2015 north american contact center solutions …...best practices research © frost & sullivan 2...

2015

2015 North American Contact Center Solutions Customer Value Leadership Award

BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH

© Frost & Sullivan 2 “We Accelerate Growth”

Contents

Background and Company Performance ........................................................................ 3

Industry Challenges .............................................................................................. 3

Customer Impact and Business Impact of inContact ................................................. 3

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 7

Significance of Customer Value Leadership .................................................................... 8

Understanding Customer Value Leadership .................................................................... 8

Key Benchmarking Criteria .................................................................................... 9

Best Practice Award Analysis for inContact .................................................................... 9

Decision Support Scorecard ................................................................................... 9

Customer Impact ............................................................................................... 10

Business Impact ................................................................................................. 10

Decision Support Matrix ...................................................................................... 11

The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards ..................... 12

Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 12

Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices ................................................................................................................. 13

About Frost & Sullivan .............................................................................................. 14



Background and Company Performance

Industry Challenges

The contact center systems market might be mature, but it also is being disrupted. After

three decades of premise-based contact center solutions dominating the landscape, in

2013, cloud-based solutions vaulted ahead in sales. The reasons companies have adopted

cloud-based solutions are many, including cost effectiveness, flexibility and scalability, and

the ability to fund contact center expenditures out of OpEx rather than CapEx funds.

However, despite the groundswell of interest, the cloud-based market for contact centers

hasn’t been without issues. As customer interest and adoption has increased, a fierce

battle has ensued around speed-to-market. While a few companies are pure-play cloud,

an array of premise-based vendors have tried varying strategies to enter the cloud market

themselves, including partnering with hosted solutions providers or quickly creating scaled

down versions of existing premise-based solutions. Still other providers created hybrid

solutions. This has produced a complex competitive environment for customers to

navigate.

In addition, there have been a number of issues that also have held back many in

changing to the cloud. These include the worry that cloud-based solutions aren’t

necessarily as secure, or won’t maintain privacy, aren’t as reliable, or that companies

might cede too much control of their systems. Due to the quick rise of many new market

entrants, the perception also has been that cloud contact centers might not be as feature

rich as their premise-based counterparts.

Clearly then, in order for any company to take a leadership position in the cloud contact

center market, these aforementioned issues (and others) need to be addressed.

Customer Impact and Business Impact of inContact

Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value

Founded in 1997, inContact is one of the most established of the cloud contact center

solutions providers. The early cloud contact center market participants suffered from the

reputation of having solutions that were not as feature-rich as their premise-based

counterparts. However, inContact’s longevity and experience has created one of the

strongest portfolios of contact center solutions in the market, with solutions that address

the entire range of contact center functionality.

inContact’s customers realize the price and performance benefits of being able to use

OpEx versus CapEx funds, enabling them to possess the range of features and applications

they need without having to fund on-premise installations. In addition, inContact offers a

pay-as-you-go pricing model, which eliminates licensing fees. This has been an attractive

model for companies that see seasonal spikes in call volume, such as retailers and



insurance carriers, and inContact has seen particular success with state and local

governments that have periodic call spikes, such as around tax time.

But it’s more than just the benefits cloud-based solutions offer customers that drive price

and performance value for inContact. It’s also some of the unique features the company

offers. For instance, inContact’s Personal Connection™ outbound dialing solution provides

a patented feature that eliminates the awkward pause that so often happens with legacy

dialers that place an outbound call, which is then answered without an agent on the line.

Eliminating the pause can dramatically cut down on hang-ups as well as establish a better

initial response as an agent is on the line to greet the customer.

For instance, Hoveround, an inContact customer for six years, added inContact’s Personal

Connection outbound dialing capability in 2014 with excellent results. The company

provides electric scooters, power chairs and other mobility solutions aimed at people with

mobility issues. The majority of the company’s outbound communication is for customer

outreach and contacting physician offices.

