center managers state that decentralization may assist in improving human resource costs and replacing contact center technology. In The Philippines contact center managers state that decentralization may assist in retaining customers and maintaining operational costs. 6.3 Hosted solutions and single-provider hosted contact center solutions usage Currently about one third of contact centers in the three countries under review use a hosted solution of some type. The Philippines is currently a higher user of hosted solutions than China and India. About one third to a half of contact center managers interviewed indicated that they would consider using a hosted solution in the next 3 years. Contact centers in China and India which are not currently using hosted solutions are more likely than centers in The Philippines to consider using hosted contact center solutions in the next 3 years. The contact center industry in India is most likely to consider moving existing systems to a single-provider hosted contact center solution in the next 3 years. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 16

18 7. Strategic Implications of this Research The strategic implications of this research are important for the contact center industries not only in India, China and the Philippines, but across the Asia-Pacific region. With contact centers in Asia in a period of significant growth, at an average of 15% increase in seat size over the next 12 months, the operational pressures and challenges currently being experienced will only escalate. The primary challenges for contact centers in Asia are customer service and human resource management. For the last 10 years Analysts and practitioners alike have been discussing and debating remedies for these challenges, yet they maintain a strangle hold on the industry. Now perhaps organizations need to look to alternate business models to overcome the challenges discussed in this paper and indeed the model of decentralization is worthy of discussion. Through decentralizing call center operations certain challenges may be eased. For example, an organization s Head Office may remain in the centralized location and customer service can be decentralized to regional or rural locations, thereby being closer to the customer base. Agent attrition may also be reduced by moving call center operations nearer to population centers away from the cities where the race for talent is most acute. Indeed, virtualization may be a more appropriate term than decentralization, as the call center may be operated over an IP platform and extend the call center into the homes of agents, as remote or home-based workers. The time of the virtual call center and the virtual call center agent is here and the results of this study demonstrate that decentralizing operations via virtualization may assist in reducing the challenges faced by this important industry. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 17

19 8. Oracle s Commentary The research conducted by callcentres.net has highlighted several significant operational challenges faced by contact centers in China, India and The Philippines. In addressing these, it s timely for contact center strategists and management in these countries to consider other models of contact center operations that can provide solutions to, or considerably ease, these challenges. Oracle, the only vendor to be named both leader and visionary in Gartner s Customer Service Contact Centers Magic Quadrant, 2007, believes that the decentralization of the contact center operations is a strong potential solution to address the challenges raised in this research report. As such, Oracle offers a virtual contact center solution, Contact Center Anywhere, which has been specifically designed to empower contact centers and customer service organizations by extending customer interaction management from the customer to any agent anywhere. Oracle Contact Center Anywhere provides the tools to deliver exceptional, personalized customer service through a variety of communication channels, including phone, fax, , chat, and Web. Providing consistent service across all channels builds customer satisfaction and loyalty, which lead to repeat business and higher profitability. In using the technology, supervisors are empowered with instantly adaptable management views of relevant information to the call center s activity, and real-time tools for monitoring and coaching agents, no matter where they are located. Virtual contact centers that expand beyond the domain of traditional contact centers become a reality through a distributed architecture, IP-based and TDM-based network support, and seamless delivery of multiple customer interactions to agents anywhere on the globe. Oracle Contact Center Anywhere s flexible deployment options enable central or distributed network configurations. It supports Voice Over IP (H.323 and SIP), traditional TDM circuits, or both, providing customer service organizations with an IP migration path so that existing infrastructure investment can be built upon. Oracle Contact Center Anywhere can be deployed as a corporate hosted solution for multi-site operations or as an on-premise singlesite solution that provides built-in switching. It also works with a wide variety of third-party public branch exchanges (PBXs). The ability to deploy centralized contact center technologies on a single system infrastructure shared by all locations, regardless of geographic location, is a key strength of Oracle Contact Center Anywhere. This is a compelling alternative to installing stand-alone contact center systems at each user location. Oracle s multi-tenant contact center solution provides the best of both worlds: dramatically decreased acquisition, implementation, and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) costs, together with 100% privacy between tenants and the ability to deliver autonomous control that exceeds site-specific technology. In essence, Oracle Contact Center Anywhere enables geographically dispersed sites and/or independent business units to realize productivity, efficiency, and cost benefits by sharing hardware, software, and voice networks to support global operations while retaining total autonomy for those sites or groups of sites that require it. Oracle states that the key advantages to moving to a virtual contact center solution and that alleviate some of the key operational challenges reported in this paper, include: A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 18

20 Use of low-cost VoIP and online channels Fully integrated multichannel contact centers that reduce costs and boost service Choice of on-premise or on-demand software to suit different budgets and needs Flexible financing to help budgets go further, and Proven technology from a world leader in contact center solutions The callcentres.net research findings conclude: the results of this study demonstrate that decentralizing operations via virtualization may assist in reducing the challenges faced by this important industry. Oracle s position is that this is indeed the case and our existing customers are experiencing tangible benefits to their business through virtualization, enabled through their Oracle solution investment. 9. Contact details About Oracle For almost 30 years, Oracle has been helping customers like your organization manage their business systems and information with reliable, secure, and integrated technologies. With the acquisition in 2007 of Telephony@Work CallCenterAnywhere, Oracle became the first CRM applications provider to unify contact center technology and CRM software delivering a complete "customer to agent" experience. By extending CRM applications with multi-channel capabilities, our customers will experience higher productivity while enhancing their customers experience. They will also experience a reduction in cost and complexity of integrating disparate CRM, analytics, and communications technologies. Whether deployed as a hosted or on-premise contact center solution, Telephony@Work and Oracle plan to deliver more cost-effective and flexible contact center solutions regardless of company size, locations or resources. We have experience in delivering an integrated solution as Oracle utilizes Telephony@Work's technology for Siebel Contact On Demand, our hosted contact center solution. By combining with strategic companies such as Telephony@Work, Oracle strengthens its product offerings, accelerates innovation, meets customer demand more rapidly, and expands partner opportunity. An integral part of Oracle's Mergers and Acquisitions philosophy is its consistent commitment to customer service and product support. A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 19

21 For more information, visit l Or contact your local Oracle office: Asia Pacific Australia: Indonesia: Pakistan: Bangladesh: (65) Japan: Philippines: Bhutan: (65) Korea: Singapore: or Brunei: Laos: (65) Sri Lanka: Cambodia: (65) Maldives: (65) Taiwan: China: Malaysia: Thailand: Hong Kong: Nepal: (65) Viet Nam: (65) India: and New Zealand: A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 20

22 About callcentres.net callcentres.net is an Asia Pacific based contact center research and online publisher specializing in the distribution of research, news and information to professionals interested in contact centers, customer relationship management and business process outsourcing. Established in 1998, with offices in Singapore and Sydney, callcentres.net distributes information to a subscriber base of contact center professionals. The website is the most comprehensive portal of information available to the contact center industry. callcentres.net also publishes: 1. Multi country industry benchmarking studies 2. Customized research 3. contact news & contact news Asia newsletters 3 times per week: 4. Podcast news programmes 5. Educational articles and features 6. Comprehensive supplier directory For a free subscription go to: Dr Catriona Wallace Director t: m: cwallace@callcentres.net Level 4, 121 Walker Street North Sydney NSW Robinson Road #10-00 ASO Road Singapore A Research Report into Operational Challenges in Contact Centers in China, India & The Philippines Page 21