Contact center dynamics are changing as well as the customer engagement landscape. Due to the growing customer expectations and time constraints, cloud call center solutions are more important than ever before. With technology, businesses and agents can offer omnichannel customer service, and customers can handle most queries themselves. In order to achieve high omnichannel engagement, you must streamline communication across voice, email, and other digital channels.
Statista forecasts that Cloud telephony will grow by 8.9 percent in 2020 and 17.8 percent in 2021, making it one of the most significant segments in the market. We will discuss the advantages of cloud call centers over on-premise call centers in this article.
Cloud vs. On-Premise Call Centers: Major Differences
Setup price and ongoing costs
When it comes to costs, choosing between an on-premise call center and one that runs in the cloud means choosing between up-front or ongoing costs. Getting everything set up with an on-premise call center comes with a hefty front-end price tag for hardware, labor, space, and other costs. It will be necessary to update the system every few years as technology evolves, and that will cost you each time. Cloud-based contact centers are inexpensive to set up and are paid for with a recurring subscription fee.
Hardware installation time
An on-premise contact center is typically set up over several months, as companies acquire hardware, acquire licenses, install software, and construct any buildings that are required to house the infrastructure. Using cloud-based call centers, you can get up and running in a matter of hours by installing an app on your computer.
Agent productivity
Agents of on-premise call centers frequently use more than one application to perform their duties. They typically use between four and ten applications. The time spent switching between programs manually adds up over time, not to mention the lag time as the system catches up.
A cloud contact center offers all the functionality an agent requires in a single application, which eliminates the need to switch screens. Automated features such as auto-dialing and consent collection are built into the software to minimize the steps required to service every call.
Maintenance and upkeep
Traditional call centers are maintained and upheld by a company’s IT staff or contractors it hires, giving the organization maximum control over its functions. In contrast, a cloud-based contact center is maintained by its service provider. Updates to legacy systems can be complicated and costly, so companies often postpone them for longer than they should. Old technology is only exacerbated by this delay.
Reliability and downtime
One of the biggest challenges with an onsite call center is reliability. Since it’s location-specific, it’s susceptible to anything that happens at that location, be it a construction accident that knocks out power or a storm that floods the server room.
Cloud call centers have a much more reliable architecture than traditional call centers because of their geographical redundancy. As long as agents can access the internet from somewhere with a strong connection, cloud-based systems can achieve close to 100% uptime.
Collaboration
When a customer calls, they are directed to the most appropriate agent, whether it is setting up a new account or troubleshooting a technical issue. A phone transfer takes place at an on-premise call center, which may involve manually dialing another agent’s extension and hoping they’re available. Cloud-based contact centers utilize automatic call distributors to route callers to the most relevant agent right away, minimizing handoffs and accelerating resolutions.
Customer preference
You would not send the customer’s delivery order on Friday instead if they asked for Tuesday delivery. Therefore, why would you disregard their preferences for support channels?
Cloud-based contact centers and on-premise contact centers can offer a variety of channels, including phone, email, live chat, and text messaging. However, on-premise call centers often struggle with the same technical issue that we discussed earlier, requiring agents to switch back and forth between different apps, which wastes time.
Integrations
To name a few, your business uses a CRM, an eCommerce platform, customer feedback surveys, and social media apps. Having all of these services communicate with one another can save a lot of time. Cloud contact centers integrate seamlessly with other services, allowing them to exchange information and improve customer experiences.
