Contact centre outsourcing under spotlight at MECC 2005

According to INSIGHTS President, Dominick Keenaghan, "Contact Centre Outsourcing is a proven new business strategy that many regional companies are interested in. This includes both the organisations who would like to outsource some of their current in-house activities such as customer service and telesales and the outsourcing vendors themselves who are targeting both regional and international outsourcing opportunities. In both areas there are some excellent opportunities for business growth. The challenge the region faces however is that expertise and experience in contact centre practice is still relatively embryonic in the region, and many of the variables that make up an outsourcing agreement such as international call costs and acceptable service level objectives are simply unknowable in many situations."

Despite these hurdles, recent developments point to the region gearing up for a bright contact centre future. Examples here include the efforts being put in by the government of Egypt to position that country as an international call centre destination, the opening of the Dubai Outsource Zone in mid 2005, and the reported re-location of a 1200 person bpo (business process outsourcing) centre from India to Dubai, also in 2005. "Many of these initiatives are targeted at the international market", says Keenaghan, "but ultimately "local" outsourcing especially in Arabic, will emerge to be the far bigger opportunity for the regional players.

The MECC 2005 event in January will seek to quantify and qualify these developments, and provide a proven framework for both buyers and sellers of outsourcing services in order to reach workable, mutually acceptable agreements. One show initiative will see the launch of a Middle East Outsource Forum aimed at helping the region succeed in the international arena. Explained Keenaghan, "there is an initial need for a co-ordinated approach to marketing the Middle East's contact centre outsourcing capability internationally. This will not only minimize marketing and other expenses for current players but also create a much stronger impact with potential customers. By bringing the industry together like this we can build on mutual strengths and do a much more effective job of expanding the outsourcing industry in the region.

Other topics being covered in depth at the MECC 2005 event are key guidance on contact centre strategy customized to the region's unique requirements and best practice on a day-to-day operational and contingency planning basis. All of the main concepts are being illustrated with up-to-date case studies from some of the regions top contact centres including Saudi Telecom Company, Saudia and Batelco.

The supporting MECC 2005 Exhibition opens Sunday January 16th at 10.00 am and is open until 6.00 pm, repeated on January 17.