IVR in Recession

Don't be fooled by the title of this post...it should not imply that IVR systems will see a decline in use as a result of the global recession experienced over the past year. In fact, trends indicate that if anything, IVR usage is on the rise because of the need for companies to continue to cut costs. Historically, IVR systems have been implemented by companies as a way to handle normal or increased call volumes with a smaller call center staff. However, saving money is only one of the driving forces in the boost in IVR system utilization. Recent technological advances in speech recognition and innovative applications for IVR systems in general have done as much to spur growth in the industry as companies' bottom lines.

DMG Research recently reported an expected average compounded growth rate of approximately 13% for hosted inbound IVR solutions over the next four years while outbound IVR solutions growth could reach nearly 19%. This is not to say that the market will not see any contractions. The same study indicates that sales of on-site IVR systems will likely see a decrease as hardware and start-up costs outweigh the convenience for maintaining on-premises systems. On the forefront of increased IVR deployment are self-service solutions for all types of companies, both public and private. As users continue to accept IVR as a normal way of doing business, self-service will become more common at companies large and small. The IVR system market is not recession-proof but it certainly seems to be well poised to weather the financial storm and grow in the process.