Call Centers are investment not costs

Dubai, UAE, January 28, 2009 - Amidst the current economic woes surrounding regional organisations of all sizes, reducing costs is a critical concern, and the first to be hit are call centres.  Avaya will use the Middle East Call Centre Conference and Exhibition (MECC) as a platform to address the concerns of businesses and how they can optimize their call centre resources.

Avaya is encouraging call centre operators across the region to offer their customers easy-to-use and effective contact options of their choice, while making the most of reduced agent resources. The company is also urging businesses to view their call centres as an asset rather than a cost centre.

Neville Perry, Consulting System Engineer for Avaya MENA and Turkey who is delivering a presentation on 'Providing Superior Customer Service in a down turned economy' at the conference says: "When there is an economic downturn, business activities tend to slow down and companies look to reduce costs by reducing human resources and allied expenses. While people are the largest and most expensive resource in any organization, they are the most important. But with fewer employees, providing customer service during an economic downturn can be a challenge. Customers expect a high-level of service, and more so in difficult times. Maintaining "intelligent customer service" in an economic downturn means making the most of existing applications as well a new technology."

Call Centres in and across the region are considered more of a cost centre rather than a valuable investment. For call centers, some experts estimate that service reps and supervisors account for up to 75% of a center's expenses. With call centre managers now seeking quality solutions with zero downtime and lesser agents to run the show, Avaya is responding with innovative tools to maintain the same level of performance even with reduced resources.

Perry adds: "Customer service is all about meeting customer expectations. Avaya is providing call centre products and solutions that help organizations deliver the highest levels of customer service, while maintaining an efficient cost-structure. High-quality customer service is more important than ever for businesses in these challenging times, and it is an area we intend to continue innovating and leading in," added Perry.

Avaya leads the worldwide Contact Centre market with a global market share 38 per cent*. Avaya powers some of the regions busiest call centres across the region including Etisalat, Emirates Bank, and Extensya in Jordan. The company has also been positioned by Gartner in its Leaders Quadrant for Contact Centre Infrastructure Worldwide.

At the exhibition, Avaya will be showcasing its latest midsize call centre solutions and reporting solutions designed to track agent behaviors so that businesses can win customers and improve contact centre performance.

The Middle East Call Centre conference and exhibition runs from February 2-5 at the Dubai International Convention Centre.  MECC is the region's longest running and largest gathering of call centre professionals and suppliers.

*Gartner Market Share, Contact Centres, Worldwide 2007. Drew Kraus. June 2008 

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About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems.  The company provides unified communications, contact centers, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

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© Press Release 2009