Growth opportunities in 999 services

Rising demand from emergency sector lifts channel

Resellers are set to benefit from an increasing demand for contact centre technology from the emergency services sector, Integrator Affiniti has predicted.
Affiniti, which claims to provide services for more than half of the police forces in the UK, recently deployed a new call-handling system with the Humberside Police Force.
Howard Inns, public sector marketing manager at the giant VAR, is confident that improving call-handling technology will drive demand.
“There are substantial growth opportunities in the emergency services sector,” he said. “When the technology is dependable enough, the emergency services will start deploying it and this will create a whole new stream of revenue for resellers.”
However, analysts warn resellers should consider the risks of selling to the emergency services.
Rob Bamforth, consultant at analyst Quocirca, said: “With the extra business comes extra responsibility. Service levels for the emergency services will be critical: any downtime could mean people lose their lives.”
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