Johannesburg, 18 May 2006
With South Africa`s fixed-line charges said to be among the highest in the world, the value of VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) on local business is dramatically magnified. Significant cost savings are already being reported, particularly in the call centre industry.
Leading the pack as an early VOIP adopter is FNB Contact Centre. By the end of June 2006, its data centres in Johannesburg and Pretoria will achieve a substantial cost saving of R2.5 million to the business.
The successful 12-month pilot project, led by the CEO of FNB Contact Centres, Angus Brown, is just the tip of the iceberg for the bank. "Future forecasts indicate a R20 million to R40 million annual saving to the total FNB business. This will be achieved simply by using voice and data networks to replace the fixed-line infrastructure throughout our contact centres and branches."
As the first bank to make its entire contact centre virtual, FNB is going far beyond the norm of using VOIP as the link between two contact centres.
However, Brown emphasises that he is not just adapting to a new trend in technology for technology`s sake. "In broad terms, management walks a fine line when moving with new trends without first addressing the potholes. At FNB we have thoroughly researched VOIP and adapted the technology to align with our business strategy - essentially to meet the needs of our specific markets and customers."
By the end of the year, VOIP capability will be rolled out to FNB data centres in Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein, further enhancing the bank`s productivity and efficiency.
With South Africa reportedly becoming a favoured destination for foreign business process outsourcing (BPO) - especially call centre operations, the FNB Contact Centre is a case study in progress. It is addressing the two key factors currently creating obstacles within the industry - the ability to compete with the rest of the world on the cost of telephone calls, and the delivery of quality call centre agents.
It is Brown`s opinion that South African call centres will not win international contracts based on a low-cost value proposition - but will have to position themselves as high-value / high-quality centres.
"There is a lucrative niche in the international market for this positioning, mid-way between the high-cost American and British centres, and the very low-cost Indian, and Indonesian offerings."
As South Africa`s call centre costs are in the upper-quartile worldwide, Brown believes we simply have to focus activities on adding value.
"The first differentiator for FNB Contact Centre is that we see ourselves as a `service centre` rather than a contact centre," says Brown, who points out that there is a world of difference between a call centre where you `phone to moan`, and a contact centre where you `phone to bank`.
"Furthermore, to us there is no such thing as a call centre agent. If you call a contact centre about a banking issue, you need to speak to a banker. We are in the process of putting this in place. It`s a very powerful move when coupled with VOIP," says Brown.
"The advantages of VOIP extend far beyond simply implementing the technology. Consider the fact that a customer can phone from anywhere in the country and the call can be moved to a product expert in Bank City, head office or one of the branches countrywide, without the customer being aware of it, and most importantly at the cost of a single call," says Brown.
It all happens seamlessly and virtually. Customers only have to remember one telephone number - in an environment where they are usually dogged by a stream of numbers specific to various banking issues.
"If potential international business is being deterred by telephone costs, South African companies will have to think very carefully about the role their call centres play, and to invest thoughtfully into their capabilities with great emphasis on the benefit of bypassing fixed-line operations - and going virtual," says Brown.
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