Contact centers in North America are among the world’s most eager adopters of blockchain technology. In Canada, 68% of contact centers expect to deploy blockchain technology over the next year, while 64% expect to do so in the United States. This data comes from research published in April by Ryan Strategic Advisory in conjunction with the CX Blockchain Institute. All told, 712 CX decision-makers located across every major demand market took part in the survey.
Outside of North America, Spain and the UK appear to be also preparing for wide-scale blockchain deployments in CX operations. And even where interest is more tepid—in Germany, Australia, Japan, and France—over half of CX operators still expect to launch blockchain deployments by 1Q2024.
Unpacking these trends, interest ranges depending on the CX function. Outsourcers in the US, Germany, and France favor blockchain to boost sales. Those in Japan see blockchain solutions as integral to enhancing billing and collections. By contrast, the technology is seen by outsourcers in Spain and Italy primarily as a way of improving customer feedback. Blockchain is fancied for diverse reasons, in other words. Really the common thread uncovered by this year’s research concerns back-office and marketing functions, where appetite for the technology wanes across markets.
“Enterprises that are ‘born digital’ are the most aggressive users of blockchain,” says Peter Ryan, principal analyst at Ryan Strategic Advisory. Indeed, 71% of born digital enterprises expect to launch at least one deployment of the technology sometime in the next year. But health care firms, fintechs and insurance providers—sectors heavily concerned with compliance and security—are nearly as enthusiastic about blockchain. Green enterprises and crypto firms are also poised to expand their use of blockchain technologies, even if the pace of their deployments extends out beyond the horizon of the next twelve months.
“Given the enhanced data protection and improved traceability of data that it can deliver, it’s hardly surprising that blockchain technologies resonate among CX operators,” Peter Ryan says. And as the number of successful deployments of blockchain technologies continues to grow, the outsourcing industry faces a brighter, more secure future.
These findings square with the recently published 2022 CX Blockchain™ Market Intelligence Report details blockchain technology’s disruptive impact on customer experience dynamics across multiple industry verticals.
Produced in partnership with Genesis and GBS World, the report covers blockchain use in contact centers and business process outsourcers industry-wide and across four key verticals: banking/financial services/insurance (BFSI), healthcare, retail, and telecom.
It compares the survey results to the 2019 edition, highlighting key differences and top concerns. Most significantly, CX industry leaders cite a better understanding of blockchain technology as the primary catalyst moving them from discovery to implementation.
Dominant themes in the report focused on streamlining administrative processes, cost savings, improving efficiencies, and protecting sensitive customer data. For retailers, blockchain’s ability to provide real-time transaction, service, and warranty data to contact center agents continued to be a primary motivator, not unlike the 2019 version.
The report confirms that businesses recognize blockchain’s potential to transform operations and improve customer experience. After years of research, CX leaders are shifting from discussion to integrating and deploying blockchain strategies in mission-critical ways.
