Workforce Management Featured Article
Reducing Cloud Anxiety in the Contact Center
Despite the benefits of the cloud to contact center business, a majority of companies are still running their contact center platform on-premises. While some may have put one or two functions into the cloud, when it comes to the very foundation of the contact center – the communications platform – most companies are still doing it the old fashioned way. In theory, they know the benefits of the cloud: it’s more flexible, it is more scalable, there are no upfront costs, companies pay only for what they need, they receive software upgrades automatically as soon as they become available (without receiving a bill every time that happens), and it provides them with the ability to use home-based agents to fill in for absent workers or during times of peak call volume.
So why are so many contact centers still hesitating? Perhaps because of a number of unfounded fears or rumors that plague the cloud call center industry still. In a recent blog post, Chuck Ciarlo, CEO of workforce optimization solutions provider Monet Software, wrote that too many companies are still afraid they will “lose control” of their contact centers or their data. It may be the very word “cloud” that’s scaring people off.
“Maybe they should have found a better word when the technology was introduced, so it doesn’t seem like your data is traveling somewhere so distant,” wrote Ciarlo. “But the reality is you are still in control, just as you were when the hardware was sitting in your contact center. You can make changes as you need them, and with Monet you’ll also have the expertise of our dedicated support team to answer any questions.”
Another bugbear the cloud call center platform suffers from is a perception of business interruptions during the transition from premises-based to the cloud. Contact center managers have visions of horror in which they’ll be disconnected from their business processes for days at a time. This is false, says Ciarlo. Cloud vendors are equipped to ensure that the transition is smooth and doesn’t cause business interruptions.
“The cloud solution will be customized, prepared and tested before it is live, and can run parallel with your hardware solution during the actual conversion, so it can continue to function if an issue arises,” he wrote. “Typically, however, the switch to cloud is quick and easy.”
Data security – another area of concern – is also at least as secure as it would be a premises-based solution. While it’s true that contact centers have an obligation to keep customer data secure, cloud providers – who often have far more robust security infrastructure in place than users of premises-based solutions – can assist customers by ensuring this data is kept safe by state-of-the-art security protocols.
As more businesses realize the benefits of the cloud – and realize their fears about it are unfounded – the number of contact centers migrating their platforms to the cloud will steadily rise. In the long run, it’s good for budgets, good for workers, good for customers and good for managers.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi