Tom Goodmanson CEO at Calabrio discusses the benefits of cloud technology for contact centre platforms and why doubters should embrace its positive attributes.
To maintain a high level of customer satisfaction in today’s always-on digital world, brands must deliver great experiences and exceed expectations for relevance and personalization with every customer interaction. That’s why smart brands are rethinking their technology strategies and modernizing via the cloud. In fact, IDC predicts that as early as next year, more than half of all enterprise IT workloads will be cloud-based; the contact centre is no exception.
According to the CCIQ Executive Report on Cloud Contact Centre Technology, 80 percent of contact centre solutions were deployed on-premises last year. That number is expected to drop to approximately 44 percent next year as perceptions of cloud-based solutions change and open the door for rapid adoption.
The provision of ultimate flexibility
When it comes to accommodating customers who want to communicate with brands from any place, regardless of geographical location or time zone, contact centres must be equipped to deliver a globalised, multi-channel experience that includes web, chat, phone, email, text and social media.
With cloud, contact centre agents can access the tools they need from anywhere and be readily equipped to communicate with customers across channels. This is the “always on” approach and it is a powerful, modern take on the contact centre that allows agents flexibility to create a great customer experience every time.
High availability
Cloud-based technology might well be pitched to contact centres on the grounds of greater cost reduction or the simplification of internal processes, but these returns are not enough to deem a technology successful.
Asked to weigh the factors they consider when purchasing contact centre technology, respondents to the CCIQ report declared the technology’s promised uptime / reliability represented the most important factor. It naturally follows that the “always on” demands created by constant customer communication have resulted in the elevation of this particular attribute in the technology buyer’s checklist.
In today’s landscape, technology success should be evaluated based on the end goal; better customer experiences. These ultimately exist in conjunction with lesser downtime, quicker resolution and more efficient operations. Successful solutions generate a broader sense of value for the customer and business.
Accommodating seasonal spikes and variances with scalability
Seasonal spikes in contact centres have historically lead to the need for temporary employees to handle the influx of calls during busy periods—they need a solution to accommodate this rise in demand and variances. Some on-premises licensing agreements can be inflexible, resulting in contact centres paying for more than they actually need. With the cloud, contact centres can scale up or down to accommodate customer demand, so they only pay for licenses they actually use. This ultimately results in a better experience for customers, as wait times are decreased and issues can be resolved quicker.
Now that the cloud is within reach, contact centres have never been more prepared to serve customers. Cloud’s unparalleled flexibility, reliability and scalability is transforming the contact centre into modern hub for customer engagement and smart brands have every reason to feel confident that the benefits outweigh any preconceived fears or reservations they felt.
