The explosion of new contact channels, in addition to the steady growth of voice telephony globally, will require outsourcers to make targeted investments in order to interact effectively with an already sophisticated consumer set, reports said.

Datamonitor said outsourcing vendors will need to examine expanding multichannel tools such as Web-chat, SMS and email, should they wish to remain at the vanguard of customer care. However, it cautions that such investments will depend heavily on the vertical and geographic market that is being serviced.

Ryan said Lloyds TSB's decision to return a number of its call center agent positions from India to the U.K., reflects a much-reported trend across western economies.