According to Frost & Sullivan, “This research study analyzes trends related to the market for hosted contact center services. Included are consideration of the industry challenges, market drivers, and restraints to adoption of hosted contact center deployments. Market size and [...]]]> Frost & Sullivan has released their latest report on the North American Hosted Contact Center market.

According to Frost & Sullivan, “This research study analyzes trends related to the market for hosted contact center services. Included are consideration of the industry challenges, market drivers, and restraints to adoption of hosted contact center deployments. Market size and forecasts based on deployment size are presented, as are market shares of the leading hosted service providers. Vendor solution offerings and strategies are analyzed in a competitive framework and considerations for market penetration and growth are proposed.” The base year for the research is 2009.

The study is available here.

Applications are available at www.callcenterweek.com/awards and may be submitted for the following categories:

* Best [...]]]> The International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC) issued a call for entries today for the 2010 Call Center Excellence Awards. Winners will be announced during the Awards Luncheon & Ceremony on Wednesday, June 16th at Call Center Week.

Applications are available at www.callcenterweek.com/awards and may be submitted for the following categories:

* Best in Class Call Center (over 200 staff)
* Best in Class Call Center (under 200 staff)
* The Call Center Leader of the Year
* First-Class Job Leveraging Technology For Efficiency and Automation
* Best Performance Leveraging Customer Feedback (new in 2010)
* Greatest Job Creating a Culture that Inspires World-Class Excellence (new in 2010)
* Best Outsourced Provider (new for vendors)
* Best Technology Solutions Provider (new for vendors)

Completed awards application forms must be submitted to IQPC at callcenterawards@iqpc.com by May 8, 2010.

BenchmarkPortal says that “In a recent study, 86% of call centers indicated that they receive calls in a language other than English. In recognition of the challenges presented by the language barrier as well [...]]]> BenchmarkPortal will present the results of a study “How to handle non-English calls: Managing costs and increasing efficiency” in an upcoming webinar.

BenchmarkPortal says that “In a recent study, 86% of call centers indicated that they receive calls in a language other than English. In recognition of the challenges presented by the language barrier as well as the opportunities to increase market share and customer satisfaction, we present to you the collective insights of call center managers across North America into how they manage non-English calls.”

Speakers for the webinar are:

• Bruce Belfiore, Senior Research Executive Center for Customer-Driven Quality™ Purdue Research Park Purdue University
• Michael Edwards, Executive Vice President Voiance Language Services Member of the American Teleservices Association

The webinar takes place Tuesday, April 6 1-2 p.m. (ET); 12-1 p.m. (CT); 10 a.m. (PT). You can register at http://www.voiance.com/Webinar/040610.aspx?sc=purdue

The report profiles research participants in case study format and shares current IVR practices, lessons learned and business practices that have led to [...]]]> The Ascent Group has published a report “IVR Improvement Strategies 2010,” based on research in the fourth-quarter of last year on how different companies and industries are using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology.

The report profiles research participants in case study format and shares current IVR practices, lessons learned and business practices that have led to improved IVR performance.

ACCE bills itself as “The Global Gathering for the Contact Center Community” and includes four days of workshops, case studies, panels, and discussions on a number of contact center-specific topics. Register by April 30, 2010 to save $400.