Cloud-based software and applications have made a huge difference in every industry across all verticals, but how has it specifically revolutionized call centers? With over 80 percent of consumers preferring to talk to an agent on the phone, that represents a huge cost for companies since call centers are the most expensive customer support channel. Cloud-based infrastructure can make a huge difference in those costs.
How the Cloud Cuts IT Infrastructure Costs
The benefits of the cloud in cutting costs is the main benefit that all cloud-based infrastructure advocates refer to, and they do so for a reason. According to a recent report from Frost & Sullivan, hosted call centers stand to save over 40 percent in costs over a 5 year period as compared to on-premise solutions. The key behind this is that cloud call centers offer much more flexible licensing and lower telecom costs than their on-premise counterparts, and they also eliminate many of the technological barriers associated with running call center software on your own dedicated equipment, thus reducing IT costs and making it easier to implement new technologies.
Cloud-Based Infrastructure Gives a Competitive Advantage
A study from Purdue University found that the repurchase rate for customers who have a successfully resolve and issue through a call center interaction jumps from 78 to 89 percent. Implementing a cloud-infrastructure in your call center means that you can hire remote agents in different time zones, thus ensuring that someone is available 24/7 to answer inbound calls and solve customer problems faster. Moreover, cloud-based infrastructures allow managers to monitor agents from anywhere, thus improving quality assurance as well.
A More Flexible Infrastructure with Cloud-Based Systems
Cloud-based applications are updated by the vendor, thus eliminating the need for your IT department to deal with that troublesome task. Additionally, a flexible infrastructure means your operations can adapt easily to the changing needs of your business, such as increasing or decreasing the size of your call center as needed since remote agents generally use their own equipment and work from their own space.
Supporting More Agents and Services with a Cloud-Based Infrastructure
With 35 percent of companies making plans to increase their home-based agents (according to Forrester), clearly going to the cloud is making outsourcing agents much easier. Not only can they access the same information as everyone else from wherever they are, but by being able to hire and train new agents remotely, you’re also assured to find the best possible employees for your call center since you have a wider pool of candidates to choose from. Since call centers already cut costs to IT by implementing a cloud-based system, it also allows them to hire more agents–and more agents means more specialized services.
The Bottom Line on Cloud-Based Infrastructure
Clearly, in addition to cutting IT infrastructure costs, the cloud gives call centers a more competitive advantage when it comes to general operations. By also making infrastructures more flexible and allowing call centers to support more agents, cloud-based contact centers are improving customer service across the board.
Are you planning to move to a cloud based solution? Do you need help to choose the right vendor? Let us know here in the comment area.
