2007 will be one of the most challenging years in contact center outsourcing's history

Coming hot on the heels of UK bank Lloyds TSB's announcement that it is to move its contact center operations from Mumbai to the UK, a new report has revealed that contact center outsourcing providers are set to face tremendous challenges with the emergence of late-adopting vertical markets. Indeed, vendors are struggling to adapt industry-specific solutions to both new and established clients.

Published By Datamonitor

2008 - the year of green IT

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, which runs from December 3 to 14 this year, looks set to send a clear and unambiguous message to the developed world: reduce your carbon footprint now before it is too late.

Published By Datamonitor

Absolute Systems offers a payment switch for deposits in South Africa

Absolute Systems, a South African ATM software developer, has launched Imali, a payment switch for secure deposits, consisting of a switch and a strongbox for use in secure environments to which small retailers have access. The attractions of the Imali service are security, since the cash becomes the responsibility of the bank once it is in the strongbox, and also its real-time capability.

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Adoption of home energy management systems restricted by cost and control issues

While home energy management systems are a useful way of reducing energy use, with benefits for consumers and utilities alike, the adoption of this technology is likely to be hampered by a number of factors including concerns over privacy and a lack of return on investment. As a result, uptake is likely to be optional and driven by sophisticated users and utilities struggling to meet peak demands.

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Asset management firms turn to technology to cope with ever-changing financial landscape

As the asset management industry experiences significant change, firms are turning to technology to reinvent and differentiate themselves. Outsourcing fund marketing functions is growing in popularity, while online issuance is developing as an effective distribution channel. Indeed, global asset management spend on front office technology is expected to top $3.4 billion by 2012.

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ATM outsourcing: a viable option for struggling banks

In the current economic environment, banks should carefully analyze the current and future total cost of ownership of their technology assets, and evaluate the outsourcing alternative. With a widespread lack of capital for costly upfront investments, renting ATM hardware and associated services becomes an attractive, and in some cases the only feasible, option to struggling banks.

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Call centers: numbers will continue growing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa

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Center and agent optimization are top priorities for contact centers

Pressure to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of contact center operations is driving growth in optimization technologies. Indeed, a survey of contact center professionals has revealed that contact center and contact center agent optimization are viewed as key investment priorities over the next three years, which should bode well for professional services providers.

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Clinical decision support tools set to fundamentally change the way medicine is practiced

Clinical decision support tools, technologies that provide information to aid the diagnosis and treatment of patients, are set to make dramatic changes to the practice of medicine, according to a new report by Datamonitor. However, the report also predicts that aspects of medical culture will prove barriers to adoption.

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Consolidating identity management will help banks manage security operations

Security is a fundamental requirement for banks as they fight a battle on all fronts against fraud, identity theft and account breaches. Banks need to invest in consolidating identity management across the enterprise so that end-users can have a single sign-on across all product systems, channels and locations in order to facilitate and simplify identity management.

Published By Datamonitor