The UAE's call centre industry is developing quickly and could become the region's hub, according to Waheeb Jafer Al Zarouni, operations manager of the Etisalat Contact Centre in Ajman.
The centre can handle as many as 100,000 calls per hour. Currently, it receives about 150,000 calls per day for Etisalat directory inquiry. It receives another 30,000 per day for other services including those from its clients, which include the Marriage Fund, Dubai E-Government and foreign missions.
"The call centre industry is evolving fast in the country, with the Etisalat Contact Centre playing a major role in providing custom-ised solutions best suited to meeting the communication needs of clients," Al Zarouni said.
"As the regional headquarters of many multinational companies, the UAE has the people, the technology and the infrastructure to allow it to take its place as the regional hub of the call centre industry, as well.
"I believe that the coming year will witness massive development and growth in the creation of new world-class contact centres in the Middle East."
The centre has 480 call stations and employs 900 agents working in shifts around the clock, offering communication services in English, Arabic and Urdu.
The centre serves some clients on a regular basis, while others contract on a project basis (such as the Global Village) or on an overflow basis. The centre gives organisations help with inquiry management, technical support, telesales, market research and event support.
"The UAE is still to be fully opened to the concept of call centres," Al Zarouni told Gulf News yesterday.
Speaking at a seminar on regional trends organised by the centre, Al Zarouni said in-house call centres compete to deliver the highest quality services and meet international benchmarks, while outsource service providers are competing to bring in international business to support clients across all major language groups including English, French, Spanish, Urdu and Hindi.
