A call center is a business function that handles inbound and/or outbound phone calls with customers. A cloud call center, or cloud-based call center, is one that has its call center technology in the cloud, hosted and supported by a third-party vendor. A cloud call center typically includes core technologies consisting of the automatic call distributor (ACD) and the interactive voice response (IVR) system.In addition a cloud call center can also include other modules, such as workforce management, analytics, and more.
A cloud call center offers many benefits including the following:
Scalability: Many call centers have significant seasonal swings in call volume. For example, candy manufacturers may have a big spike in call volume during the holiday season and again around Valentine's Day, and then low, steady volume the rest of the year. Using older “on-premises” technology, they would have to purchase hardware and software licenses for their peak call volumes. This is wasteful because they would be paying for unused licenses and underutilized hardware during the rest of the year. In contrast, with a cloud call center they would only pay for the seats being used in practice, making it a more cost effective model.
At home agents: Cloud technology is accessible from anywhere with a quality internet connection. This enables a cloud call center to assemble a team of at-home agents. In markets where it’s difficult to recruit and hire good agents, being able to hire agents who can work remotely provides an advantage. In addition, working from home is also considered a perk by many call center agents.
Flexibility: Most cloud-based systems offer easy integrations with other business applications by simply adding a new integration module. For example, a cloud call center may have a CRM application and a ticketing system it wants to integrate. The extensive use of integration APIs eases the way towards a smooth integration. Additionally, if a call center wants to add chat as a channel option, it can do so quickly, often same day.
These are just a few benefits of a cloud call center. Ultimately, using a hosted solution allows organizations to think less about technology and more about how to delight their customers.
