Smart Link boosts its contact centre outsourcing operations in KSA with Altitude Sofware

The project is with Electronic Solution House (ESH), a leading contact centre specialist in the Middle East and a certified Altitude Software partner since 2001. Altitude uCI is a Customer Interaction Management (CIM) solution that enables organizations to improve contact centre productivity while increasing customer retention and revenue generation. Altitude uCI provides a full blended support for voice (inbound and outbound), IVR, email, Web collaboration and chat.

One of the Fastest-growing contact centre outsourcing operations in the GCC

Founded in 2005, Smart Link, Inc. is a fast-growing outsourcing contact centre for all inbound customer service and support, outbound lead generation, telemarketing, SMS, fax and web chatting. It is a joint venture of two giant business groups in Saudi Arabia, namely Al Khaleej Training & Education and Al-Alamiah Training & Education. Smart Link's client list already includes prominent organizations in the Kingdom such as NCB, National Energy Efficiency Program (NEEP), Saudi SCT, Sama, Fursan Travel and Bank Albilad.

"At Smart Link, Inc., we focus on the relationship building aspect of working with our clients, while utilizing next-generation and proven contact centre technology. World-class contact centre outsourcing service is, and will remain, our main goal," said Safwan Al-Khatib, Executive Director, Smart Link, Inc.

"Our objective is to be the Middle East's number one contact centre outsourcing provider, offering service at world standards of quality," commented Badr O. Al Nasser, CEO, Smart Link, Inc. "Therefore, it is essential that we enable our contact centre teams with strong reporting, supervision and 100% customizable tools which allow Smart Link to provide the level of care our customers have come to expect from us."

With scheduled 24/7 CRM outsourcing operations, Smart Link, Inc. needed a robust contact centre system that could easily support high-volume contact management across multiple channels. "We evaluated the major contact centre vendors present in the Middle East, and Altitude Software with their local partner ESH clearly distinguished themselves with the Altitude uCI solution; We found Altitude uCI really unique in the industry for its unified architecture, with a single configuration database, single language and single design editor.

'These characteristics allow us to shorten time to market and further reduce our operational costs," commented Muhammed Ali Jabbar, e-Business Solutions Manager, Smart Link. "Altitude's responsive and extensive technical support in Saudi Arabia through their partner ESH was also a major factor in our choice," he added.

The biggest contract ever in the Saudi Contact Center Outsourcing industry by a Government Department

One recent major contract won by Smart Link is with The Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT). The Saudi SCT wishes to support the tourism inside the Kingdom through the "Tourism Phone" project by providing free services for both the tourists and the tourism services providers. The "Tourism Phone" project allows the tourists to utilize free services all around the year by using the toll free number (800-755-0000) to receive updated information about the festivals, cultural activities and tourist packages in collaboration with many local entities such as hotels, travel agencies, restaurants, airlines, car rentals, banks and pilgrimage service providers. "This project is the biggest contract ever in the Saudi Contact Center industry by a Government Department," commented Muhammed Ali Jabbar.

Another key contact centre outsourcing project recently inked by Smartlink is with the National Energy Efficiency Program (NEEP), a division of King Abdul Aziz City for Science & Technology, for their Energy Efficiency Survey program. Smart Link was selected because of its intensive experience in the field of Call Centers and being technologically one of the most advanced call centers in KSA. The survey will be conducted by a professional team of Tele Surveyors within Smart Link. The National Energy Efficiency Program is a project designed to increase awareness of efficient energy usage among residents of Saudi Arabia. The main target is to survey all sectors within the Kingdom, such as the Industrial, Commercial and Residential Sectors, and find out the energy usage trends.

Powering ahead with Altitude uCI

To support its fast-paced growth in the Middle East, Smart Link, Inc. has implemented core modules within the IP-enabled Altitude uCI solution, including Altitude Voice, a voice management application that provides intelligent handling of inbound and outbound calls and seamlessly synchronizes relevant data with each call through CTI (Computer Telephony Integration).

Another module, Altitude Script Developer, enables the Saudi outsourcing company to customize agents front-office for every single business campaign handled by the Riyadh-based contact centre; Scripts guide agents through dialogs with customers, while managing contacts, controlling interactions, and updating databases.

Besides, the Altitude uCI solution increases customer satisfaction with proactive customer service features and flexible voice self-service applications. It provides Smart Link managers with the tools to centrally design and deliver flexible service-delivery models that profit from increased agent productivity.

'We are thrilled to be working with Smart Link, Inc. to help the company support its fast-growing contact centre outsourcing operations in the GCC,' said Riadh Boukhris, Altitude Software vice President Middle East & North Africa. 'Using Altitude's unique scripting development tool and IP-enabled contact centre management platform, Smart Link, Inc. can swiftly customize CRM campaigns that generate positive results and deliver exceptional customer experiences.'

Outstanding record in supplying contact centre outsourcing companies

Altitude Software has an outstanding record in supplying contact centre outsourcing companies worldwide with specialised products and proven methodologies designed to drive a sound return on investment.

Let's take the example of Brazil, which has recently been ranked by Datamonitor as the fastest growing contact center market in the world. In this country, Altitude Software solutions are now in use by the majority of the top 10 contact center outsourcing companies by revenue and agent positions, including companies such as Contax, CSU, Dedic, Teleperformance, TMKT and Voxline. The Middle East & Africa region is following that global trend with the largest and most profitable contact centre outsourcing operations today powered by Altitude uCI, from Saudi Arabia to Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Iran, Bahrain and the UAE.

"While the outsourcing market in Western Europe and North America is well advanced, there are as well significant opportunities in the MEA region. For instance, the whole GCC along with North Africa hold tremendous promise for new outsourcing contracts, specifically in financial services, national governments and telcos," added Boukhris.

"Managing multi-channel customer interactions continues to be an important focus area as Middle Eastern companies look to differentiate themselves from competitors," explained Yasser Aoudi, ESH Managing Director. "Industry experts are predicting strong demand for customer interaction management solutions in MENA. ESH and Altitude Software are already largely established in the region, and we look forward to reinforce our presence throughout 2007.'