A global CX Blockchain Market Intelligence Report commissioned by The CX Blockchain Institute and compiled by specialist research firm Knowledge Executive, takes an in-depth look at this massively disruptive technology trend in contact centres. The report reveals that across industry verticals, many companies are already deep into their assessment and evaluation of blockchain technology and its potential impact and application in their business.
According to the research findings, a large proportion (40%) of respondents will in the next 12-24 months design or redesign processes and strategies around blockchain, deploy blockchain in most business or CX operations, or plan to consult with blockchain technology or solutions providers.
And blockchain’s application as a catalyst for business model transformation is rising, with 30% of respondents looking to blockchain to bridge organisational silos and five percent indicating that blockchain is critical to top business strategies.
While many companies get to grips with the technology itself, others already play in the blockchain technology space. According to the report, there is already a significant and growing market segment that is moving to a more advanced phase of blockchain maturity in their business, specifically within the financial services sector.
Early adopters
Survey findings suggest that 33% of respondents have embraced an early-adopter approach and have already implementing the technology in some business operations. A smaller, yet still significant proportion (20%) are currently deploying blockchain in most business and CX operations, while 48% are currently testing and optimizing blockchain solutions.
These early blockchain adopters are primarily organisations that require trustworthy transactions and secure administration and record keeping, as the technology allows them to track transactions with greater confidence and security.
The survey findings suggest that these early adopters primarily use blockchain for transactional functions, such as enabling secure, digital peer-to-peer transactions (40%) and securing digital records (15%).
Within the contact centre environment, the research indicates that access to verified, accurate and relevant customer information sits at the heart of blockchain’s application in the sector. Twenty percent of respondents identified the ability to empower contact centre agents as the technology’s biggest potential business impact.
Streamlining onerous administrative processes (17%), enriching omnichannel capabilities (15%) and bridging siloed technology and data warehouses (13%) were additional business benefits cited by respondents.
The CX impact
And many of these operators have identified and acknowledge the prolific impact that blockchain technology can have on customer experience (CX). Contact centre operators looking to champion CX and gain a competitive market advantage consider fragmentation across customer data and engagement channels as major impediments to their business.
Accordingly, access to information that shapes meaningful customer engagements (20%) throughout the customer lifecycle and the ability to increase efficiency and effectiveness (23%) emerged as the top motivating blockchain deployment factors among respondents.
Some early adopters also show signs that they’re moving to the next phase in the blockchain adoption curve and are looking to combine it with other intelligent technologies, such as AI and ML to unlock new capabilities and create a greater competitive advantage.
Based on the status of current deployments and those planned for the next 12-24 months among survey respondents, the report suggests that blockchain technology adoption is accelerating and should reach a tipping point within most global business verticals within the next two years.
