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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTo no one\u2019s surprise, a recent study found that contact centers are playing an increasingly important role in business strategy. But more importantly, the study also revealed that \u201cCIOs will have to work more closely with business partners to integrate a proliferation of customer engagement channels and disparate IT systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
That's the word from The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, which took a deep dive into research giant Deloitte\u2019s (News<\/a> \u2013 Alert<\/a>) 2015 Global Contact Center Survey.<\/p>\n \u201cNearly all survey respondents\u201496 percent\u2014said their contact center operations were expanding, according to the survey of 300 businesses on five continents,\u201d the Journal<\/em> he said. Business growth and customer experience demands were the two main factors behind that expansion, but they were far from the only ones. Still, the growth was worth noting.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2013\u2014the first year the survey was conducted\u201462 percent of respondents said that the customer experience delivered through the contact center was a competitive differentiator; this year, that figure rose to 85 percent,\u201d the Deloitte findings showed.<\/p>\n Andy Haas, director and leader of the customer operations practice at Deloitte, added to the discussion by noting a change in reporting structures. For example, in 2013, only 37 percent of respondents said their contact centers reported to a single department. Today, that number stands at a strong 74 percent. \u201dThat\u2019s a big jump,\u201d Haas told the Journal<\/em>. \u201cHolding a single leader accountable for contact center performance underscores its importance to the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n The survey also cited other figures. Respondents expect growth across all contact center channels, primarily for simple inquiries. That growth is expected to come via the Web (83 percent), via email (80 percent), and via mobile (77 percent). For complex inquiries, the figures shift slightly toward voice (68 percent), web chat (55 percent), and email (53 percent).<\/p>\n Looking ahead, software-as-a-service (SaaS (News<\/a> ![](\"http:\/\/images.tmcnet.com\/tmc\/vertical\/financial\/images\/chart_icon.gif\"){kind=icon}
\u2013 Alert<\/a>)) solutions will likely be the technology strategy of choice for contact centers. \u201cRespondents were most likely to use SaaS CRM today, while they expected to see the biggest increase in SaaS options for workforce management, social media, and mobile over the next two years,\u201d the Journal<\/em> noted. And Deloitte\u2019s Haas added, observing that cloud-based systems could lead to further integration issues. \u201cCloud offerings make it easy for the business to deploy a system quickly without IT involvement,\u201d Haas said. \u201cSuddenly you wake up and find you have 50 different solutions supporting customer engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n