How To Choose The Right Cloud Contact Center For Your Business

Selecting the right Cloud Call Center technology is a tricky business because of the quality of service that you offer would depend upon the software you are using in your organization. And with multiple vendors available in the market, it becomes a laborious task to decide on the right vendor that fits all your needs.

For instance, consider this – You are a small business planning to expand in 6 months’ time. You opt for a cloud call center solution that is perceived as inexpensive for limited users and offers great cloud telephony services but as you grow your business, the cost implications may multiply to a number that you don’t imagine initially. Then, how to analyze which solution your business will be compatible with? Here’s a list of questions that you should not miss to ask while evaluating a cloud call center software for your business.

For instance, consider this – You are a small business planning to expand in 6 months’ time. You opt for cloud solutions that are perceived as inexpensive for limited users but as you grow your business, the cost implications may multiply to a number that you don’t imagine initially. Then, how to analyze which solution your business will be compatible with? Here’s a list of questions that you should not miss to ask while evaluating a cloud call center software for your business.

Telecom Regulations

  • a) How to procure a virtual number? Does your cloud service provider render the virtual number or you will have to procure it from a VoIP service provider?
  • b) Once the number is procured, there are challenges concerning the ownership. More often than not, the ownership lies with the service provider which would result in stickiness and might create a problem when you wish to migrate.
  • c) Did you ask your vendor about ownership migration and the cost implications that it involves? Businesses with no knowledge of ownership transfer end up paying a large amount.

Out of the Box Features

  • Does the software allow you to be present where your target audience is? Customers today are impatient. They want a resolution to their problem, when they want it and where they want it. As a business, you need to be available on such channels – voice, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, chat, etc
  • Can you monitor your workforce virtually? Supervisors need to have access to real-time data and reports to track call center operations and the agent’s performance.
  • Is the software increasing agent productivity? Some of the compelling features of cloud based call center are the ones which automate mundane tasks, eliminate manual dialing and integrate with artificially intelligent bots to lighten the agents’ burden while giving a boost to their productivity.

Hidden Costs

  • Did you check with your vendor about the various bundled services that they provide? Each business is unique in its own way and you need the services that would cater to your needs.
  • Having a budget framework is always a wise choice for any business. If you opt for a bundled service that only ensures software capabilities and calling will be billed as per the usage, verify with your vendor about the billing cycle and package validity to ensure smooth calling experience.
  • What would happen if the calling package exhausts? Businesses that largely depend upon the outbound and inbound calling process may lose on their business if, with the exhaustion of calling package, the system stops. Get your vendor to share cost implications that would be imposed on recharging the package before the next billing cycle.

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Data Regulations

  • Data security is a major concern irrespective of business size. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a challenge for many cloud service providers and the risk of data theft becomes a common practice because of third-party involvement in processing personal data.
  • A few countries demand from the vendors to have data stored within the country for security purposes. It is safe to be informed about your provider’s data center to ensure a smooth workflow for your business.

Security and Scalability

  • Did you ensure to get the end-to-end security solution? For businesses, security becomes challenging when they share space on the public cloud with other tenants.
  • Short-term and long-term plans may differ in their product offerings and businesses should not compromise on the scalable capabilities of the product.
  • The product should meet continuous business innovation standards while scaling because the software you use will define the level of experience you deliver.
  • Is the customer data stored on agents’ device? To maintain data privacy and security, the vendor must ensure agents are not able to store customer data by disabling screen-recording, call recording and the ability to take screenshots

Integration Capabilities

  • What if the CRM, Help-Desk Technology, and Ticketing system are not integrated with your call center software? This doubles up the agent work as they will have to maintain redundant data into multiple systems.
  • Does your provider have out-of-the-box connectors for integration between CRM and cloud call center technology? If there aren’t any, what are the possibilities of integrating your existing system with a cloud software?
  • Does the integration process require your tech team to be involved? To go up and running in less time, ask your vendors about the complexity of this process and man-days that it would require to integrate.

Usage Restrictions

  • There are limitations on what customers (businesses) can do with their deployed services. Cloud service software comes with restrictions like the number of API hits per second, the number of calls handled per minute, levels of IVR that could be created, etc.
  • Is there a provision to add the number of call dispositions to the default or pre-configured dispositions? If your business requires an addition, would you be dependent on your provider and what would be cost implications for the required addition?
  • What if your business requires the addition of queues and campaigns as you plan a roadmap of team expansion? Identifying the possibilities of queue addition as is required helps businesses choose the right technology with minimal dependence on the provider.

Licensing Limitations

  • Once the cloud contact center is deployed, businesses may require the expansion of the number of user licenses, increase support channels like WhatsApp, require the addition of other applications to satisfy the business needs.
  • The cloud contact center service provider should give access to the latest technologies to businesses ensuring that the expansion of user license is smooth.

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Prioritizing customer experience and driving continuous business innovation could be achieved with the right cloud contact center software. Decision-makers once powered with the right software gain the ability to quickly deploy capabilities like multiple channel support and tailor their contact centers while delivering differentiated customer service. The key is to know where to invest and learn how to go remote in an hour with a work from home ready contact center software to drive customer satisfaction and maximum ROI.