| While Next Generation Networks
(NGNs) have promised the delivery of new, high-margin enhanced
services the NGN reality today is mainly one of basic services
competing on price, and unsustainable opportunistic services
like dialup internet offload. Now many NGN deployments are
indefinitely delayed. Carriers are looking for “killer
apps” that realize the promise of the NGN technologies.
They are also recognizing that NGN infrastructure can be
understood not as a complete replacement for the current
circuit infrastructure, but as a complementary overlay that
enables specific new services.
Contact Center On-Demand
(sometimes also known as hosted contact center or network-based
contact center) is just such an opportunity. Contact Center
On-Demand might just be that “killer app.” There
is a strong need for contact center solutions, especially
among small and mid-sized enterprises looking to retain
business through high-touch customer care. To survive, they
need service that is on a par with or better than the service
of large competitors with complex in-house contact centers.
But they often cannot afford the high investments and on-going
maintenance costs of such a system. They can, however, afford
reasonably priced hosted services from a trusted carrier
paid for in manageable monthly increments. And that is a
completely new revenue stream for carriers. |