The BPO margin crisis no one wants to talk about
With the outsourcing space becoming increasingly cutthroat, BPOs find themselves trapped in a relentless race to the bottom. Aggressive pricing demands from clients and undercutting by low-cost competitors leave local operators with no choice but to sacrifice margins...
Omnichannel communication, automation help businesses have better conversations
South Africa’s business communications landscape is undergoing a major transformation, driven by the proliferation of digital channels and the rise in use of technology to deliver improved customer experience (CX). By Rob Lith, chief commercial officer at Telviva At a...
Career lessons from the BPO industry
August in South Africa is inevitably a month that calls for reflection and introspection on the options facing women for meaningful, career-long employment opportunities. By Anusha Ramraj, chief financial officer of CCI South Africa As I reflect on my journey, I am...
Capitec implements Amazon Connect solution
Capitec has unveiled major client service advancements by implementing in-app calling via Amazon Connect, a cutting-edge cloud-based contact centre solution. The rollout of in-app calling through Amazon Connect has already delivered a 30% reduction in call handling...
Is generative AI all it’s cracked up to be?
It’s been about two years since generative AI (GenAI) exploded onto the mass market and into the boardroom buzzword lexicon. By Warren Hawkins, MD of Euphoria Telecom What began as a curiosity has quickly snowballed into a business necessity. It might sound...
New service enables local call rates for UK-SA businesses
Many businesses have operations in South Africa and the UK; however, communication costs can quickly get out of hand and even become prohibitive if multinational businesses do not have a solution to comply with local, in-country call rates, explains Telviva Chief...
CCI takes home an armful of awards
In the first major industry awards event of 2025, CCI scooped the award for Best Contact Centre at the CCMG National Contact Centre Awards, held recently in Johannesburg. CCMG, the Contact Centre Management Group, is the professional body in the contact centre...
Qrent introduces circular IT for call centres
Sustainable IT solutions provider Qrent has introduced targeted solutions for the BPO industry. Its agile, on‑demand IT provisioning enables call centres to scale their IT infrastructure up or down in alignment with fluctuating demand. In response to mounting pressure...
Retro Rabbit’s Call Centre AI takes over the heavy lifting
In an era where customers expect instant and accurate support, many contact centres still struggle with outdated manual processes that slow response times and increase errors. Retro Rabbit has launched Call Centre AI, a cutting-edge solution that automates critical...
Traditional customer contact channels are leading to a Kodak moment
South African businesses that continue to cling to traditional customer contact channels instead of adapting to new innovative solutions are passively digging an early grave. Many of them today remain resistant to embracing smartbot (AI-powered chatbot) technology and...
AI’s language switch, mid-conversation
Two South African technology company, Saigen and Callbi, are to enable a seamless switch between languages mid-conversation across South Africa’s most commonly spoken languages, including isiZulu, Sesotho, Setswana, Afrikaans and English. For South African businesses...
Building stronger communities through partnership
No matter where in the world a company is based, it exists within its community, and the success of one is by some measure linked to the success of the other. By Peter Andrew, CEO of CCI South Africa Nowhere is this truer than in the business process outsourcing (BPO...