Integrated voice response (IVR) is an essential tool within the contact center environment. As the technology continues to evolve and advance and consumers increase their acceptance of this self-service channel, the demand for robust solutions is growing.

 

In a new report by Datamonitor, research has shown that the North American market for hosted outbound IVR services is set to more than double from an estimated $213 million in 2008 to $524 million by 2013. 

 

The report, "Hosted Speech and Outbound IVR Services", argues that the global market is shifting towards a more personalized, directed method of enterprise communication with customers. Enterprises are also seeking ways to maintain an increased level of communication with customers while controlling costs.

 

The outbound IVR market is currently at an early stage, but there is strong uptake and it is expected to remain a high growth market for the next few years. As such, spending on hosted outbound IVR is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent over the next five years.

"In the future, as adoption of the technology increases, outbound IVR will be commonly used with SMS, MMS, emails and direct mail for proactive customer communications," says Aphrodite Brinsmead, analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report, in a company statement.

 

"Unlike these other technologies, outbound IVR provides a greater level of sophistication for verification and notification where the caller's identify can be verified and receipt of notification can be recorded."

In the future, we will see outbound IVR used alongside inbound IVR as a part of a multi-channel strategy. In fact, Datamonitor estimates that the number of outbound speech applications will grow through 2013 as enterprises demand greater sophistication and intuitive design from their outbound IVR solution.

Vendors are already beginning to offer outbound IVR alongside inbound IVR solutions and the market is changing to include e-mail and SMS as part of multi-channel customer service solutions.

Brinsmead concluded, "Outbound IVR is in its early stages but there is strong uptake. Looking forward it will remain a high growth market for years to come as enterprises look to increase levels of communication with their customers."

The reality in the consumer market is that individuals are becoming more mobile and increasing their demand for real-time information from anywhere and at any time. This is really only possible with the help of IVR technology. It goes a long way towards helping the company to deliver the services their customers expect, while enabling the contact center to control costs.