Fraud & Identity Featured Article

TeleTech's Motif Buy Emphasizes Digital Trust

By Paula Bernier Executive Editor, TMC

TeleTech (News - Alert) Holdings Inc. this month announced the “majority acquisition” of digital trust and safety service company Motif.

Details of the effort were not disclosed. But at least one report indicates it’s a two-part deal involving a $46.9 million majority stake now, and a second infusion between now and May 2020. The same report estimates the total deal is valued at around $75-100 million. (TeleTech didn’t return our call this morning seeking for confirmation/clarification on these points).

Motif provides back office support services; multichannel contact center solutions; customer interaction services, including escalation resolution, inside sales, pre sales query resolution, post sales support, refunds, and technical support; fraud prevention and site monitoring services; and research and analytics.

Reports indicate U.S.-based business process outsourcer TeleTech was most interested in Motif for its analytics and AI capabilities, the entrée it provides the company into India, and Motif’s fraud prevention services for call centers. But the press release the companies issued announcing their combination puts the focus on fraud prevention.

“Digital safety is a lightning rod issue impacting every brand that does business online. Companies everywhere are rushing to invest in building safe environments to protect their customers and their brands from digital fraud,” commented Ken Tuchman, chairman and chief executive officer of TeleTech. “Increasingly, trust is becoming foundational to maintaining lasting relationships with customers. Our acquisition of Motif provides us with a unique set of proven capabilities to help our clients build engagement with their customers by ensuring online interactions are safe and protected from fraud. The acquisition also adds dynamic digital brands to our client portfolio, deepens our digital and analytics capabilities and expands our footprint in India.”

“With its focus on building engaging and safe customer relationships across channels, TeleTech is a natural fit for Motif,” commented Kaushal Mehta, founder and chief executive officer, Motif. “Our trust and safety services are growing in demand and we are excited to bring our capabilities to new geographies and industries through TeleTech’s exceptional portfolio of blue chip clients. In addition, TeleTech is truly a values-driven organization and the alignment of our two cultures will provide exciting opportunities for growth and development for our team.”

Motif, which was founded in 2000, has delivery centers in Ahmedabad, India, and

Manila in the Philippines. Its omnichannel contact centers with businesses in the ecommerce, financial services, and travel industries.

TeleTech has been around since 1982. The Englewood, Colo.-based systems integrator sells a call center as a service solution called Humanify. In October Gartner (News - Alert) listed TeleTech as a niche player in its Magic Quadrant for Contact Center as a Service, North America.