The Key Benefits of Cloud Contact Centers

What is a Cloud Contact Center?

A cloud contact center involves a software deployment model known as Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS). This enables organizations to buy only the exact cloud-based customer experience solution they need. Generally, these organizations will pay an annual or monthly subscription fee.

As a cloud service, the cloud contact center requires no hardware to get up and running. This means no ‘rip-and-replace’ of existing infrastructure and no massive upfront capital expenditure on new equipment.

A business’ entire CX ecosystem - from omni-channel, customer-facing points of contact, to back office communications, to customer data management and automation - is made accessible through a single, browser-based interface.

Cloud Contact Center Benefit 1: Customer Experience

73% of consumers say that CX is an important factor in their purchasing decisions. 43% go further, saying that they would pay more for convenient channels of contact with a business. Poor CX damages customer loyalty; the loss of which directly impacts your bottom line. Failure to invest in your CX means losing customers to competitors who offer a more consistent service, and more convenient ways of communicating.

So how does the cloud contact center benefit your CX?

• Adding a new user to the cloud contact center is as simple as clicking a button. This means that when demand surges, new agents (be they human or AI) can be brought online instantly, ensuring that when your customers reach out, you’ll always be able to answer.

• With scalability comes reliability. Hosted on secure, in-nation data centers, some cloud services are able to offer upwards of 99.999% reliability. Even when your contact center is under stress, your customers can reliably get in contact.

• With minimal on-premise infrastructure required, setting up a cloud contact center is quick and effortless. Your contact center can be up and running in a matter of days. When new features become available, your contact center can be updated instantly, with no need for downtime.

Cloud Contact Center Benefit 2: Employee Experience

Agent attrition is the single biggest cost that contact centers face. Nearly 50% of CX leaders saw an increase in agent attrition in 2022; a number that seems likely to grow. Attracting and retaining the best talent is a critical challenge for your organization. If you can’t create a working environment that is efficient, cooperative, and supports agent development, your agents will defect to the competition.

The cloud contact center offers a number of benefits here:

• A cloud contact center can be accessed from anywhere, via any internet-enabled device. This allows for flexible working from any location. Not only does this save time and money for agents, but it removes geographic limitations on hiring.

• All functions in the cloud contact center are accessible through a single agent interface. Customer data and other essential information can be presented to agents through screen-pops during an interaction; no need to switch tabs.

• The cloud contact center comes in-built with a Workforce Management solution. This allows for intelligent scheduling that factors in agent preferences, saving hours of time for supervisors.

Cloud Contact Center Benefit 3: Reduced Total Cost

Moving to the cloud is the first step toward transforming your contact center into a value center. The cloud contact center benefits your budget, driving down the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the whole contact center. No longer is customer contact an expense to be minimized, but an investment that delivers a return for your business. A positive experience with a business is the single greatest predictor of customer loyalty. With a cloud contact center, you can take CX into your own hands.

So what cloud contact center benefits make this possible?

• With no physical infrastructure required, the cloud contact center needs no massive capital expenditure to get up and running.

• Through cloud-based scalability, the cloud contact center lets you expand and contract rapidly, without breaking the bank. Temporary licenses can be contracted in advance or in the moment, making scalability cost-effective.

• Hosted in secure data centers, the cloud contact center requires no active maintenance on the part of your organization. This lets you save money on maintenance and support.

Cloud Contact Center Benefit 4: Improved Reliability

Building customer trust requires reliability. Even one bad experience can taint your business’ reputation with customers forever. 78% of customers say that just one contact center interaction permanently changed the way they feel about a brand; and often for the worse. The benefits of the cloud contact center are essential here. When every customer interaction could mean a customer lost, you can’t afford to let standards slip. This is especially true in the event of a disaster.

• A cloud contact center supports you in meeting your SLAs. With 99.999%+ reliability, providing the requisite level of service expected by customers, and required by regulatory authorities, is easy.

• When disaster strikes, the cloud contact center lets you keep your services up and running. The cloud contact center can enter disaster recovery mode with a single click, or via an SMS message.

• A truly omni-channel cloud contact center means that should one line of contact go down, your customers have plenty of other options by which to reach you.

Cloud Contact Center Benefit 5: Foolproof Security

When it comes to the cloud, security is a key concern. Often, organizations delay their transition for fear that their communications and customer data may be vulnerable to cyber-attach or leakage. In reality, the cloud contact center benefits your organizational security in a number of ways. It also offers tools for protecting sensitive customer data in a distributed working environment.

How can the cloud contact center benefit your security?

• The cloud contact center is hosted on an in-nation data center. This means that all customer data remains within the country of origin. Data centers also come equipped with advanced cyber-security systems, giving organizations peace of mind.

• The cloud contact center allows customer payment data to be kept on a need-to-know basis. By hiding customer details from agents during the payment process, agent-assisted payments can be kept secure, even in a flexible working environment.

• The cloud contact center also supports agent-less phone payments. This allows customers to complete transactions themselves, without the need for agent assistance and the possibility of data leakage.