In essence, Personal Connection enabled Hoveround agents to immediately connect with

customers, eliminating any awkward pause between call answer and an agent being on

the line. The increase in automatic connection drove productivity up, with an increase in

number of calls handled from June of 2013 to June of 2014 from 74 a day to 105, an

increase of 42%. In addition, the service level goal of answering calls within 20 seconds or

less rose from 50-60 percent to 90 percent over the same time period. The company also

realized a 116% increase in lead conversions (completed applications) from 6-8 per day

per agent to 13-15 per day. At the outset of installing Personal Connection dialer, the

connection rate with customers went from 19% to 30%, and has since risen to 46% and

climbing.

Hoveround also saw additional performance benefits. Once Personal Connection was

installed there was an immediate improvement in agent engagement because agents

knew they would be immediately connected to a customer or prospect. Finally, Hoveround

has seen benefits beyond the contact center, and has much of the company on the

application so that it can better route and track callers who often call in for assistance to

areas outside of the contact center.

Overall, inContact has packages available for any size business and has taken care to have

solutions that cost effectively fit different business segments. The Uptivity WFO suite, for

example, is a modular, customizable, and cost-effective solution for small to mid-sized

(SMB) businesses. Similarly, the recent partnership with RingCentral and the resulting

launch of the RingCentral Contact Center (powered by inContact), provides SMBs with an

integrated contact center and office solution in an affordable package.



Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience

inContact’s strategy to focus solely on the cloud has enabled it to address the many

industry challenges within the cloud contact center market. First, the all-in-one, multi-

tenant approach enables it to offer a breadth of capabilities without the integration hassles

found in on-premise deployments.

Second, the company has addressed cloud issues of reliability head-on. It was the first

major cloud provider with a published SLA Guarantee, and is a charter member of the

Cloud Security Alliance among other leading companies such as Google, Amazon,

Microsoft, and HP. Its all-in-one, multi-tenant cloud platform is run on two sets of fully-

redundant and mirrored network operating Supercenters (NOC – inContact Cloud Super

Site) in Dallas and Los Angeles, and Munich and Frankfurt. Additional network facilities,

voice gateways and data centers exist in London, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, and

boasts the industry’s best published service level agreement of 99.99%.

inContact also owns and operates a global, geographically redundant, carrier-grade

network offering customers end-to-end connectivity monitoring and reduced connectivity

charges and per minute costing, and toll-free numbers at competitive prices. The network

currently supports more than 155 thousand agents globally, and handles over three billion

interactions per year.

inContact also has developed or acquired solutions to address the specific needs of

customers in different market segments, from SMBs to large enterprise accounts and

business process outsourcers.

Finally, to satisfy the requirements of a broad swath of companies, inContact has

developed a strong ecosystem of partners, and has done significant integration work with

third-party suppliers. Key CRM integrations include Salesforce, Oracle Service Cloud and

Siebel. Other key partners include HireIQ, Jacada, Creative Virtual, SpiceCSM, and

Zendesk.

Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience

Customers have come to expect inContact to consistently update and innovate its product

stack. The company achieves this through two or three major software releases each

year. For instance, the second release in 2013 included Personal Connection, Agent

Console for Salesforce, and Supervisor On-the-Go Mobile Application for the iPad. The

2014 spring release included new automated actions with the Workforce-Intelligent

Contact Center, new context-aware SMS capability for mobile interactions; more

integration and new features for inContact’s Personal Connection Outbound Solution and a

new Direct Access reporting solution. Finally, highlights from the Spring 2015 release

added 25 new or updated “RESTful” APIs, bringing the total available for developers to

165 (as of Fall 2015 now at 210). The release also contained a new agent interface for



Salesforce, and enhancements to Personal Connection outbound dialing. The latest

release, Fall 2015, includes an all-new multichannel agent interface—MAX My Agent

Experience™. Designed to improve agent experience and efficiency with streamlined

handling of all contact center interactions, regardless of channel, the context-sensitive and

dynamic interface is architected to handle omnichannel experiences across the customer

journey.

inContact also has made key acquisitions in order to bolster its product set. For example,

in May 2014 inContact acquired Uptivity, bringing an additional WFO suite option into the

portfolio targeted to midsize contact centers. Within four months it had integrated the

software and released a cloud option for Uptivity WFO. The company will continue to sell

the Verint solution in the enterprise as part of the full inContact cloud WFO portfolio as

well.

inContact ensures that the ownership experience encompasses great service as well by

maintaining a strong in-house professional services (PS) team and mature service model

with a proven and repeatable implementation methodology and high touch aftercare

services. The company’s PS team has deep expertise in cloud and contact center

operations and has engaged in over 1,600 cloud contact center implementations.

