Numerous North American and European companies are using call centers in emerging markets because the cost of doing business is far less than hiring their own citizens. Many of these call centers in turn are converting to VoIP-based platforms, both to reduce costs and to have access to advanced features for more efficient operations.

None of this yet solves the problem of frustration that end users feel when talking to someone for assistance when they cannot speak the caller’s language very well. However, IP PBXes and VoIP systems offer the most future potential for language translation services. There may not be a universal translator, but some of the language issues could be resolved.