Deon Scheepers is business development manager for Interactive Intelligence Africa.

The concept of integration in the contact centre has been widely discussed in recent years, with many companies having made great strides towards achieving a more unified environment. SMS, e-mail and Web chat are gradually being incorporated into contact centres, and now afford customers the option to have their queries dealt with via a variety of channels.

But as businesses work to ensure that their contact centre offerings remain current, the increasing popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is about to change the face of the contact centre as we know it.

More smartphones were sold last year than PCs and tablets combined, and a new Forrester study indicates that mobile Internet users will outnumber those accessing the Web via PC by 2016. As more consumers begin to search, browse and make purchases from their mobile devices, a new kind of contact centre will evolve in order to meet their everrising expectations.

Additionally, the applications today’s customers use are becoming increasingly personalised.

As a result, mobile devices are rapidly becoming the consumer’s number one choice for conducting all forms of business. The thought of having to turn on a laptop or pick up the telephone is almost inconceivable, particularly for a new generation raised in the information age.

As this type of empowered mobile user becomes the norm, contact centres are being forced to restructure their offerings in order to provide more immediate, intuitive service.

The rise in popularity of Internet banking and other self-service platforms refl ects the mobile user’s growing inclination to resolve issues on their own where possible.

Unlike early mobile phone users, today’s consumers generally only decide to contact an agent as a last resort.

As such, companies need to start making allowances for this, and move towards the development of more intuitive, self-help applications.

In an increasingly cluttered marketplace, companies that set about providing their clientele with mobile customer care options have a real opportunity to set themselves apart from the competition.