What's the best structure for a call center in an organization? Should it report into Marketing? Or Operations?

I've been thinking about this for some time, letting the question percolate in the back of my mind, and I still don't have a clear cut answer. You can make a good case for either model. But, I think I'm detecting a transition from ops to marketing - and this is borne out in conversations I have with vendors. For example, execs at Kana told me last week that increasingly when they make sales pitches for call center equipment and software, they are focusing their attention on the executive managerial level that makes strategy decisions.... So deployment of call center technology is more of a strategic decision than a reactive one.

Like I said, I don't have a fully formed mental picture of where this is all going, so I strongly invite input. What's the best model for fitting a call center into an organization? What should the reporting structure and lines of responsibility be like? Who should be in charge?

And how is the "should be" different from the "is"? Are the wrong people running your center?

Tell me, and tell the industry: kdawson@cmp.com.