Many enterprises are bypassing traditional call handling in favor of sophisticated contact center applications that meet customers in the environment of their choice, according to a new series of research reports from leading global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III).

The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Contact Center and Agent Management, produced by ISG Software Research (formerly Ventana Research), find many enterprises are increasingly basing contact center technology decisions on customer experience and customer relationship management, rather than the choice of call routing engines.

“Contact center infrastructure decisions are no longer based on the simple choice of a voice routing engine,” said Keith Dawson, director of Research, Customer Experience, ISG Software Research. “Enterprises are motivated by the need to deliver a seamless and consistent customer experience. By 2028, as many as half the contact centers replacing their platforms will base their decisions around customer experience and/or customer relationship management, rather than the choice of call routing engines.”

Enterprises needing to replace their traditional call center systems are taking the opportunity to evaluate newer, more advanced platforms whose routing decisions are based on customer experience factors, rather than network conditions, the report says. These new platforms are geared towards real-time data analytics, relationship data management, and even behavioral and sentiment data for both customers and the agents who service them.

The decade-long shift of enterprise digital and telephonic infrastructures from on-premises to cloud-based platforms has recently made way for hybrid approaches that mix cloud and on-premises applications, ISG Software Research notes. Contact center in the cloud, often referred to as contact center as a service, is now the dominant mode of operations for new or expanding contact centers. Some technology providers with on-premises offerings have developed, migrated or acquired contact center offerings aimed at the entire marketplace.

For its 2024 Contact Center and Agent Management Buyers Guides, ISG Software Research evaluated software providers across three platform categories – Contact Center Basic, Contact Center Advanced, and Agent Management – and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each.

A total of 37 providers were assessed in their respective categories: 8x8, Aircall, Alvaria, AWS, Avaya, Calabrio, Cisco, Content Guru, Dialpad, Emplifi, Enghouse Interactive, Evolve IP, Five9, Genesys, GoTo, IntelePeer, Microsoft, Mitel, net2phone, Nextiva, NICE, Odigo, Ozonetel, Playvox, RingCentral, Salesforce, Sprinklr, Talkdesk, TCN, Twilio, UJET, USAN, Verint, Vonage, Zendesk, Zoho and Zoom.

ISG Software Research designates the top three software providers as Leaders in each category. For the 2024 study, the leading providers in ranked order are:

Content Center Basic: NICE, Genesys and Content Guru

Content Center Advanced: NICE, Verint and Genesys

Agent Management: NICE, Verint and Genesys

“The modernization towards a digital business that focuses on the interactions and experiences of customers requires a contact center and support agent management software that can help reach the customer experience objectives,” said Mark Smith, partner, ISG Software Research. “These Buyers Guides are the industry’s most comprehensive set of research evaluating all potential software providers and products on their product and customer experience, ensuring effective understanding, assessment and selection is delivered with research insights and subject matter expertise.”

The ISG Buyers Guides™ are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is neither sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments.

Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for Contact Center and Agent Management and read executive summaries of each of the three reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research.

About ISG Software Research

ISG Software Research, previously Ventana Research, provides authoritative market research and coverage of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its on-demand service provides structured education and advisory support through subject-matter experts. ISG Buyers Guides support the RFI/RFP process and help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessment services and the ISG Software Research Value Index methodology. Visit www.ventanaresearch.com for more information and to sign up for free community membership.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including AI and automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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