Call Centers Need Technology Upgrade: Analyst

Collection companies and others who use call centers as a primary business channel are seeking more effective technologies, which may bode well for new companies entering the market, according to Jeff Kagan, an Atlanta-based telecommunications consultant.

One of those firms could be Varolii Corp., a company that provides on-demand, interactive customer communications solutions through a fully managed software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model. Varolii recently announced plans for an initial public offering.

The company derives “a significant portion of our revenues from the sale of our solutions for use in the debt collections process,” according to a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Kagan said he doesn’t follow Varolii.

Kagan notes that call center technology is often inefficient. Typically, an automatic dialing system will call a consumer; when the consumer answers, a live agent or recording is to be on the other end. But, increasingly, the consumer picks up the phone and there is a noticeable delay before an agent or recording is on the other end, Kagan said. So the consumer hangs up. The more this continues, the less likely the connection is ever made, reducing the effectiveness of the call center.

There are other, older, technologies in some call centers as well, Kagan said. So there is room for companies to provide newer, hardware and software that will enable call centers to be more efficient.

“There’s plenty of demand for technology that will get the job done at a reasonable cost, because it will enable call centers to touch more consumers,” Kagan said.