The cloud as a deployment model has matured, and cloud contact center solutions are no exception. Although contact centers face barriers with complexity, security of customer data, legacy investments and strict technology budgets, these concerns are gradually being pushed aside as providers focus on delivering reliable, scalable cloud contact center technologies.
Every contact center vendor has stepped up investments in cloud through acquisitions, internal developments and strategic partnerships in order to provide competitive solutions. This means that enterprises now have an array of choices when looking at a cloud contact center solutions including multitenant, private cloud or hybrid options as well as the choice to work with large telcos, traditional premises players or specialist cloud contact center players.
Today there is such a wide availability of solutions that the most difficult decision may be finding the right provider rather than whether to choose a cloud solution. Contact centers that are making the move from a premises-solution or even looking to switch cloud providers should consider how they can use technology to meet their business needs, innovate and standardize their core platforms. They should choose a solution where they can attain the following benefits:
- Monthly subscription fees -- The cloud offers a more flexible payment plan than traditional premises-based solutions that require a large initial payment. Enterprises paying a monthly fee gain flexibility in choosing when and which teams to migrate. They also have the potential for savings on internal resources for managing the technology, maintenance and upgrades.
- Customer service -- With monthly payment plans and shorter tie-in times (contract lengths are now being reduced from three years to one or two years), enterprises have a greater ability to switch contact center provider. Cloud providers have more responsibility to provide good support, ensure reliability and innovate in order to remain sticky.
- Continuous upgrades and new features -- With access to the latest features and functionality whenever they are released, contact centers can add multichannel features when they are rolled out rather than having to wait to upgrade. While cloud contact centers traditionally had reduced feature sets to make them faster and easier to deploy, they are rapidly catching up to their premises-based counterparts. In many cases vendors offer feature parity across their premises and cloud-based offerings.
- Focus on staff and customer satisfaction -- Contact centers can shift their resources from managing contact center technologies to developing customized service applications. They can look at developing new mobile applications or sharing cross-channel data instead of managing the security and data of their in-house tools.
- Faster deployment times -- Contact center providers already have the capabilities in place to get enterprises up and running once data has been transferred. With minimal requirements to invest in on-premises hardware, enterprises can easily scale the contact center to meet new channel needs or higher call volumes.
- Security -- Cloud providers have to invest heavily in their backup sites in order to guarantee uptime and meet service levels. Often they will have better security features than if the solution was deployed in-house.
- Standardize products globally -- Remote access to tools means that contact centers can access the same products globally and standardize on one platform. It will take a while to roll out a solution across different contact centers, but when they do, contact centers can more easily share data, save on maintenance and consolidate billing.
Cloud contact center solutions do not make sense for all enterprises; many businesses still have existing technology and data needs that mean they want to keep their platform in-house. However, they may have particular applications that they can migrate to the cloud as and when they need, such as CRM or social support tools.
Contact centers that are looking to move their platforms to the cloud should consider how they can work with their providers to differentiate their customer service organization. In today's highly competitive cloud contact center world, reliability and scalability should be a given; enterprises should look for availability of customization options, easy integration with other applications, support with migration of data from existing platforms, and whether their provider is focused on innovation and investment in new technologies.
At Enterprise Connect Orlando some of the leading cloud contact center providers will discuss how their customers are using cloud solutions to gain competitive advantages. Listen to case studies and ask questions about when to move to cloud on Tuesday 17th March at 1.30pm EST, in the session, "Contact Center in the Cloud."
Customer service -- With monthly payment plans and shorter tie-in times (contract lengths are now being reduced from three years to one or two years), enterprises have a greater ability to switch contact center provider. Cloud providers have more responsibility to provide good support, ensure reliability and innovate in order to remain sticky.
Continuous upgrades and new features -- With access to the latest features and functionality whenever they are released, contact centers can add multichannel features when they are rolled out rather than having to wait to upgrade. While cloud contact centers traditionally had reduced feature sets to make them faster and easier to deploy, they are rapidly catching up to their premises-based counterparts. In many cases vendors offer feature parity across their premises and cloud-based offerings.
Focus on staff and customer satisfaction -- Contact centers can shift their resources from managing contact center technologies to developing customized service applications. They can look at developing new mobile applications or sharing cross-channel data instead of managing the security and data of their in-house tools.
