CCPM Market Is Poised For Progress

The growth of the contact center performance management (CCPM) market is projected to get a shot in the arm, thanks in large part to applications' ability to provide timely views of organization performance: The space will burgeon by 27.5 percent in 2007 and 25 percent in 2008, according to "Contact Center Performance Management Market Report," DMG Consulting's 230-page guide to the CCPM market announced today. The report includes benefits of implementing CCPM; an overview of the market, including trends, opportunities, and challenges impacting buying decisions; a detailed plan for crafting an effective CCPM program; and CCPM best practices. The report also features CCPM adoption rate and market share analysis, primary categories of vendors attempting to serve the CCPM market, and comparisons of CCPM vendors including AIM Technology, Merced Systems, NICE Systems, Verint Systems, VPI, and Witness Systems. DMG estimates that the number of CCPM implementations will have increased from 120 in December 2004 to 641 in September 2006. It should be noted, though, that while implementations are on the upswing, adoption levels are soft, according to the report. The current adoption rate for CCPM apps tallies in at a mere 1.03 percent in North America. The report's findings reflected significantly strong customer satisfaction rating for products and vendors, but market penetration is low because the purpose, value proposition, and benefits of CCPM remain unclear. That, however, is expected to change this year, as market leaders bolster marketing investments, according to the consultancy. Donna Fluss, principal of DMG Consulting and author of the report, contends that companies are recognizing that CCPM apps can provide quantifiable benefits for contact centers. For instance, contact centers can realize a return of two to three times the investment costs for a six-month to 18-month period, according to the report. But she adds that other parts of the enterprise, including enterprise senior management, sales and marketing, and operations can also benefit from CCPM deployments. "Contact centers buy applications that help them achieve their goals," Fluss says. "CCPM applications give you the information, give contact center managers--or managers outside the contact center--very timely input on their performance and allow them to take actions to improve their performance." CCPM is about more than pretty reports, according to Fluss. "At a strategic level, contact center performance management provides a framework for aligning the goals of the contact center with those of the corporation," the report states. "At a tactical level, the performance management process uses goals, KPIs, metrics, data sources, and balanced scorecards for capturing and reporting how well the contact center delivers to its objectives in order to identify the actions necessary to address areas of weakness or strength." At a practical level, however, "it streamlines and simplifies contact center reporting, enabling managers to use a carefully selected set of KPIs, metrics, and reports to manage their operation, instead of the numerous reports and hundreds of measures previously required," the report adds. Organizations serious about implementing a successful CCPM program must start with nailing down the process component by identifying the most relevant KPIs, according to Fluss. "Once you know what your KPIs are, what KPIs you need, then you know what it is you need to implement. Then you can select the system that will help you achieve your goals." Related articles: QM Saunters to Continued Uptake Performance Management Spending Will Increase WFM Needs Some Attention