PANEL: In Face of Stagnating Favorability Ratings, What’s Next for South African Offshore CX?
Release Date: 07/03/2025
Gareth Bray - Premier CX - Why Customers Prefer WhatsApp
CX Files
Gareth Bray is Business Development Director and WhatsApp Guru at Premier CX. He is based in Odiham, Hampshire, UK. Over 100 billion WhatsApp messages are sent daily by users - that's more than a million messages on the platform every second. Between 1 to 3 billion of these daily messages is a customer talking to a business. Gareth was on the Meta team when they launched WhatsApp in Europe so he has a long background using this asynchronous messaging tool. In many global markets WhatsApp has entirely redefined customer service. In Brazil and India it can be used to locate local businesses and...
info_outline
CCW Berlin 2026 - Feedback Direct From The Floor
CX Files
CCW 2026 took place at the end of February 2026 in Berlin. Peter Ryan was there on the conference floor. He took a microphone and tried to capture several comments and ideas from the delegates - what was the conference about and what were the key themes that people in CX are focused on in 2026? CCW conference delegates who spoke to Peter Ryan: Monika Röhr-Łukasik Axendi Humphrey Davies BPO Search Daniel Castilla Alliance BPO Corina Amza Rockstart Chrissie Porter CCMA Simon Rainbow Pose CX -------- NOTE: this recording was made on...
info_outline
Michel Stevens - CXM Academy - How Can We Improve CX Events?
CX Files
Michel Stevens is Course Director at the CXM Academy. He is also a managing partner at goCX. He is based in Antwerp, Belbium. The CXM Academy aims to build training for the real world - interactive and culturally relevant. In this conversation with Peter Ryan, Michel talks about CX events. Why are so many of them so repetitive? Why are they flooded with the same speakers talking about the same subjects? Why do events focus on getting 1,000 through the door rather than on high quality information? Summary: Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the state of CX industry events,...
info_outline
Roger Barlow - LATAM Translations - AI Has Changed Translation Into Interpretation
CX Files
Roger Barlow is Director of LATAM Translations. He is based in São Paulo, Brazil. Roger is British and has lived in Brazil since 1998. Since 2001 he has focused on helping Brazilian companies engage with a global audience. This involves a significant amount of translation from and to Portuguese. Multilingual CX is a subject we have often covered on CX Files so Mark decided to call up Roger because of his experience managing a company that is entirely focused on translation. How has AI impacted translation and will we see a complete replacement of translation because AI can now do this...
info_outline
Michael Gray - Spacial Working - Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay
CX Files
Michael Gray is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Spacial Working. He is based in London, UK. Spacial Working is focused on helping companies to create a flexible work environment that embraces both working from home and working in offices. The aim is to create a flexible arrangement that works well for the company and employees. The media often reports that WFH is finished and most employees are heading back into offices, but the reality is quite different. There is less WFH than during the pandemic period, but it has plateaued and is not dropping much further - so there is much...
info_outline
Jacqui Turner - Turner Corner - CX For Vulnerable Customers
CX Files
Jacqui Turner founded the Turner Corner Leadership Academy. She is based at Great Malvern, which is close to Stratford-Upon-Avon in the UK. The academy is focused on customer service training, leadership programmes and coaching interventions. Training followed by coaching with Jacqui's team has been proven to make training much more effective, in terms of staff productivity, performance and business results. In this discussion with Peter Ryan, Jacqui talks about vulnerable customers. How do businesses define their vulnerable customers and how can they design CX that...
info_outline
Rob Joubert - Boomerang BPO - Building CX Success Over 20 Years
CX Files
Rob Joubert is the founder and CEO of Boomerang BPO. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa. 2025 was the 20th anniversary year for Boomerang, so at the end of the year Peter Ryan called Rob to talk about BPO and CX trends and what it takes to build a successful BPO operation from the ground up. 20 years into the journey, what has Rob learned about what clients want from a BPO partner in the 2020s?
info_outline
TUI & Transcom On Building A Best In Europe Partnership
CX Files
Last November, Leigh Hopwood, CEO of the CCMA (Contact Centre Management Association), was on the CX Files talking about the 25th anniversary of the European Contact Center and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSAs). At those awards on November 25th 2025, The Best Customer Service Into Europe award was won (gold) by TUI working with Transcom. Peter Ryan recently called Leo Ooms (TUI) and Dario Bakovic (Transcom) to talk about the award and what it takes to build a BPO partnership that can win a prestigious 'Best in Europe' award... --- Leo Ooms Head of Customer Services BPO TUI Group ...
info_outline
CX Files 400 - Live in London
CX Files
This special live episode was recorded on January 21, 2026 live in London, UK. This is the 400th episode of the podcast. Lian Rowlands quizzed Peter and Mark about the origin of CX Files and what they plan for the future of the podcast... Thanks to everyone who attended the live event in London last night - it was great to see so many friends of the podcast out in person!
info_outline
Happy New Year From The CX Files!
CX Files
Happy New Year for 2026 from Peter and Mark at the CX Files podcast. We asked our listeners to send some thoughts about 2025 and the year ahead... If you listen to this episode you will hear messages from the Netherlands, Philippines, UK, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and Brazil... that's North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia all covered! Contributors listed in the order they feature on the podcast: Leo Ooms Nathan Muniz Lian Rowlands Rod Jones Paul O'Hara Michael Gray Anna Bessarabova Michael Clark Mike Ortegon Stephen Loynd David Neale Peter Ryan ...
info_outlinePANEL: In Face of Stagnating Favorability Ratings, What’s Next for South African Offshore CX?
When Ryan Strategic Advisory published the most favorable offshore location study last May, South Africa had dropped to third position, compared to more recently topping the poll.
This survey features feedback from over 800 CX decision-makers and is potentially the largest survey that explores where CX leaders will consider operations.
https://ryanadvisory.com/india-is-the-most-favored-offshore-cx-delivery-point-in-2025/
India and the Philippines are now the most popular destinations, but have these giant destinations just reasserted their postiion or is something going wrong in South Africa?
South Africa is still in the top three destinations, but is this slip from the top position a significant change or a blip?
Peter Ryan called together a group of three experts to talk about the change in favorability and what is next for BPO and CX in South Africa...
Lian Rowlands
Owner and Principal Consultant at Tayma Solutions
Liverpool, UK
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lian-rowlands-a26119/
Steve Weston
Founder of ApexCX
Baltimore, MD, USA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-weston-1843152/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/apexcx-customer-experience-support-services/
Mark Essey
CEO Custom Connect South Africa
Durban, South Africa
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markessey/
https://www.customconnect.com/
Summary:
In the CX Files podcast episode from July 3, 2025, hosts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the recent Ryan Strategic Advisory survey on CX technology and global services, which ranked offshore destinations for favorability. India ranked first, the Philippines second, and South Africa tied for third with Poland. The conversation features experts Lian Rowlands, Steve Weston, and Mark Essey, who discuss South Africa's decline in favorability rankings despite maintaining a strong delivery system. They highlight the need for South Africa to reinvent its value proposition, focusing on data security, compliance, and advanced technology to regain its top position. The discussion emphasizes the importance of government support, industry cooperation, and forward-thinking strategies to enhance South Africa's BPO sector.