GBS WORLD NEWS | WEEK 3 | MARCH 2022

Following last week’s coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict within the outsourcing context, Gartner has released a guide of best practices for both global clients and operators of customer experience (CX) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services in the region. A list of business continuity recommendations is provided for situations where there are disruptions, complete stoppages and staffing challenges. Most importantly, the document presents a comprehensive guideline to ensure the safety of CX and BPO workers situated in Ukraine.  

Leading Tunisian artificial intelligence (AI) startup, iCompass, has developed an AI solution to help companies across Africa and the Middle East communicate with their customers in their native languages. Founded in 2019, iCompass specializes in natural language processing (NLP) solutions utilizing deep learning and reinforcement learning technologies to develop speech transcription services, automatic voice generation and chatbot and voice bot products.

More steps have been taken to improve CX over in Canada, where retailer, Canadian Tire Corp, will be investing $3,4 billion to vastly improve customer service. The investment will boost the firm’s omnichannel capabilities, improving CX across its online and brick-and-mortar stores while growing its loyalty program. Additionally, the retailer will use funds to strengthen automation and modernize its information technology infrastructure.

Across the border in the US, a partnership between LexisNexis® Risk Solutions and Outseer, an RSA company, has been formed to deliver an industry-first digital banking and payment solution. The digital solution will enhance card authentication and account monitoring capabilities through the creation of a single customer view in digital banking. As such, it will enable strong customer authentication and a frictionless customer journey.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) workers in the Philippines will be returning to onsite workplaces from April 1, despite appeals from the IT & Business Process Association to maintain work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. The country’s Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) explained that WFH structures were always going to be a temporary measure to ensure business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global Business-Process-as-a-Service (BPaaS) market is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6% between 2016 and 2026, reaching US$120,7 billion in market size, according to a Reports and Data study. A major growth driver is the increasing demand for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), particularly in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical industry. High levels of investment in the R&D of BPaaS is also a notable growth factor in the market. The Asia-Pacific region is forecasted to generate the highest rates of growth in the global BPaaS market, estimated to be 17.8% during the forecast period.