CRM - February 2008 - (Page 48)

SCOUTING REPORT BY DONNA FLUSS Monitoring the Quality Monitors What you need to know about quality management and liability recording solutions T HE QUALITY management/liability recording technology segment—considered part of workforce optimization (WFO)—continues to be one of the strongest performers in the contact center market. Even more impressive, innovative functionality from this market, such as speech analytics and workforce management, has slowly started to trickle out to the greater enterprise. THE PRODUCT The core of a comprehensive quality management/liability recording (QM/LR) suite is expanding. (See Figure 1.) End users now expect the following features: 100 percent recording—time-division multiplexing (TDM) and Internet Protocol (IP)—with advanced retrieval and playback features; support for both TDM and IP recording using a single interface and the ability to migrate between the two without replacing the rest of the application; ability to record voice and accompanying screens simultaneously; capacity to handle multichannel transactions— voice, email, chat, and collaboration sessions; computer-telephony integration; software for identifying and analyzing agent performance and trends; reporting (standard and ad hoc); prepackaged capability for integration with many automatic call distributors as well as with interactive voice response and speech recognition applications; application programming interfaces and software development tool kits to facilitate integration with CRM, enterprise resource planning, and other business applications; a single standardized platform (technology stack) for the entire suite; one database maintaining one copy of recorded calls; a portal-based framework for delivering information to stakeholders; scorecards and dashboards; and a services-oriented architecture. In addition to continuous improvements in QM/LR suite functionality during the past four years, new enhancements are already on the way. The leading suites are being upgraded on a semiannual or annual basis, and vendors continue to improve some of the older components. During 2007, a number of vendors came to market with releases that included substantial improvements to their quality management modules. One example of innovation seen in a number of applications was the improvement or total rewrite of the quality assurance development environment to make it much easier for end users to create agent evaluation templates. At this time, almost all of the vendors have released solutions with administration modules and quality assurance development environments that are either 100 percent Web-based or use “smart” technology. MARKET GROWTH Vendor and investor interest in QM/LR has driven strong and steady growth rates. During 2006, new entrants, new offerings, and organic growth significantly increased the size of the QM/LR segment, reaching more than $2.1 billion, a 106.1 percent increase from the prior year. (It’s important to note that these numbers reflect total revenue for the companies in the QM/LR market, including dollars attributed to other market segments, such as contact center infrastructure.) Although this market could not match its unprecedented growth rate of 2006, 2007 was another very strong year. We estimate that, by the end of 2007, the market grew by at least 10 percent to more than $2.3 billion. This growth was fueled by acquisitions that expanded the revenue www.destinationCRM.com Speech Analytics Enterprise Performance Mgmt. Surveying Back Office Value Proposition Contact Center eLearning Coaching Workforce Mgmt. QM/Recording SUITE Call Center Quality Assurance Recording Source: DMG Consulting, November 2007 Customer-Focused Strategy Figure 1: Quality Management/Liability Recording Suites 48 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | FEBRUARY 2008 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - February 2008

CRM - February 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Loyalty Riddle CRM Drives Down-Market Out of the Gate: Marketers Rate ’08 Traits The Pulse Consultants Adapt to CRM’s Changing Landscape Required Reading Cover Story: CRM Gets Serious Contact Center Solutions Always On Rumble in the Office The Smallest Slice Tying Up Cable’s Loose Ends Burning Up the Paper Trail Sunny Skies for Knology No More Bumps for BlueRoads Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - February 2008

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