Interactive Intelligence Wins 2015 EMEA Company of the Year in Customer Contact

By Michael Guta
Contributing Writer

According to Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert), the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market presents a considerable challenge to contact center operators because of the on premises systems that have been deployed over decades. Even though the industry as a whole is migrating to cloud solutions, this particular market has a preference for premises-based systems. However, in order to address the new multi-channel customer experiences, operators at the very least need hybrid deployments.

To thrive in the EMEA market, service providers have to offer multiple deployment and customization options. Interactive Intelligence was recognized by Frost & Sullivan as 2015 EMEA Company of the Year in Customer Contact because of the wide range of solution the company provides.

In addressing this particular market, the company’s offerings were deemed as impressive for the mixed application environment that are in need of an upgrade, or replacement of aging infrastructures. Its visionary innovation and performance, and customer impact were highlighted as being two key factors for the company winning the award for two consecutive years.

Based on Frost & Sullivan’s assessment of the company, Interactive Intelligence (News - Alert) has one of the broadest portfolios in the industry. Delivered in an all-in-one software-based platform, its solutions allow customers to easily add functionalities to meet their needs in a rapidly evolving ecosystem. This is made possible by allowing customers to move between premise-based, cloud or hybrid deployments.

Based on the Visionary Innovation & Performance and Customer Impact, Interactive Intelligence had to meet several criteria.  These included:

• Addressing Unmet Needs
• Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends
• Implementation Best Practices
• Blue Ocean Strategy
• Financial Performance

The criteria for Customer Impact were:

• Price/Performance Value
• Customer Purchase Experience
• Customer Ownership Experience
• Customer Service Experience
• Brand Equity

The Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year award is given to companies after a rigorous assessment. In addition to the 10 criterion, Interactive Intelligence had to demonstrate excellence in growth, innovation, and leadership, which according to the firm translates to superior performance in demand generation, brand development, and competitive positioning.

Today’s contact centers have to provide multiple channels to communicate with their customers with chat, Web, social media, and mobile. Not only is this essential for customer interactions, but these technologies provide valuable data that can be used to improve the operations of the contact center as well as the companies they represent.

In giving this award to Interactive Intelligence, Frost & Sullivan concluded the company was able to replicate its very strong contact center solutions offerings in North America to the EMEA market.