February 23, 2022
February 23, 2022
Traditionally, contact centers were tethered to wired telephone lines and on-premise PBX systems. But times have changed and we have ushered in a new era where on-premise contact centers are a thing of the past. There’s no clunky hardware and no physical boundaries. These modern-day solutions use software as their primary tool that runs entirely over high-speed internet technology and thus are called cloud contact centers.
Before we delve deep into the concept of cloud contact centers, let’s first understand how a modern-day contact center differs from the traditional ones.
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There are several key aspects that differ between cloud contact centers and on-premise contact centers. Here’s a comparison of the two:
The main difference between these two is that there isn’t any requirement for telecom hardware or equipment in the case of a cloud PBX contact center. There is no purchase, installation, or maintenance involved as phone calls happen over the VoIP technology.
When it comes to scalability, cloud contact center software comes out to be the winner as it can deliver features as per the demand of the business, whereas on-premise contact center systems require extensive hardware upgrades.
Another significant difference between the two is that cloud-based contact centers can let agents easily handle high volumes of customer calls, both inbound and outbound.
Cloud contact centers typically follow a subscription or pay-as-you-go pricing model. This comes out to be quite budget-friendly for small to medium-sized businesses. However, on-premise contact center systems require significant upfront capital expenditure along with the ongoing costs of maintenance, upgrades, IT staff salaries, etc.
In the case of cloud contact center solutions, all the work related to maintenance such as software updates, security patches, infrastructure management, etc., is entirely handled by the service provider. On the other hand, on-premise solutions require the business to manage and maintain all the aspects related to the call center. This includes maintenance of the hardware, software updates, security patches, etc.
Again, in cloud contact centers, disaster recovery, and redundancy are handled by the service providers. And, for the on-premise setup, all these aspects related to data backup and recovery are managed by the company itself, which is a time and resource-consuming task.
Since everything runs over the cloud, agents only need a device such as a laptop having call center software installed in it along with their headsets and a high-speed internet connection. This means agents can take calls while sitting in the office as well as remotely. Here’s a detailed explanation of how it works:
Cloud contact centers rely on cloud computing infrastructures that are managed and provided by service providers. Typically, a cloud infrastructure includes servers, storage, and networking resources. All these elements are hosted in multiple data centers that are dispersed in different geographical locations around the globe.
The working model of cloud-based contact centers is typically SaaS i.e. Software as a Service. Contact center businesses subscribe to the service and access it over the internet cloud. There’s no need for them to install any on-premise equipment.
When a call arrives at the cloud contact center, the system makes use of intelligent routing algorithms to direct the call to the most suitable agent or department. This is done to make sure that callers receive effective assistance and get their queries resolved as soon as possible. Also, during peak hours, the system places the calls in queues so that calls are handled efficiently.
Cloud contact center solutions come with a user-friendly desktop interface. All the interactions with the customers or callers are done by agents using this interface. All the information related to calls, customers, tools, etc., is available through the desktop interface.
Most of the cloud contact center solutions come with the IVR feature i.e. Interactive Voice Response that allows customers to self-service using the automated menus, get answers to routine questions, etc., without speaking to a live agent. This helps reduce wait time for callers and enhances the efficiency of the agents.
Call center businesses can easily add or remove agents from the cloud call center solution because of their scalability. This helps in accommodating the fluctuating call volumes quite easily.
Cloud Phone Systems come with detailed analytics and reporting capabilities. Insights provided by these features help managers monitor the KPIs along with the customer experience and figure out areas of improvement.
Cloud contact center solutions comply with various industry standards for security such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc. These solutions employ effective encryption algorithms and access controls to protect the sensitive information of the business.
Cloud contact center solutions come with strong built-in redundancy and disaster recovery mechanisms. These systems ensure that the service remains up and running in case of system failures and disasters by mirroring data across multiple servers across the globe.
You can also read our post on – Inbound vs Outbound Call Center Solution: Key Difference
The superiority of the cloud-based contact centers in terms of the number of benefits they offer is the main reason for on-premise contact centers becoming obsolete. On-premise contact centers require the physical presence of the employees to address customer inquiries. This is one of the reasons why cloud-based contact centers like KloudTalk are the right approach for growing customer call volumes.
Here are the top benefits of using cloud contact centers over on-premise PBX setups:
There is no denying the fact that switching from analog to cloud-based solutions certainly benefits businesses in terms of cost. The companies who opt for cloud-based contact centers need not plan for physical space for hardware infrastructure, power backup, multiple network carriers, and the human resources required for the installation and maintenance of the on-premise PBXs. All these factors when considered together make a huge investment from which businesses can save themselves by opting for cloud technology. And there’s more to it! A cloud-based contact center software eliminates the need for various apps that otherwise would be required to perform various tasks.
Several companies across the globe have now started working from home permanently while many others have made it hybrid. In such a scenario, cloud contact centers are just a perfect fit as they offer greater flexibility. Employees can work and stay connected no matter the location and time. Cloud-based contact center software is built to work across different devices and operating system platforms which gives employees added convenience. Some of the best cloud-based contact center platforms also offer reporting facilities which means supervisors and call center directors can have transparent insights into employee productivity and customer experience.
With so much competition and agility in the business landscape, can a business afford to wait for weeks to start its customer contact center? Certainly not. With a cloud-based contact center, the setup window is much shorter since there is no hardware involvement. The onboarding and learning curve is instant and customization and troubleshooting is just a matter of a few minutes. Also, when supervisors need to track and analyze employee performance, they can pull the stats rapidly.
As the volume of your customer calls expands, you add more employees to handle the increased workload. This means you need instant extensions through which calls can be taken. In such a situation, cloud-based systems are quite resilient as they use virtualization technology to roll in new extensions. No matter the number of calls to be handled, cloud systems have you covered effectively. In the case of on-premise phone systems, upgrading is a cumbersome task. Additional resources are required for installation, maintenance backup, etc.
With the right tools at their disposal, there are high chances of employees working to their full potential thus bringing excellent results in customer experience. The usage of decade-old tools or even dozens of tools certainly adds to inefficiency. A robust cloud contact center like KloudTalk can help employees save a lot of their precious working hours to be devoted to more critical tasks. Useful features such as intelligent call routing can direct customer calls to the right agent thus ensuring fast and seamless response to customer inquiries.
With cloud-based software, you can add more users as per your needs. There’s no hardware mess and no complex configuration. This means that you can always start with ‘as required’ and grow gradually. However, if we consider the on-premise solutions, there are fewer chances of growing as needed. Since it involves lots of installations and configurations, it has to be big from the very beginning. And, whenever you want to expand, there’s a lot to be done every single time.
Cloud phone systems like KloudTalk are just the perfect fit when it comes to reliability. Uninterrupted by bad weather, building hazards, or network outages, you can expect smooth working and maximum uptime with KloudTalk. Traditional contact center systems hardly offer all these benefits.
Often this feature of cloud-based software is underestimated. But if utilized well, it gives out powerful results. KloudTalk offers a real-time reporting feature, which lets you measure every stage of your customer experience with much ease. Employee performance can be measured with such reports for further improvements or improvisations. Also, management can use these reports to forecast future trends in customer behavior, sales, etc.
Selecting the right product and service provider is not a one-day job, it will take time to compare the most suitable solutions, take demos, and compare features and pricing. To start with:
Our Team at KloudTalk can answer all your queries regarding the cloud contact center software. Get in touch with us.
Note- This post has been updated with the latest information on 21-09-23.
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