Value in a cloud? That may sound like the kind of thing only a farmer can get behind, but for call centers–and other businesses–the value is increasingly prevalent and pushing more such operations to take advantage of cloud-based systems. So what is it that call centers are finding in the cloud that’s so valuable?
Fending Off the Competition
Perhaps the least satisfying reason contact centers have to make the move is that everyone else is doing it. A Gartner report noted that, just by 2020, a “no-cloud” policy will be as rare as a “no Internet” policy, which is already vanishingly rare.
With a ContactCenterHQ study likewise finding that 52 percent of users had already made the jump to cloud-based systems, the end result was clear: get in the cloud, or get drowned by the rain that the competition will make therein.
Broad Range of Options
There are several sub-classes of cloud-based operations, and with these sub-classes, there’s a lot of room for businesses to break into different portions of the cloud-based market. Some of these include:
- Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS operations allow companies to take advantage of one or two key features. Services like Dropbox or Google Docs are SaaS providers, offering easy access to fairly simple tools.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS). PaaS systems are more complex than SaaS, but still comparatively simple. With PaaS, companies can pick up several services at once and drop or add to this roster as needed.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). IaaS operations offer access to complete infrastructure solutions, and are therefore among the most complex cloud operations.
Value of the Cloud Itself
Already, we’ve seen flexibility and scalability come into play, as well as the ability to accommodate all sorts of control philosophies. What else is at play that drives value?
- Cost savings. The use of virtual call center agents allows many more agents to work from home, which helps prevent turnover. Plus, with scalability, companies no longer need to buy more than is necessary just to have what’s needed at the time.
- Omnichannel operations. Customers want to be able to reach a business by the means they want to use. Whether it’s video, text, or social media, cloud-based systems can help provide.
- New tools. Many popular cloud-based tools like voice analytics, general analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM) mean better customer experiences, and a greater chance of return business.
Meeting the Rush Head-on
Given that the call center market itself is poised to be worth $407 billion just by 2022, that makes for quite a few businesses looking to expand operations, save money, and even just preserve market share.
That’s why turning to Commio can be a great idea. thinQ understands these measures and can help a business determine just which ways are most useful. Get in touch with Commio today to find out where the cloud can deliver the most value for you.
