5 Key Questions You Should Ask When Considering a Cloud-Based Contact Center
Customer service organizations have been relying on the traditional contact center as the heart of their operations for years. But, the idea of moving to a cloud-based contact center is garnering greater interest.
Before jumping onto the cloud-based contact center bandwagon, customer service organizations need to ask five key questions to fully understand the cloud-based contact center environment.
What developments have changed the landscape for the cloud-based contact center market?
Customers are dictating new terms of modern commerce and service empowered by technology, transparency and a wealth of information. They want their voices to be heard. They engage across multiple channels and media, and expect their needs to be anticipated, which is driving organizations to offer more channels for customer engagement. Through technology, customers feel empowered to demand exactly what they want. And when their needs are not met, they will not hesitate to patronize a competitor or broadcast their displeasure by leveraging social media channels to everyone they know and even some they don’t. Social media platforms have spun a new form of social customer service that can bring an organization’s front-line staff into the public forum.
Which types of organizations are adopting cloud-base contact centers and why?
Organizations at the end of the life cycle of existing solutions have a strong preference to adopt cloud platforms. A growing number of small businesses, especially in the online retail sector, now find it easier to adopt cloud-based platforms with a rich feature set due to lower cost of ownership and the flexibility to scale up during peak periods. The adoption rate will definitely rise overall, but organizations with a greater ability to overcome barriers to adoption will lead the way.
The public sector operates under a significantly different set of parameters where data sensitivity, compliance and security trump the adoption of cloud-based platforms unless vendors can prove 100-percent compliance. Validation of these parameters impacts the rate of adopting cloud-based platforms.
Can you make a strong case to C-level executives?
Contact center managers are the ones who are best poised to make a case for any solution that can improve operational efficiency in their contact center and improve customer experience. While there are often additional difficulties for midsize-to-large organizations to make a shift to the cloud, they are increasingly analyzing cloud options. Dependency on existing technologies, back-office systems and exiting contractual obligations prove to be deterrents in adopting newer technologies. The same applies to their ability to validate the business case for adopting cloud-based solutions. Contact center managers are urged to review these dependencies and engage proactively with IT and back-office management as operational efficiencies in the contact center may not necessarily improve overall organizational cost to implement.
What functionalities are driving demand?
On the rise are social monitoring tools that allow sentiment analysis and facilitate “response and resolve” capabilities driven by a contextual and centralized knowledge base. Mobility continues to pervade the market as vendors have critical functionality available on devices. Plug-and-play integration components are being deemed as essential as is the need for capturing, curing and analyzing big data.
What should you look for in a cloud provider?
First, create a strong business case that includes your vision for customer service as an extension of your brand. Then look for a vendor that can match your vision.
Vendor selection must include the vendor’s past performance and its ability to execute on a strategic vision. A comparison of a vendor’s strategic vision from five years ago to date will reveal significant information about a vendor’s sustainability and capability to bring the vision to fruition. Vendors must support their customers’ existing software investments by continuing to enhance their products with new core features, capabilities and access to world-class services and support.
Conclusion
Customer service organizations need to take a moment before jumping onto the cloud-based contact center bandwagon. Don’t get blinded by the shiny promise of reduced costs and speedy deployment. As with any other technology investment, organizations need to ask some key questions prior to adoption. Then, once you have sufficiently answered those questions, feel free to climb aboard the bandwagon and enjoy the ride. 
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