BT aims hosted CRM at call centers in RP
By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:34:00 07/05/2008
Filed Under: Technology (general), business process outsourcing (BPO), Software
HONG KONG -- BT is riding the software-as-a-service bandwagon and is eyeing the Philippines as a lucrative market for hosted services for call centers.
BT announced it will be marketing its hosted CRM (customer relationship management) services in Asia Pacific markets, including India and the Philippines.
Ruth Rowan, CRM general manager for BT Global Services, believes the Philippines will attract further investments from both companies setting up in-house call centers or those providing third-party services.
BT started doing hosted CRM about three years ago and runs services for clients in the UK. As these customers expand offshore to locations like the Philippines, BT sees further opportunities in these markets.
"We spend a lot of time with end-users and the trend now is rationalization. Rather than having offshore sites in 10 locations, companies are trimming it down to three "superhubs" including India and the Philippines," Rowan said in an interview with INQUIRER.net during BT's Asia Pacific Day here.
The economic slowdown, Rowan said, has accelerated the adoption of the hosted model, in which companies avail of the pay-per-use model.
"Call centers want to run multimedia services but don't have enough capex (capital expenditure) to do that," she said. "This works for call centers that need to ramp up productivity, say you need a thousand workers in a span of three months."
Rowan added this applies to industries like travel agencies that experience a spike in call center work depending on demand. She added BT is currently conducting research on pricing models applicable to markets like India and the Philippines.
PSICOM, a call center services provider with sites in Malaysia and Singapore, runs BT's hosted CRM.
Rowan said BT is planning to conduct an industry event in Manila later this to promote its hosted CRM services.
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