Faster deployment times -- Contact center providers already have the capabilities in place to get enterprises up and running once data has been transferred. With minimal requirements to invest in on-premises hardware, enterprises can easily scale the contact center to meet new channel needs or higher call volumes.
Security -- Cloud providers have to invest heavily in their backup sites in order to guarantee uptime and meet service levels. Often they will have better security features than if the solution was deployed in-house.
Standardize products globally -- Remote access to tools means that contact centers can access the same products globally and standardize on one platform. It will take a while to roll out a solution across different contact centers, but when they do, contact centers can more easily share data, save on maintenance and consolidate billing. Cloud contact center solutions do not make sense for all enterprises; many businesses still have existing technology and data needs that mean they want to keep their platform in-house. However, they may have particular applications that they can migrate to the cloud as and when they need, such as CRM or social support tools.
Contact centers that are looking to move their platforms to the cloud should consider how they can work with their providers to differentiate their customer service organization. In today's highly competitive cloud contact center world, reliability and scalability should be a given; enterprises should look for availability of customization options, easy integration with other applications, support with migration of data from existing platforms, and whether their provider is focused on innovation and investment in new technologies.
At Enterprise Connect Orlando some of the leading cloud contact center providers will discuss how their customers are using cloud solutions to gain competitive advantages. Listen to case studies and ask questions about when to move to cloud on Tuesday 17th March at 1.30pm EST, in the session, "Contact Center in the Cloud."
Continuous upgrades and new features -- With access to the latest features and functionality whenever they are released, contact centers can add multichannel features when they are rolled out rather than having to wait to upgrade. While cloud contact centers traditionally had reduced feature sets to make them faster and easier to deploy, they are rapidly catching up to their premises-based counterparts. In many cases vendors offer feature parity across their premises and cloud-based offerings.
Focus on staff and customer satisfaction -- Contact centers can shift their resources from managing contact center technologies to developing customized service applications. They can look at developing new mobile applications or sharing cross-channel data instead of managing the security and data of their in-house tools.
Faster deployment times -- Contact center providers already have the capabilities in place to get enterprises up and running once data has been transferred. With minimal requirements to invest in on-premises hardware, enterprises can easily scale the contact center to meet new channel needs or higher call volumes.
Security -- Cloud providers have to invest heavily in their backup sites in order to guarantee uptime and meet service levels. Often they will have better security features than if the solution was deployed in-house.
Standardize products globally -- Remote access to tools means that contact centers can access the same products globally and standardize on one platform. It will take a while to roll out a solution across different contact centers, but when they do, contact centers can more easily share data, save on maintenance and consolidate billing. Cloud contact center solutions do not make sense for all enterprises; many businesses still have existing technology and data needs that mean they want to keep their platform in-house. However, they may have particular applications that they can migrate to the cloud as and when they need, such as CRM or social support tools.
Contact centers that are looking to move their platforms to the cloud should consider how they can work with their providers to differentiate their customer service organization. In today's highly competitive cloud contact center world, reliability and scalability should be a given; enterprises should look for availability of customization options, easy integration with other applications, support with migration of data from existing platforms, and whether their provider is focused on innovation and investment in new technologies.
At Enterprise Connect Orlando some of the leading cloud contact center providers will discuss how their customers are using cloud solutions to gain competitive advantages. Listen to case studies and ask questions about when to move to cloud on Tuesday 17th March at 1.30pm EST, in the session, "Contact Center in the Cloud."
Focus on staff and customer satisfaction -- Contact centers can shift their resources from managing contact center technologies to developing customized service applications. They can look at developing new mobile applications or sharing cross-channel data instead of managing the security and data of their in-house tools.
Faster deployment times -- Contact center providers already have the capabilities in place to get enterprises up and running once data has been transferred. With minimal requirements to invest in on-premises hardware, enterprises can easily scale the contact center to meet new channel needs or higher call volumes.
Security -- Cloud providers have to invest heavily in their backup sites in order to guarantee uptime and meet service levels. Often they will have better security features than if the solution was deployed in-house.
Standardize products globally -- Remote access to tools means that contact centers can access the same products globally and standardize on one platform. It will take a while to roll out a solution across different contact centers, but when they do, contact centers can more easily share data, save on maintenance and consolidate billing. Cloud contact center solutions do not make sense for all enterprises; many businesses still have existing technology and data needs that mean they want to keep their platform in-house. However, they may have particular applications that they can migrate to the cloud as and when they need, such as CRM or social support tools.
