The Australian cloud contact centre market generated revenues of $6.1 million in 2014 due to increased cloud adoption by small and medium businesses according to Frost & Sullivan.
According to new figures from the analyst firm, the cloud contact centre market is becoming attractive to Australian businesses due to a lower cost model, pay-as-you-go model, ability to mobilise a workforce and have any mobile phone operate as a mobile contact centre.
Frost & Sullivan Australia and New Zealand head of ICT research Audrey William said that SMBs were attracted to cloud because it was cheaper than using on-premise IT.
“Costs associated with consulting, implementation, maintenance and service are quite high for the on-premise model for many SMBs,” she said.
“Cloud as a platform will enable various technologies such as mobility, WebRTC, mobile self-service via applications and Web self-service will soon become a reality in the contact centre space.”
The research was commissioned by IPscape.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the cloud contact centre market will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.4 per cent between 2014 and 2021 as more Australian businesses adopt cloud computing. Frost & Sullivan is predicting that the market will be worth $51 million by 2021.
An Australian Bureau of Statistics report from 2013-14 found that almost 70 per cent of businesses were using cloud services. Of those, 20 per cent were using paid services.
In February, Frost & Sullivan that the Australian infrastructure-as-a-service market grew 43 per cent last year.
The analyst firm is predicting that the IaaS market in Australia will hit $439 million by 2018.
The forecast was contained in a report called the Australian Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Market Report 2014.
The report said that consolidation is likely in the IaaS market over the next few years, with profit margins shrinking in the public cloud space.