St. Paul Pioneer Press - February 8, 2006 

Call Centers Find New Home

"Kathleen Hughes, 25, is part of a growing legion of so-called cyber agents, the ranks of which are expected to grow at a clip of more than 20 percent annually as companies continue to move work away from traditional brick-and-mortar call centers to lower-cost centers that tap into workers' homes.

"Using telecommunications software that allows workers in Minnesota or California to work together as smoothly as those who sit in adjacent cubicles, vendors are landing contracts with [national] companies...

"These workers toil in the comfort of their homes, logging sales orders, processing transactions, taking travel reservations, or perhaps explaining the ins and outs of health plans."