Years ago, call centers underwent a drastic change when they became "contact centers,” which, in addition to handling voice, began to serve other channels such as text chat, Twitter, WhatsApp, and more.
Back to the present day, another radical change is in full swing, the transition from on-premise contact center software to cloud-based contact center software. That motivated us to write this article to address why businesses should switch to a cloud-based contact center.
1. Scalability
One of the key benefits of cloud-based solutions is the flexibility provided by their scalability. In traditional on-premise solutions, there is always the inherent limitation of the installed computing capacity. This meant that there was a limit to the number of clients that could serve per hour. The only way out of that limit was to increase investment in infrastructure. On the other hand, too high a capacity meant wasted resources and high maintenance costs.
In the case of cloud-based contact center software, all these problems disappear. Take Samespace's cloud-based contact center software, for example. Thanks to its AI-based Conversational Service Automation (CSA), the number of connected calls can be increased by up to 100%. Moreover, if the contact center experiences a higher volume than usual (e.g., during holiday periods) and the Conversational AI bots are not enough, you can add additional agents. The opposite case also applies. If the contact center enters a period of low demand, you can remove agents to adjust the hourly call capacity to your convenience.
The flexibility to adjust in real-time to demand is undoubtedly one of the factors why businesses are attracted to cloud-based contact center software solutions. This is closely linked to the following benefit.
2. Reduced costs
The possibility of adjusting the number of active agents in real-time represents a significant saving of resources. But it's not the only way cloud-based contact center software saves businesses money.
We have already pointed out the investment in IT infrastructure, which is undoubtedly also a substantial saving. Still, we did not mention the costly licenses that are usually paid for when using on-premise solutions. The annual subscription cost of cloud-based contact center software such as Samespace's is much lower than the rigid licenses used in on-premise solutions. Furthermore, using cloud-based contact center software opens up the possibility of cost savings on other fronts:
- No costs are associated with software upgrades.
- Eliminates the need to maintain expensive servers to run the software
- Enable the use of remote agents to meet peak demand or cover a larger number of time zones.
The latter benefit is twofold, as it also reduces the investment needed in physical infrastructure to accommodate the agents. This is because remote agents only need an Internet connection to access the software.
3. Enhanced security
Security is a top priority today, so no business can afford to work with systems that are not up to date. As mentioned in the previous point, the licensing terms used by many conventional on-premise solutions force you to pay an extra fee every time the software is upgraded. This is partly because the upgrade is performed by the vendor using its own certified staff. On top of that, most of the time, the contact center must go offline during the process. In other words, staying secure with on-premise solutions is not economical.
On the other hand, we have cloud-based contact center software, which by its very nature is kept up to date all the time. From a security point of view, you can think of cloud-based contact center software like Google's office suite; updates are transparent to the end-user. Since most of the services offered by cloud-based solutions like Samespace are charged per user, the cost of keeping your platform up to date is already included in the subscription. There are no hidden costs or downtime; the contact center is kept secure 24/7.
4. Boost agents efficiency
Moving to the next-gen cloud-based contact center boosts agent efficiency in many ways. In simple terms, we could say that this is due to factors such as:
- Access to relevant data. By having a knowledge base updated in real-time, agents have a better context of the situation they are dealing with.
- Real-time coaching. Thanks to cloud-based platforms, the agent can receive real-time support from both AI-based bots and their supervisors so that they can provide the best possible customer experience.
- Simplicity. Cloud-based contact center software such as Samespace leaves behind the complexity of traditional contact center software. It provides agents and supervisors with a simpler, more intuitive GUI which boosts their productivity.
To learn more about how the cloud-based contact center improves process efficiency, we suggest you read our article How Cloud Contact Center Software Can Help Enhance Your Operations.
5. Fast implementation
As you might expect, implementing a cloud-based solution is magnitudes faster than a local installation. The process of installing the servers, connecting them to the infrastructure, preparing the operating system, installing the software, and finally running the necessary tests in the contact center can take anywhere from weeks to months.
In that sense, starting to enjoy the benefits of cloud-based solutions is much simpler as agents only require an internet connection to access the software. Moreover, industry leaders like Samespace offer support and assistance throughout the deployment process, which speeds up implementation time and ensures optimal results.
6. Flexible to challenges
Another inherent advantage of moving to a cloud-based contact center is adapting to change and meeting new challenges that may arise.
This is because the flexibility of cloud-based contact center software is not limited to its scalability but also has to do with its ability to add new features, tools, and technologies as needed. So, for example, if the need arises in the future to incorporate a new social media channel into your omnichannel strategy, you can easily do so. New AI algorithms are available? No problem, developers can incorporate them and increase the added value of the service. Best of all, all these improvements do not require a change of infrastructure.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, we have listed the most salient benefits of cloud-based contact center software. This does not mean that they are the only ones.
When businesses are migrating more and more services to the cloud, it is only a matter of time before on-premise solutions are completely replaced by cloud-based contact center software. This is probably an additional reason why your business should switch to a cloud-based contact center solution, don't miss the boat. Or even worse, don’t let your competition take the lead.