The Contact Center/Call Center is moving to the Cloud, so why not?
Depending on the contact center, it can be hosted in the Public Cloud and accessed via the Internet, sometimes in conjunction with the Telephony Switch. Unlike agents and managers, customers simply make a call or send a message to the company rather than accessing dashboards through the browser (or through a desktop/phone client).
A cloud-based contact center or call center has both advantages and limitations, as we’ll see in this post.
Advantages of Cloud-Based Contact Centers
- This is due to the idea that there is no upfront investment in hardware or software, there is a lower initial cost. Purchased components are also not subject to obsolescence.
- The Contact Center solution can also be cost-effective because it requires fewer in-house employees to run/maintain.
- Unlike an on-premise system that needs to be over-provisioned based on projected growth, the cloud system does not require over-provisioning.
- Using a Cloud-based Contact Center, companies can purchase licenses whenever they are needed, allowing them to scale up as needed.
- Agents and licenses can be increased instantly. Using a self-service portal, it is also likely to decrease the number of agents instantly. Whenever a business’s seasonality changes or when temporary or part-time staff is employed, this is a good solution.
- Because Contact Center management applications are web-based, agents, supervisors, and managers can work remotely or from home. Mobile devices can be used to access reports.
- In addition to Contact Center & Routing, a cloud provider may also host and manage Communications/Telephony & Applications. Therefore, on-premises staff with specialized knowledge of these functions may not be necessary.
- A cloud-based Contact Center provider may guarantee availability, so its availability may be superior to that of a customer-hosted Contact Center.
- Generally, customers have access to self-service portals for scaling up/down and managing routing functions.
- For better accountability, providers offer role-based access to managing Contact Center functions.
- It is possible to integrate on-premises applications with cloud-based contact centers through APIs, even if they are hosted on-premises.
- It may be easier to add multi-tenancy and multi-channel capabilities to cloud-based contact centers because they are web-services based.
- Cloud-based Contact Centers make it easier to add new channels, such as social media and video calling, in the future.
- Despite working from home, agents can allot calls and record them.
- The process of upgrading is faster and less expensive.
- A hybrid implementation of Contact Center and Telephony/Applications can be executed with some vendors in a cloud-based environment. There are also vendors that offer a Private Cloud implementation that can be burstable to Public Cloud.
Limitations of Cloud-Based Contact Centers
- A cloud-based Contact Center is easier to upgrade and add new features, but it may come at a higher cost or require a premium license.
- Although the latter has no upfront equipment/software costs, the Total Cost of Operations after 4-5 years is similar for on-premise and cloud-based contact centers.
- It may be necessary to discard existing Contact Center/Telephony Switches if a company decides to implement cloud-based contact centers.
- It is important to have a fast and stable Internet connection in order to receive good voice quality. A low-speed or broadband connection makes this all the more applicable to agents working from home.
- It is possible that the customer is not directly responsible for Disaster Recovery/Backup.
- Providers provide different levels of security – both for the data and apps stored in their data centers, and for the data and voice moving into and out of the data centers. Depending on the cloud provider, customized security settings may not be available.
- It is possible for data to be stolen when agents and supervisors work remotely. The agents may be unaware that third-party phishing/malware applications are listening or stealing customer data when they use their personal computers.
Conclusion
Lastly, superior customer experiences are the natural outcome when companies are able to staff skilled agents around the globe 24/7. When a business handles customer cases with ease and saves them time, customers will notice and appreciate the efficiency. Having the ability to work under flexible conditions increases agents’ efficiency, enabling them to deliver a better customer experience. Businesses and customers can both benefit from cloud contact centers. When it comes to offering the best customer experience, the sky is the limit with enhanced efficiency, security, and scalability. Find out how Knowlarity delivers the very best in customer service.
Cloud and accessed via the Internet, sometimes in conjunction with the Telephony Switch. Unlike agents and managers, customers simply make a call or send a message to the company rather than accessing dashboards through the browser (or through a desktop/phone client).
A cloud-based contact center or call center has both advantages and limitations, as we’ll see in this post.Having the ability to work under flexible conditions increases agents’ efficiency, enabling them to deliver a better customer experience.