Call centers taking the slow road to IP

摘要

IP-based call centers promise to cut costs and help companies provide better customer service, but they've been slow to come online. Initially, businesses are adding IP interfaces to existing time division multiplexing PBXs when they need to quickly expand call centers or installing new IP PBXs when they set up new, relatively small call centers.Today sales of IP gear in the $1 billion North American call-center market accounts for only $69 million. Sales of IP call center gear in North America will be $824 million in 2008, according to a Frost & Sullivan projection. Adoption of IP call centers will start to take off signifi- cantly in 2005 as businesses that have installed IP PBXs to handle general phone traffic start to add call-center functionality to them, says Katrina Howell, program manager for contact center research at Frost & Sullivan. IP infrastructure that supports quality of service will be in place, and business IT staffs will have technical expertise and comfort with the technology, she says.