Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: Datamonitor
Published: March 2006
Product Code: R313-15578Description Introduction
The public sector is the fastest growing global contact center vertical market. Yet, the public sector is a difficult market to address due to budget constraints and the preference to engage with experienced public sector vendors. This brief explores and provides strategic and tactical initiatives to guide vendors in this evolving market.
Scope
- Efficiency does not have to be compromised by budget constraints.
- Profiling different public sector authorities is crucial in targeting appropriately.
- Pricing and purchasing strategies need to be modified as agencies are not seen as profit centers.
Highlights
Despite contact centers being seen as a means to improve constituent services, the public sector is not known for delivering solutions that are easy to use and simple to understand. The public sector needs to learn from the private sector so that their contact centers can provide a better service to their constituents.
The allocated amount for contact centers will not be consistent with all public sector organizations. What is consistent is the importance of the contact center in reaching constituents and promoting 'open-government'. Understanding the different layers of government is a good basis for defining and classifying a vendor's target audience.
Reasons to Purchase
- Understand how implementing the right technologies will drive effectiveness and deliver efficiency.
- Recognize how governments' contact centers do not have to be confined to traditional telephony services to communicate with constituents.
- Identify the key attributes vendors need to highlight to attract authorities' attention.
Table of Contents - DATAMONITOR VIEW
- CATALYST
- Overall domestic agent position growth is slowing or declining in North America and Western Europe. However, technology and business changes: including IP telephony, virtualization, managed and hosted services, workforce optimization technologies, SME sector growth, and increased public sector spending - are driving increased investment. Consequently technology spending will continue to rise, but learning exactly how to tap into it will be more critical than ever.
- SUMMARY
- METHODOLOGY
- ANALYSIS
- Efficiency does not have to be compromised by budget constraints
- Efficiency is needed in the public sector to deliver constituent value without compromising effectiveness
- Implementing the right technologies will drive effectiveness and deliver efficiency
- Multi-channel contacts may deliver efficiency, but it can marginalize some constituents
- Encouraging a two-way flow of communication will improve community-government relations
- Governments' contact centers do not have to be confined to traditional telephony services to communicate
- Enhancements in IVR may improve communication, but it may still be too cold for some
- Lifting the bureaucratic veil for improved public services and constituent happiness
- How does this concern and benefit the vendor when implementing a contact center solution?
- Vendors - Sell to the public sector's needs, not yours
- Profiling the authority is crucial in targeting appropriately
- Attributes vendors need to highlight to attract authorities' attention
- Certain vendor characteristics may hinder decisions
- Pricing and purchasing strategies need to be modified as agencies are not seen as profit centers
- Networking and hosted contact centers as an attractive alternative for purchasing contact centers
- How do vendors procure a contact center contract from the public sector?
- Key take-aways
- APPENDIX
- Definitions
- Public sector
- Contact center
- Supplementary data
- Further reading
- Ask the analyst
- List of Tables
- Table 1: North America and EMEA Public sector Agent Positions and Technology Spend
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Combined EMEA & North American APs and Contact Center Technology spend
- Figure 2: US Government authorities are pursuing multi-channel strategies to serve its constituents
- Figure 3: Contact centers are top priority for US state and local government authorities
- Figure 4: Examples of local government institutions in the UK, France, and Germany by tier and by type
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