The ideal scenario when launching a new business activity is to complement it with a new customer service offering to give it the best start possible - but enterprises have been hobbled by a need for business growth before any such investment can be made. Cloud contact center, however, provides a rapid and flexible answer to this problem.
Whether you are introducing a new product line, service or corporate venture, cloud contact center provides an agile way to market and speeds up the introduction of new methods and processes. Cloud contact center can be set up in six to eight weeks, depending on its complexity, and there is no on-site hardware investment cost.
Today’s customers are more mobile and hyper-connected. They are no longer satisfied with just the ability to connect to an agent. They also want to use, for example, self-service channels, social media and text messaging. Cloud contact center provides the power this on-demand omni-channel experience demands and builds customer loyalty.
Here are the five key benefits of cloud contact centers:
Flexibility
The sheer beauty of cloud contact center is that it is quick and easy to deploy and can be scaled up or down according to seasonal demands or campaigns coming on or off line, for example.
No Hardware Investment
For the deployment of on-premise systems a complete contact centre infrastructure is required, including hardware and software, which requires huge capital investment. With cloud contact center only the existing telephony and data network is necessary. So no hardware investment is required on site. Service provisioning is done from within the cloud. There are also no hardware or software upgrades to worry about as this is all part of the service and transparent to the enterprise.
No Upfront Expenditure
Cloud contact center does not require any upfront CAPEX expenditure for deployment. It is offered on pay-as-you-go or flat tariff payment models. Enterprises can choose the model that best works for them. One single cloudtenant can cover hundreds of agents located locally or globally. The pay-as-you-go monthly payment scheme offers flexibility for companies that are running a lot of campaigns, making it easier to adapt resources.
Enhanced Management of Agents’ Time
Cloud contact center enables enterprises to provide on-demand support to customers 24/7 via follow the sun capabilities. This enables enterprises to exploit different time zones and leverage their agents (who can be spread over a wide geographical area) to fit in with peak demands, for example.
In addition, in event of disaster, for example, calls can be diverted at network level as part of a disaster recovery plan to ensure continuity of service. This could mean enabling agents to work from home on landlines or on mobiles.
Standardization & Integration
Standardization is key. A Cloud Contact Center has the same look and feel across all agents to create a seamless customer experience. The intuitive front end means that little or no agent training is required. In fact, 8 out of 10 companies found that training wasn’t totally necessary, even though it was made available.
In addition a Cloud Contact Center is compatible with most CRM (Customer Relationship Management) applications and databases, making integration into other enterprise systems easy.
Single Tool Solution
Orange Flexible Contact Center (or FCC) is a good example of a solution designed to manage a growing number of contacts through differentmedia. It provides a single interface to manage customer needs. The solution is fully integrated with Orange’s global, secured MPLS network and includes a rich choice of international call collection number types, with in-cloud qualification, distribution and delivery. Contacts can be routed according to availability and agent expertise.
All PBXs makes are compatible with Flexible Contact Center and enterprises can use the FCC softphone feature to significantly reduce voice traffic expenditure.
This Virtual Contact Center solution can also be accessed securely via the internet, making it ideal for those using remote and/or home-based agents. It uses all the features of a traditional portal, accessible via a URL, plus offers functions for supervisors and administrators such as personalized desktops.
No Brainer
The cloud contact center enables new interaction channels and increases the number of available workstations to address peaks in demand, all without having to invest in new infrastructures. These benefits make for an obvious business case to help any new venture fly.
With over 25 years of international IT / Telco industry experience, Stuart heads up Global Sales within Orange Applications for Business (OAB) for cloud contact centre solutions. He has a truly international career, spanning a total of 7 countries in which he acquired extensive multi-cultural acumen while managing complex projects over a 20 year period. Stuart is a university graduate of Engineering, which is also his passion. His interests include hiking, travelling and sub-aqua diving.