Mar 23, 2021

How to adopt the right Cloud Contact Center Solution for your business

The proliferation of cloud software, changing customer behaviors and expectations, and the pressures of the global health crisis are driving explosive growth in cloud contact center services. But moving your on-premises contact center to the cloud is one of the most significant technology shifts your business will face. In an industry flooded with options, how can you choose the right solution to meet your organization’s specific needs?

There are several categories of business requirements that will influence your choice. When meeting with vendors, come prepared with answers to the following questions:

What kind of compliance measures must you meet?

Consider general compliance requirements that most states in the U.S. have, such as getting consent from both parties (customer and agent) to record communications. While call recording laws vary by state, your cloud contact center solution should make it easy to abide by any. Other compliance laws include the payment card industry data security standard (PCI-DSS) and the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), both which require the safeguarding of customer data. The right cloud contact center solution must adhere to a range of data security requirements, which you can learn more about with this checklist we created.

Do you have a “sweet spot” for number of seats?

A cloud-based contact center will provide ideal experiences depending on the number of users on the platform. Some vendors are most focused and comfortable in the 50-100 seats range, while others target larger seat counts up to thousands of agents. These ranges are important to consider as they relate to the size of your organization, your projected growth, and if you have any seasonal fluctuation in use. If you have seasonal highs and lows in call volume, you’ll want a solution that can adjust to those seat-scaling requirements at a reasonable price point (which is where the benefits of a flexible consumption-based pricing model come into play). Even outside of seasonal spikes, you’ll want to ensure you can flexibly scale and shrink as needed (consider the effects of the pandemic, where customer service teams of all types were inundated by calls for months on end).  

Do you have a robust IT team?

Consider the size and proficiency of your technology team. If you don’t have sizable IT help, you’ll want a cloud contact center solution that prioritizes ease-of-installation and maintenance. Or, you might want to consider the benefits of a managed contact center solution. A Managed Service Provider (MSP) handles everything from routine user management and changes to platform monitoring and upkeep to application and business rules management, typically at a lower and more predictable cost while helping your IT team refocus on core business-related activities for your organization.

Do you need omnichannel capabilities?

In short: YES. Your customers shouldn’t have to resort to a phone call because your organization doesn’t offer seamless digital engagement. You have to make it easy for customers to contact your organization across all communication channels (voice, chat, email, SMS, social media, self-service) and devices (mobile phone, tablet, desktop) without confusion or complexity. Your cloud contact center solution should be designed to enhance customer loyalty by creating easy, fully integrated interactions across every channel and device.  

What kind of app integrations would suit you?

Your cloud contact center solution must seamlessly integrate with your current CRM, ERP, and other systems. Integrating with your CRM, for instance, will help your employees better serve customers by providing an “at a glance” view of a contact when an incoming call is initiated, seamlessly log voice and digital interactions, automatically add notes and update customer history into the CRM, and more.  

You’ll also want to consider the value of integrating communication application programming interfaces (APIs) via Communication Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS). CPaaS is a cloud contact center amplifier, enabling you to easily develop custom apps that take customer experience to exciting new levels. Some of today’s leading cloud contact center vendors also offer seamless CPaaS solutions. If you’re not ready for CPaaS right now, chances are you’ll want to be in the future (by 2023, Gartner predicts that 90% of global enterprises will leverage API-enabled CPaaS offerings to enhance their digital competitiveness - up from 20% in 2020).

Your Company’s Roadmap to the Cloud

Not sure where to start with vendors? Servion is an end-to-end, consultative technology specialist with certification across a wide range of cloud contact center platforms or applications including Cisco, Amazon Connect, Genesys, Five9, Twilio, NICE InContact, Verint and more. Our extensive expertise in integrating leading platforms and applications with any cloud delivery model (public, private, hybrid, on-premise), 20+ years of application development practice, global delivery and support capabilities, and compliance expertise (PCI-DSS and HIPAA) enable us to offer a personalized, vendor-agnostic approach to adopting the perfect cloud contact center solution for your organization. See for yourself with a free consulting session with our contact center experts.