APAC Contact Center Market Employs a Record 3.16 Million Agents in 2010: Frost

The Asia Pacific region continues to be a growth center for the contact center industry. To meet customer demand, the region registered an 8.5 percent growth in contact center agent seats in 2010. By 2017, the number of seats is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5 percent, according to a study by Frost & Sullivan, a research firm.

In line with the number of seats, agent numbers also increased. The Asia Pacific region boasts 2.2 million agent seats in 2010 and this may reach 4.2 million in 2017. Attrition continues to pose hurdles in the contact center industry, according to the survey called “Assessment of Asia Pacific Contact Center Market CY2010.”

Thanks to the economic downturn, the industry focused on cost efficiency. The Asia Pacific is the offshoring destination of choice among service providers. The key markets within the region include India, the Philippines, Malaysia and China.

The level of competition is intensifying, with various Asian countries aiming for a competitive edge. The focus on customer centric approach by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as large enterprises will fuel considerable growth in coming years.

“To stand out from the competition, established participants are focusing more on knowledge-intensive business processes that require significant domain expertise, rather than simply relying on their success in the voice segment,” said Krishna Baidya, industry manager at Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert), in a statement.

The investment per seat is higher in markets such as Australia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, where costs and level of application sophistication are higher than those in China, India and other markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

According to a recent Aberdeen Group study, customers want to interact with contact centers at their own time and convenience. To serve such customers, the modern contact center needs to be available on-demand 24/7.

As per the research, there are significant benefits extending beyond cost savings if the switch is made from contact center services to an on-demand service provider.