SA’s BPO sector well placed to absorb matric learners
In the third quarter of 2020 the unemployment rate in South Africa this year rose to a record 30,8%, with discouraged work seekers increasing by 9,1%. While this is an indication of how the lockdown affected employment in the country, the good news is that some...
Key considerations for contact centre investments
Technology investments into cloud, contact centre and process have become critical to business success. These solutions allow for organisations to improve the way they interact with customers, improve experiences, and proactively manage processes and systems. They are...
Chatbots could become the front line of banking service
This year has seen the rapid acceleration of the Work from Home (WFH) model as businesses rushed to accommodate the need for social distancing and reduced interpersonal contact. By Harkrishan Singh, director, application development at In2IT For the banking industry,...
Shifting collaboration to the cloud post-Covid
As the 'Covid effect' continues to accelerate the transition to the cloud, businesses need to put in place a deployment or migration strategy to ensure business as usual. Anne-Meine Gramsma, chief commercial officer at ContactCenter4All, discusses the case for...
Pandemic impacts South Africa’s uptake of CCaaS
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that is pushing businesses to rapidly reinvent the way they operate is an additional driving force for the uptake of contact centre as a service (CCaaS) in South Africa, putting the future of the traditional contact centre model under...
Covid-proofing the contact centre
Logistics, costs and complexity - the contact centre has faced an entirely different challenge in 2020. When the pandemic was first felt in the shape of lockdowns and remote working, many companies were able to rapidly iterate and adapt. They moved their people into...
The customer is always fast
The Microsoft Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report underscored the value of resolving customer issues at speed and the importance of equipping contact centre staff with the right knowledge. This customer demand is dictating the rise in real-time...
Intelligent GPS for the cloud contact centre
What defines efficiency in the modern call centre? Is it always-on access? Is it the omnichannel? Is it the ability to engage with customers in real time? In the past, the answer would be a shrug and answering either the door or the phone to a customer looking for...
Multicloud architecture from Genesys
Genesys has announced what is believes to be the industry's first native multicloud architecture. Genesys Engage customers can now more easily adopt cloud-delivered innovations, resulting in more personalised service that drives customer engagement and loyalty. In...
Clickatell launches Chat Desk
Clickatell has launched Chat Desk, a digital contact centre solution that helps agents resolve customer queries and obtain customer insights in real-time using chat channels for live agent support. The solution addresses the growing consumer demand for easy and...
Chatbots can improve workflows in the ‘new normal’
Consumer behaviours and expectations are constantly evolving. By Andrew Bourne, regional manager: Africa at Zoho Corporation Today, people expect a high level of interactivity with the brands they deal with, whether it's a compliment, concern, complaint, or question...
The role of chatbots in an uncertain society
From single-purpose programmes that respond to common consumer queries to advanced digital assistants that evolve as they process information, chatbots – or conversational agents – are becoming increasingly popular and utilised by businesses to deliver proactive and...