What Is a Call Center and BPO? A Complete Guide for 2025

what is call center and bpo

What is call center and BPO? These two terms are transforming how modern businesses operate, scale, and support their customers. In today’s global economy, outsourcing to call centers and BPO providers helps companies reduce costs, improve efficiency, and deliver better service — all while focusing on what they do best.

In today’s global economy, businesses are always looking for ways to operate more efficiently, reduce costs, and deliver better customer experiences. That’s where call centers and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) come in.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What is a call center and BPO?” — you’re not alone. In this guide, we break down what these services are, how they work, what the differences are, and how companies like HomeX use them to help businesses scale smarter.

What Is a Call Center?

A call center is a centralized team or facility where trained agents handle phone calls, usually related to customer service, technical support, lead generation, appointment setting, or sales. Modern call centers also manage interactions through live chat, email, SMS, and even social media.

There are two main types:

  • Inbound call centers: Handle incoming calls (e.g., support requests, order tracking)
  • Outbound call centers: Make outgoing calls (e.g., cold calling, surveys, collections)

Call centers can be in-house (run by the company) or outsourced to a third-party provider like HomeX.

What Is BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)?

BPO is a broader term that refers to the outsourcing of entire business processes to a third-party provider. While call centers are a part of BPO, the scope is much wider. BPO can include: is a broader term that refers to the outsourcing of entire business processes to a third-party provider. While call centers are a part of BPO, the scope is much wider. BPO can include:

  • Customer service (inbound & outbound calling)
  • Data entry and processing
  • IT services and tech support
  • Payroll and HR management
  • Accounting and finance
  • Virtual assistance
  • Back-office operations


BPO allows companies to delegate non-core functions so they can focus on their core competencies like product development, sales, or marketing.

Difference Between Call Center and BPO

While they overlap, here’s the key difference:

Category

Call Center

BPO

Scope

Primarily voice and customer interaction

Entire processes and workflows

Channels

Phone, chat, email, social media

Multi-departmental (support, finance, HR, etc.)

Example Tasks

Answering inquiries, cold calling

Managing payroll, CRM updates, lead gen

Role

Part of BPO

Broader business support

In short, all call centers are BPO, but not all BPO services involve call centers.

Benefits of Call Centers and BPO Services

Outsourcing call center and BPO services brings major advantages:

  1. Cost savings: Avoid hiring, training, and infrastructure costs
  2. Expertise: Work with trained professionals using proven systems
  3. Scalability: Add or reduce team size as your business grows
  4. Time savings: Focus on growth while the outsourced team handles support
  5. 24/7 availability: Serve global customers in different time zones
  6. Tech stack: Many providers already use CRMs, dialers, and analytics 

Ready to stop wasting time on unqualified leads?

Let HomeX build you a dedicated B2B cold calling team that books meetings, handles objections, and fills your pipeline — fast.

Who Uses Call Center and BPO Services?

 
These services are used across multiple industries:

  • E-commerce: Order management, live chat, returns
  • Real Estate: Cold calling, lead follow-up, appointment setting
  • Healthcare: Patient support, insurance verification, billing
  • SaaS & Tech: Tier 1 support, lead qualification, onboarding
  • Telecom & Utilities: Customer service, technical support
  • Finance & Insurance: Claims processing, KYC, loan support


From startups to enterprises, any business that wants to operate leaner can benefit.

Popular BPO Services Beyond Call Centers

 
If you’re only thinking voice calls, you’re missing out. BPO also includes:

  • Data entry and cleansing: Keeping your CRM or database clean and accurate
  • Virtual assistant services: Admin support, calendar management, email follow-ups
  • IT help desk: Password resets, software troubleshooting, ticket triaging
  • Customer support (multi-channel): Managing inquiries via phone, email, chat, SMS
  • Back-office support: Inventory updates, invoice processing, form submissions


These services help your business run more efficiently without hiring large internal teams.

How HomeX Delivers Call Center and BPO Services

 
At HomeX, we provide fully-managed BPO and call center solutions from our offices in Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia. Our services include:

  • Trained English-speaking agents (U.S. and U.K. time zones)
  • Lead generation and cold calling for real estate, solar, SaaS, and finance
  • Virtual assistant services for e-commerce, coaches, and consultants
  • Customer support teams for e-commerce stores and apps
  • Back-office teams for admin, forms, scheduling, and CRM updates


Our clients scale from 1 to 100+ agents, depending on the growth stage of their business.

Choosing the Right Call Center or BPO Partner

 
Not all providers are equal. Here’s what to look for:
Industry experience: Have they worked in your field?

  • Language skills: Fluent English with proper tone and clarity?
  • Management & QA: Are reps supervised and coached regularly?
  • Scalability: Can they grow with you?
  • Transparency: Do they report KPIs and performance weekly?


HomeX provides all of the above, including live dashboards and performance coaching.

Final Thoughts: Why Call Center and BPO Services Are the Future

 
The future of business is lean, flexible, and global. Outsourcing with the right BPO partner allows companies to stay competitive, scale faster, and provide better customer experiences at lower costs.

Whether you’re a small startup or a growing mid-sized company, knowing what a call center and BPO is — and how to use them — could be the key to unlocking next-level efficiency.

📞 Ready to explore how BPO and call center services can help your business? Schedule a free strategy call with HomeX and let us show you what’s possible.

Ready to Scale Your Outbound Pipeline?

If you’re tired of inconsistent prospecting, burned-out SDRs, or cold emails getting ghosted — it’s time to outsource your B2B cold calling the smart way.

We’ll help you build a results-driven outbound engine with fully managed agents — trained, tracked, and optimized for growth.