Abstract
CRM and Integration Capabilities to Drive Demand
Advanced applications such as intelligent contact routing and connectivity to enterprise CRM
applications, provided by enterprise computer telephony integration (CTI) vendors form a major
revenue source for the North American CTI market. Continuing CRM implementations are expected to
sustain the current demand for enterprise CTI software. This is because connectivity between the CTI
layer and the CRM application is necessary for the display of customer data contained within the CRM
on the contact center agents screen. Integration between hosted CRM providers is also driving
market growth. On the other hand, the revenues for the basic CTI software are dipping as prices
reach commodity levels and voice data convergence decreases the requirement for the basic system
links. Eventually, demand for IP telephony and open standards are likely to reduce the need for
connectivity through CTI.
This Frost & Sullivan research service provides an overview of and outlook for the North
American CTI software market. The research service provides detailed revenue forecasts by region and
by end user to help design marketing strategies and maximize growth. This enables companies to align
their positioning strategies to benefit from the changing markets and obtain maximum return on
investments.
Market Capitalizes on Suite-based Applications
Along with improving the existing capabilities, leading CTI vendors are also increasing the range
of applications that newer products offer. For instance, they are coming out with integrated
collections of CTI-based applications such as the Internet contact routing, outbound dialing,
self-service, and workforce optimization. Especially in the area of the Internet contact routing,
which is of strategic importance, manufacturers are developing new applications. Voice self-service
is also fueling demand for CTI connectivity since it is used to integrate customer data between live
routing and self-service applications.
"Another major growth driver for CTI is the expanding integration of desktop applications
and telephony," notes the analyst. "Vendors are also expected to bundle CTI with other
products which will result in the market branching into several application categories."
Vendors Target Mid-Market Segment
For the CTI technology vendors, whose strength lies in catering to the needs of the large
enterprise market, the main challenge is in making the technology accessible to the mid-market
segment. For achieving this, vendors need to separate the integration aspect from the CTI concept to
lower the integration costs, as end users in the mid-market segment are very price-sensitive.
A strong opportunity for penetrating the mid-market is the emergence of hosted contact center
applications. "Leading telcos are focusing on offering advanced contact center applications
along with developing extensive distribution channel partnerships for these products, with service
providers, outsourcers, and stand-alone application service providers (ASPs)," says the
analyst. "This is creating new revenue channels for the CTI market."
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