Contact Center Outsourcing to See Continued Growth Over the Next Decade, According to Aberdeen Group Report.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2003

Outsourced Contact Centers Seen as a Way for Companies

to Cut Costs, Fuel Increasing Level

of Network and Infrastructure Capacity

Already firmly established as a major business, technology, and customer imperative, contact center outsourcing will see continued growth over the next decade, according to a new report by Aberdeen Group, a leading IT market analysis and consulting firm.

"The outsourced contact center (OCC) industry has been buoyed by the ongoing financial and economic pressure on companies to cut costs, and fueled by the increasing level of network and infrastructure capacity," said Christopher Fletcher, Aberdeen Vice President and Managing Director, Customer Relationship Management and author of the report, The Customer Contact Center: Technology, Trends, and Investment Plans 2003-2004.

"In addition to the short-term financial and business implications for users and vendors alike, the outsourcing of contact centers - either to domestic outsourced providers or to companies with contact center facilities located offshore - has significant economic and social impact. Political and legal concern relating to the outsourcing of contact centers, and in particular to the shifting of contact center jobs and investment to locations outside of one's national borders is growing and will continue to provide significant social concerns to voters, businesses, and the government."

The largest increase in the use of OCC services is expected in contact centers with between 250 and 1000 agents: each of the three segments in this range, with agent populations ranging from 251-500 agents, 501-750 agents, and 751-1000 agents, expecting their use of OCC services to increase by more than 33% in the next 18 months.

The Customer Contact Center: Technology, Trends, and Investment Plans 2003-2004 provides a global perspective on outsourced contact centers. 51% of the contact center executives that participated in the study are located outside of the U.S; participants from Europe accounted for 18% of the total; 16 % were from the Asia/Pacific/Australia/New Zealand area, 7% were from Canada, and 6% were from Latin America and Africa/Middle East.

Copies of The Customer Contact Center: Technology, Trends, and Investment Plans 2003-2004 can be downloaded at no charge by registering on Aberdeen's Web site. Visit www.aberdeen.com or follow this link: http://www.aberdeen.com/ab_company/hottopics/callcenteroutsourcing/ default.htm to obtain a copy of this report. (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field.)

About Aberdeen

An IT market research leader since 1988, Aberdeen Group continues to distinguish itself in a rapidly changing industry. Its forward-thinking research initiatives and positioning services address specific needs of multiple enterprise technology buyers and supplier organizations.

Aberdeen's vigorous primary research program is based on surveys of targeted IT buyers in more than 25 market segments, providing real-time insights into buying patterns, growth rates, and trends.

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