Introduction
In a recent Datamonitor survey end-users emphasized the importance of how the vendor needed to understand broad business requirements; yet, the biggest factor in a decision to purchase a technology came from the price offered. As such, vendors need to be able to understand how the end-user operates in order to better price the contact center to them.

Scope
The role of a contact center is moving from a utility to a strategic partner.
Production costs and sales costs play an important role in vendor and reseller margins.
Hosted services are gaining traction in the market pricing them correctly is key.
Sources of finance for the end-user.
Highlights
An organization that views its contact center as a utility will adhere to specific metrics (such as call handling time). With the focus on delivering services to cover the cost of the operation, end-users will be more interested in pricing models that alleviate cost.

A contact center has to be able to provide an assessment of its financial health to its investors in order for it to succeed. In purchasing contact center technologies, the organization has to make the decision as to what is more viable to make an up-front investment, or to rent the service.

CapEx and OpEx decisions effect how a purchase is made, and it is vital for vendors to assess whether its potential customer can make upfront investments or afford cyclical rental charges.

Reasons to Purchase
Understand the nuances between CapEx, OpEx, and the financial metrics used to justify purchasing decisions.
Understand that some value added services are more attractive then others, and why.