Newsletters

Customer Support:   (972) 395-3225

Home

Articles, News, Announcements - click Main News Page
Previous Story       Next Story
    
Three Considerations When Moving Your Contact Center To The Cloud

by Felipe Rodriguez - September 19, 2018

Three Considerations When Moving Your Contact Center to the Cloud
 
Experts are calling for the cloud-based contact center market to grow to more than $10 billion by 2019. This giant leap is not surprising given the clear benefits of cloud-based contact centers. Intelligent call routing, integration of new communication channels, higher customer satisfaction and more responsive customer service to name a few. Significant savings on upfront technology investment and ongoing maintenance expenses are also front and center among the reasons to switch. Traditional on-premise UC solutions require expensive contact center equipment and infrastructure, and owning this hardware means maintaining it, which adds to the ongoing cost of operating a contact center.  With cloud-based solutions, the upfront investment is eliminated and ongoing costs are predictable.
However compelling, before you make the leap, it is important to be prepared. Because, as with any transition in the technology world, there are unforeseen factors that will impact your results.  Following are some key areas to consider as you think about migrating to a cloud-based call center:
Shoring up payment security
Securing payments can turn into a challenging task, especially if the contact center is capturing customer payment card information over the phone. When people hand over their sensitive payment information, they expect it to be handled in a secure and professional manner. As you consider moving to a cloud-based contact center, you will need to ensure that your new solution includes the optimal technology configuration to protect your organization, as well as your callers, from the threat of fraud. This can be achieved by making sure card details are not stored in the call center infrastructure but rather in a secure off-site hosted environment.
A cloud-based contact solution needs to have a rock solid security strategy. When evaluating cloud-based contact center solutions look for:
·         A multi-layer protection system that includes (but is not limited to) encryption of any stored payment card data.
·         PCI compliance which certifies that providers have the proper controls in place and are using best practices to handle credit card information.
·         Physical security including 24x7x365 surveillance as well as background checks on security staff.
·         Voice communication security to ensure that all communication between the agent and caller is fully secured and encrypted through the new cloud based system.
While security technology and requirements are constantly changing, make it a priority to be proactive about aligning the contact center’s current security needs with the capabilities of the provider. This will set you on a strong path toward the future.
Ensuring System and Agent Readiness
When planning a migration to the cloud, it is important that call center agents are well-versed with the impending change. Because many contact centers are rooted in an on-premise system, employees and agents may have a firm knowledge of voice, but adding modalities such as SMS, chat or video may prove to be difficult. The challenge lies in learning how to transition the old (on-premise) with the new (cloud-based). Enterprises should be proactive in helping agents constantly improve their knowledge base for the contact center to succeed in the cloud; if not, time and money will be wasted.
Companies that work closely with the cloud contact center management team will be able to ensure that the system accurately reflects the overall business flow and processes. For example, if your organization deals with healthcare clients, your system will need to be tuned to addressing the specific requirements of HIPAA.   Solutions that can capture all required information and map it to the contact center solution, make it easier and more productive for users, as they can easily leverage the dashboards, reporting metrics etc. that increase the value of the overall solution.
Once a system is optimized for the business, training the agents to use it will be critical. And fortunately, if done correctly, this process should be fairly simple and easy.
Defining a Clear Roadmap and Partnering with the Right Vendors
As with any new deployment, having a well-thought-out plan will prevent downtime and increase immediate and long term success. If decision makers don’t lay out a clear vision for the future, when it comes to deployment, all efforts will become ineffective. On the flip side, once the roadmap is defined, your organization will be well positioned to set out on the cloud customer contact journey. One of the first steps is to find the vendor that is right for you.  When selecting a partner consider these factors:
·         Experience: Look for a partner with history of success in your industry or with other like organizations.  A good partner should be able to advise you on strategy and work with you every step of the way. 
·         Technical expertise:  Execution and the ability to resolve issues quickly is critical, as any interruption in service can be incredibly damaging.  Because technology is evolving quickly, look for experienced providers that offer real-time access, flexibility and scalability.
·         Product features: Your organization will benefit from immediate access to the newest product features, services and roll-up updates.  Be sure to ask about customization options and integration with your existing applications.
·         Multi-location support: Organizations that have multiple contact center locations require a solution that will support agents across several locations. With the right provider, these companies can create high quality customer experiences and achieve great operational efficiencies.  
·         System redundancy: Proper redundancy and a strong business continuity plan mean that you will stay up and running no matter what. Ask for details on the vendor’s approach to system redundancy to ensure uptime and service levels. 
·         Live customer support: Don’t underestimate the value of having access to live, real-time customer support.  When a qualified professional answers the phone, your questions and issues are resolved quickly and without frustration. 
·         Reporting: At the end of the day, you will want to know if your migration to a cloud-based system has been successful.  Look for a vendor that provides best practices in reporting so that you can easily identify and communicate your ROI.  Being able to identify areas of success and also areas in need of improvement will create a long lasting vendor relationship.
Enterprises and contact centers that are considering moving their platforms to the cloud will benefit greatly from taking the time to think through the migration and prepare for the future. A well laid out plan and the right provider to partner with, can be a strategic differentiator for your business.  Contact center solutions that are managed in the cloud free up significant time and resources that can be spent on focusing on staff and customer satisfaction as well as handling higher call volumes.  And with added strategy and focus come the next wave of innovation.
 
 
 
 

    

 
Return to main news page