Top Benefits of Cloud Computing For Your Call Center Business
“Driving brand-differentiating customer satisfaction in this increasingly growing competitive business environment can become a highly troublesome task without proper technologies in place. However, companies can undoubtedly, increase their brand loyalty and customer servicing skills with effective implementation of technologies.” Source: The Real PBX
Cloud hosted services and solutions have become extremely popular within the echelons of the call center industry because of its cost-effective nature. Small & Medium Businesses or SMBs, which need to operate with limited capital and other essential resources, are especially interested in such solutions and services. This is due to the fact that cloud computing and specifically cloud telephony offers such businesses with advanced PBX features like Call Blasting, Call forwarding, Call Conferencing, and much more. These cloud-based telephony solutions are highly relevant to call center environments, without incurring any hefty upfront costs, usually associated with traditional call center services.
In this article, we shall help our readers to identify the top benefits of cloud computing technology for call center businesses:
1. Reduced Cost
Cost reduction is one of the greatest benefits of cloud computing and cloud telephony solutions. The best part is that it offers superior quality of services in an affordable and cost-effective package. It eliminates a call center’s need to deploy expensive ISDN/PSTN networks while also significantly reducing maintenance and other overhead costs and replaces them with cloud hosted solutions for a fixed monthly cost. The two most major business areas where cloud computing helps reduce costs are mentioned below:
Operational and Capital Expenses
Cloud hosted telephony solutions and their service providers usually follow a monthly payment model. This eliminates the need for large upfront operational and capital expenses, especially for SMBs. Adopting cloud-hosted IT infrastructure allows call centers to move to an Operational Expenditure (OPEX) model rather than a Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) one. It also allows them to send in monthly payments based on their resource usage. It also allows SMBs to operate with the same capacity of larger and more established organizations.
Diminished Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Cloud computing or more specifically, cloud telephony solutions are also considered to lessen the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) when compared to premise-based telephony systems. Call centers subscribing to cloud-hosted communication solutions need very minimal on-premise IT elements as all hardware and software requirements to meet market demands are managed through and over the Cloud. Apart from this, cloud telephony solutions also enable call centers to operate with negligible CAPEX, depending solely on OPEX for their operations and campaigns.
2. Streamlined IT
With Cloud computing, the business focus shifts from the minimal on-premise IT to the cloud-hosted IT resources. It also brings along third party integration with other business utilities and tools to create an IT network which helps boost business agility and creates multiple opportunities to develop solid customer service engagement protocols and strategies.
Better Collaboration
With Cloud computing, all operational data is stored on the Internet, within highly secure databases. This allows call centers and call center employees to collaborate with each other through their respective business Cloud networks. Colleagues can cooperate with each other, regardless of their geographical location, helping them to become not only more productive but efficient as well.
Better Integration
Cloud computing allows call centers to integrate their cloud hosted services and other third party business utilities and software tools much better than traditional business communication systems. This allows call centers to enjoy unparalleled integration capabilities. Cloud computing can also collate data from multiple sources and create a robust database which helps call center employees to serve their callers with better interactions.
3. Reliability
Reliability in terms of Cloud computing typically hinges on factors like Disaster management & Business Continuity, Data Security, and its general agility, flexibility, and scalability.
Disaster Management & Business Continuity
Disasters and Acts of God are inevitable. It is a fact that we as humans have accepted and adapted to. But many call center businesses are either not aware of Business continuity as a crucial business element or cannot afford to deploy such protocols due to lack of resources. Cloud computing allows such businesses to create and implement disaster management and business continuity strategies as an affordable service, which ensures that the businesses and its various operations, will always stay on track during such events.
Data Security
Data security is one of the most crucial factors any call center should consider. Cloud telephony service providers catering to call centers promote their products to have military-grade data security measures. They also employ several other data security measures like data encryption, redundant and fragmented storage protocols, and much more to ensure a safe and secure data environment for their call center clients.
4.Better Accessibility and Reporting
Cloud computing offers call centers with numerous accessibility and advanced reporting metrics. It also offers call center employees to work from anywhere in the world, using any compatible device, at any time of the day.
Anytime & Anywhere Access
Cloud computing offers its users the ability to log on their respective business portals and access their data and application from anywhere in the world, and at any time of the day. This is basically because all resources are hosted on the Cloud, and all the user needs to access their applications and data are proper access credentials and a compatible device with Internet connectivity.
Real-Time Data Metrics
Cloud computing also offers its users access to real-time data updates. This helps call centers to gauge operational and campaign specific feasibility much quicker, using real-time data analytics. This allows them to optimize and modify their operational strategies to best suit the current market demands and trends.
Cloud computing offers call centers with modern and dynamic IT solutions which are not bound by the conventional constraints of older call center technologies. It helps influence every crucial element and department of a call center, from HR to marketing, to finance, and beyond and makes them more data centric and collaborative. It brings along substantial business advantage and competitive edge to call center environments, while also capping operational expenditures.