TELEPERFORMANCE : Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Teleperformance's Innovation and Advancement in the Contact Center Outsourcing Market

Based on its recent analysis of the contact center outsourcing market, Frost & Sullivan presents Teleperformance with the 2008 North American Contact Center Outsourcing Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year Award.

This Award is in recognition of Teleperformance's solid security foundation (network, applications and desktop) and industry-leading security organization, which includes Payment Card Industry (PCI) certification, other important supplementary certifications, and the use of security Best Practices as part of an ongoing commitment to excellence in serving clients in this vital area.

The globalization of the contact center industry makes for complex security challenges as clients operate in cross-border environments. The key challenge for the industry lies in establishing and maintaining excellent security standards to protect the availability, confidentiality and integrity of client business data. Further, the sales environment in the outsourcing market is extremely competitive with strong robust solutions offered by a plethora of providers.

"Nonetheless, Teleperformance is currently the leading global provider of outsourced contact center services, competing against other Tier 1 giants in the industry," says Frost & Sullivan Strategic Analyst Michael DeSalles. "The company conducts programs in more than 66 different languages and dialects on behalf of major international companies operating in various industries in over 75 world markets."

Teleperformance has built a unique security team and demonstrated the vision to construct a security framework based on upcoming statutory and compliance requirements. Instead of idly waiting for a universal security framework to emerge, the company has decided to blend multiple standards and processes that will resemble the security language of the future. This posture places Teleperformance in a position to demonstrate to clients how its security standards satisfy all of the other critical industry measurements.

Significantly, Teleperformance's security foundation begins with ISO 17799 compliance and ITIL for superior IT service. The ISO international security standard was chosen as the cornerstone of the practice based on its ability to attach additional controls for vertical-specific regulatory requirements like HIPAA.

The company demonstrated its leadership in the field by achieving VISA PCI level compliance for U.S. and Mexico operations in February 2007. It is among the first outsourcing companies in the industry to attain this important certification and is required to maintain compliance annually with on-site audits performed by VISA approved PCI auditors along with quarterly 3rd party vulnerability scans. Teleperformance is HIPAA certified and is also Data Security Entity Certified (DSE) - proactively protecting itself, clients and the overall payment system against the threat of security compromises and other industry issues.

Further, Teleperformance responds to clients' individual security requirements by assigning a CISSP certified Security Analyst (SA) to each account. Unique within the industry, the Teleperformance SA is responsible for identifying resources, tools and processes to enforce and manage client security rules.

"The company also offers security Service Level Agreements (SLA's) to its customers," notes DeSalles. "These dual security enhancements serve as distinct world-class competitive advantages."

Finally, Teleperformance only partners with best-in-class security technology companies. The company employs stringent agent controls, desk policies and supervision practices to control fraud and combat security breaches.

In recognition of its solid industry-leading security practice and delivery of the model to reduce vulnerability and risk levels for its clients, Frost & Sullivan is pleased to recognize Teleperformance with the 2008 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Industry Innovation & Advancement in Contact Center Outsourcing.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this Award to the company that has proven to be a leader in the industry and that, through its pioneering technology, sound business strategy, and research efforts, has been successful in moving the state of the industry forward. Its excellence in the field has extended beyond its technical advancements and encompasses a comprehensive view of market participants resulting in an ongoing improvement in the industry over time. This award recognizes the company for its broader, more comprehensive participation in the industry and for its contributions to the advancement of the market.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.