Advanced, detailed service packages are available to provide a flexible level of ongoing

professional services, business consulting, technical support, education and training.

Criterion 4: Brand Equity

inContact’s brand recognition has steadily been growing in the past several years, and has

attracted the attention of customers and competitors alike. For instance, the company is

appearing in competitive sales conference material, and on the short list of vendors

competitors speak of seeing in the market. The company’s focus on the cloud and feature

rich offerings has also attracted notable partners, which have contributed to its brand

recognition, including system integrator and value-added reseller partners normally found

in the ranks of well established contact center players. Black Box and Carousel are two

such examples. In addition to RingCentral, Verizon and Unify also entrust inContact to

power their cloud-based contact centers.

Criterion 5: Financial Performance

2014 was the strongest year in the company’s history, with consolidated revenue of $172

million, up 32% year-over-year. In addition, 2014 software revenues grew 46% and

topped $100 million for the first time. Q4 SaaS bookings also reached record levels, up

45% year-over-year.

The first quarter of 2015 showed similar results with consolidated revenue of $51.3

million, up 39% year-over-year and software segment revenues of $32.5 million, up 62%



year-over-year. Finally, Q1 2015 SaaS bookings were at record levels, up 27% year-over-

year.

Criterion 6: Growth Potential

As one of the leaders in the cloud contact center market, inContact is poised for continued

growth. The company continues to increase market share and net key competitive wins.

As an example, in Q4 2014 it closed 109 contracts with 66 new logo customers and 43

expansion deals. For the full year 2014, it closed 390 contracts with 222 new customer

logos and 168 expansions. The company’s competitive win rate was 60% for the year and

65% for Q4 2014. The company’s growth outlook appears even more positive when

considering the capabilities and reach of a strong stable of partners, especially new

partners such as RingCentral.

Conclusion

inContact is one of the pioneers in the cloud contact center industry, and has consistently

striven to go above and beyond what premise-based leaders have delivered to premise-

based customers for years. inContact’s long history of success in the cloud contact center

market, its full-featured product set, stellar services and support, and its commitment to

innovation are just some of the reasons why inContact has earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2015

Customer Value Leadership (CVL) Award for Customer Contact Solutions in North America.



Significance of Customer Value Leadership Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon customers purchasing from your

company, and then making the decision to return time and again. Delighting customers is

therefore the cornerstone of any successful growth strategy. To achieve these dual goals

(growth and customer delight), an organization must be best-in-class in three key areas:

understanding demand, nurturing the brand, differentiating from the competition. This

three-fold approach to delivering customer value is explored further below.

Understanding Customer Value Leadership Customer Value Leadership is defined and measured by two macro-level categories:

customer impact and business impact. These two sides work together to make customers

feel valued, and confident in their products’ quality and long shelf life. This dual

satisfaction translates into repeat purchases and a high lifetime customer value.



Key Benchmarking Criteria

For the Customer Value Leadership Award, we evaluated two key factors—Customer

Impact and Business Impact—according to the criteria identified below.

Customer Impact




Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience


Business Impact


Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition

Criterion 3: Operational Efficiency


Criterion 5: Human Capital

Best Practice Award Analysis for inContact

Decision Support Scorecard

To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance

categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool

allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to

the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that

basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance

evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below.

RATINGS GUIDELINES

The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Customer Impact and Business Impact

(i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each

criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of

this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small changes to

the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant change in the overall relative

rankings of the companies.



The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the

interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players

as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3.

DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR CUSTOMER VALUE LEADERSHIP AWARD (ILLUSTRATIVE)

Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)

Customer Value Leadership Customer Impact

Business Impact

Average Rating

inContact 9 9 9.0

Competitor 2 8.5 8 8.25

Competitor 3 8 8 8

Customer Impact


Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar

offerings in the market


Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that

addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints


Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company’s product or service, and have a

positive experience throughout the life of the product or service

Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience

Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality


Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty

Business Impact


Requirement: Strong overall financial performance in terms of revenues, revenue growth,

operating margin and other key financial metrics

Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition

Requirement: Customer facing processes support the efficient and consistent acquisition of

new customers, even as it enhances retention of current customers

Criterion 3: Operational Efficiency

Requirement: Staff is able to perform assigned tasks productively, quickly, and to a high

quality standard




Requirements: Customer focus strengthens brand, reinforces customer loyalty and

enhances growth potential

Criterion 5: Human Capital

Requirement: Company culture is characterized by a strong commitment to quality and

customers, which in turn enhances employee morale and retention

Decision Support Matrix

Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard,

analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to

visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at

best-in-class levels.

DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR CUSTOMER VALUE LEADERSHIP AWARD (ILLUSTRATIVE)

High

Low

Low High

Business Impact

Customer Impact

inContact

Competitor 2 Competitor 3



The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards

Research Methodology

Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research

methodology represents the analytical

rigor of our research process. It offers a

360-degree-view of industry challenges,

trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of

Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies.

Too often, companies make important

growth decisions based on a narrow

understanding of their environment,

leading to errors of both omission and

commission. Successful growth strategies

are founded on a thorough understanding

of market, technical, economic, financial,

customer, best practices, and demographic

analyses. The integration of these research

disciplines into the 360-degree research

methodology provides an evaluation

platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at best-

in-class levels.

360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN THE CHAOS

Technology

Obsolescence

Disruptive

Technologies

New

Applications

CEO

Demographics

Needs

and

PerceptionsSegmentation

Buying

Behavior

Branding

and

Positioning

Competitive

Benchmarking

Emerging

Competition

Competitive

Strategy

Capital

Investments

Availability

of

Capital

Country

Risk

Economic

Trends

Crowd

Sourcing

Growth

Strategies

Career

Development

Growth

Implementation

Industry

Evolution

New Vertical

Markets

Industry

Expansion

Industry

Convergence

Emerging

Technologies

Smart Cities

Sustainability

New Business

Cultures

GeoPolitical

Stability



Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices Our awards team follows a 10-step process (illustrated below) to evaluate award

candidates and assess their fit with our best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity

of our awards process are based on close adherence to this process.

STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT

1 Monitor, target, and screen

Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe

• Conduct in-depth industry research

• Identify emerging sectors • Scan multiple geographies

Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all best-practice criteria

2 Perform 360-degree research

Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline

• Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners

• Assess candidates’ fit with best-practice criteria

• Rank all candidates

Matrix positioning all candidates’ performance relative to one another

3

Invite thought leadership in best practices

Perform in-depth examination of all candidates

• Confirm best-practice criteria • Examine eligibility of all candidates

• Identify any information gaps

Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates

4

Initiate research director review

Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles

• Brainstorm ranking options • Invite multiple perspectives on candidates’ performance

• Update candidate profiles

Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper

5

Assemble panel of industry experts

Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders

• Share findings • Strengthen cases for candidate eligibility

• Prioritize candidates

Refined list of prioritized award candidates

6

Conduct global industry review

Build consensus on award candidates’ eligibility

• Hold global team meeting to review all candidates

• Pressure-test fit with criteria • Confirm inclusion of all eligible candidates

Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide

7 Perform quality check

Develop official award consideration materials

• Perform final performance benchmarking activities

• Write nominations • Perform quality review

High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees’ successes

8

Reconnect with panel of industry experts

Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient

• Review analysis with panel • Build consensus • Select winner

Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria

9 Communicate recognition

Inform award recipient of award recognition

• Present award to the CEO • Inspire the organization for continued success

• Celebrate the recipient’s performance

Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand

10 Take strategic action

Share award news with stakeholders and customers

• Coordinate media outreach • Design a marketing plan • Assess award’s role in future strategic planning

Widespread awareness of recipient’s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees



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2015 north american contact center solutions …...best practices research © frost & sullivan 2...

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