Contact centers that are looking to move their platforms to the cloud should consider how they can work with their providers to differentiate their customer service organization. In today's highly competitive cloud contact center world, reliability and scalability should be a given; enterprises should look for availability of customization options, easy integration with other applications, support with migration of data from existing platforms, and whether their provider is focused on innovation and investment in new technologies.
At Enterprise Connect Orlando some of the leading cloud contact center providers will discuss how their customers are using cloud solutions to gain competitive advantages. Listen to case studies and ask questions about when to move to cloud on Tuesday 17th March at 1.30pm EST, in the session, "Contact Center in the Cloud."
Faster deployment times -- Contact center providers already have the capabilities in place to get enterprises up and running once data has been transferred. With minimal requirements to invest in on-premises hardware, enterprises can easily scale the contact center to meet new channel needs or higher call volumes.
Security -- Cloud providers have to invest heavily in their backup sites in order to guarantee uptime and meet service levels. Often they will have better security features than if the solution was deployed in-house.
Standardize products globally -- Remote access to tools means that contact centers can access the same products globally and standardize on one platform. It will take a while to roll out a solution across different contact centers, but when they do, contact centers can more easily share data, save on maintenance and consolidate billing. Cloud contact center solutions do not make sense for all enterprises; many businesses still have existing technology and data needs that mean they want to keep their platform in-house. However, they may have particular applications that they can migrate to the cloud as and when they need, such as CRM or social support tools.
Contact centers that are looking to move their platforms to the cloud should consider how they can work with their providers to differentiate their customer service organization. In today's highly competitive cloud contact center world, reliability and scalability should be a given; enterprises should look for availability of customization options, easy integration with other applications, support with migration of data from existing platforms, and whether their provider is focused on innovation and investment in new technologies.
At Enterprise Connect Orlando some of the leading cloud contact center providers will discuss how their customers are using cloud solutions to gain competitive advantages. Listen to case studies and ask questions about when to move to cloud on Tuesday 17th March at 1.30pm EST, in the session, "Contact Center in the Cloud."
Security -- Cloud providers have to invest heavily in their backup sites in order to guarantee uptime and meet service levels. Often they will have better security features than if the solution was deployed in-house.
Standardize products globally -- Remote access to tools means that contact centers can access the same products globally and standardize on one platform. It will take a while to roll out a solution across different contact centers, but when they do, contact centers can more easily share data, save on maintenance and consolidate billing. Cloud contact center solutions do not make sense for all enterprises; many businesses still have existing technology and data needs that mean they want to keep their platform in-house. However, they may have particular applications that they can migrate to the cloud as and when they need, such as CRM or social support tools.
Contact centers that are looking to move their platforms to the cloud should consider how they can work with their providers to differentiate their customer service organization. In today's highly competitive cloud contact center world, reliability and scalability should be a given; enterprises should look for availability of customization options, easy integration with other applications, support with migration of data from existing platforms, and whether their provider is focused on innovation and investment in new technologies.
At Enterprise Connect Orlando some of the leading cloud contact center providers will discuss how their customers are using cloud solutions to gain competitive advantages. Listen to case studies and ask questions about when to move to cloud on Tuesday 17th March at 1.30pm EST, in the session, "Contact Center in the Cloud."
Standardize products globally -- Remote access to tools means that contact centers can access the same products globally and standardize on one platform. It will take a while to roll out a solution across different contact centers, but when they do, contact centers can more easily share data, save on maintenance and consolidate billing. Cloud contact center solutions do not make sense for all enterprises; many businesses still have existing technology and data needs that mean they want to keep their platform in-house. However, they may have particular applications that they can migrate to the cloud as and when they need, such as CRM or social support tools.
Contact centers that are looking to move their platforms to the cloud should consider how they can work with their providers to differentiate their customer service organization. In today's highly competitive cloud contact center world, reliability and scalability should be a given; enterprises should look for availability of customization options, easy integration with other applications, support with migration of data from existing platforms, and whether their provider is focused on innovation and investment in new technologies.
At Enterprise Connect Orlando some of the leading cloud contact center providers will discuss how their customers are using cloud solutions to gain competitive advantages. Listen to case studies and ask questions about when to move to cloud on Tuesday 17th March at 1.30pm EST, in the session, "Contact Center in the Cloud."
