Event organiser to stage internationally focussed Voice Africa `99 in SA

Advanstar Communications has entered the South African market to stage their first international call centre and computer telephony exhibition in this country.

VOICE Africa `99, which will showcase the latest and the best in Call Centre technologies and their applications from home and abroad, is being sponsored by local voice technology market leader, Spescom DataFusion.

It will run from September 20-22 at Gallagher Estate, Midrand recognised as the most suitable venue for attracting both regional and international delegates.

"We are already attracting considerable interest from businesses right across Africa," confirms Jane Murphy, global sales director of Advanstar Communications, whose VOICE and Call Centre Solutions events are now staged on five continents.

She says local industry players have encouraged Advanstar to stage VOICE Africa `99. "We recognise the growing demand for effective call centre and computer telephony solutions here, especially as the continent moves towards the next millennium and, in President Mbeki`s words, towards a true African Renaissance.

"The event will feature key enabling technologies being developed and strategically implemented globally, as well as addressing critical recruitment and training needs which drive the success of customer contact zones" she adds.

Running alongside the exhibition, will be a three-day industry-critical conference programme, which will be addressed by top level international industry experts, among them Dr Christian Dugast , France, Aki Siltamies, Finland, Chester Anderson US and Darryl Elliot, US.

In addition to the VOICE Africa conference, running concurrently will be a Customer Relations Management (CRM) Congress sponsored by IBMCorePoint. This will focus on the latest solutions enabling top quality customer service, which is recognised as the key business driver today.

A one day Strategic Executive Summit "Access to Africa" addressing crucial issues facing businesses in South Africa now and into the next millennium will round off the conference programme.

Site visits to live call centres have also been organised to enable delegates to see the latest technologies in action and to marry theory with reality.

"The VOICE Africa `99 conference programme will appeal to all those influential in the buying cycle, from government and industry officials, to top level business executives and call centre management," says Murphy.

"By running separately focussed conferences, we can address all groupings.

"VOICE Africa `99 is a major breakthrough for the burgeoning South African industry," she continues. "This will be a world class event, featuring the marketing and professional organisational skills that have become the hallmark of Advanstar VOICE and Call Centre events.

Advanstar`s portfolio of specialised industry publications, including the prestigious European magazines Voice+ and Customer Contact Solutions, the US publication TeleProfessional, as well as its own high quality database, will provide further top level support for the event.

More than 500 000 IT and telecomms professionals from 115 countries now read Advanstar`s publications and attend its exhibitions and conferences.

Apart from its role as an internationally recognised exhibition and conference organiser in many industry specific sectors, Advanstar Communications is also a global leader in call centre, computer telephony and Information Technology media.

Its participation in the South African market now is an indication of the growing sophistication and activity within this industry sector among both users and vendors, says Advanstar consultant, Rod Jones.