Cloud Call Center Software: State of the Industry 2019

For contact center managers to stay ahead of the curve, it’s important to know what’s happening with the industry – especially when it comes to cloud call center software.

Changes are always occurring.

New strategies are always being implemented.

And the technology continues to evolve.

Below we’ll look at the state of the cloud contact center industry in 2019 to help managers and their staff remain productive and profitable.

1. Cloud Call Center Software is Rising

According to Markets and Markets:

“The cloud-based contact center market accounted for USD 5.73 billion in 2016 and is projected to reach USD 20.93 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25.2% during the forecast period.”

That’s a massive jump.

It seems more and more contact centers are transitioning to the cloud, but what’s driving this switchover?

Here’s what Markets and Markets thinks:

“The growth in the requirement for cost-effective and easily scalable solutions is the major growth driver of the market.”

Contact center managers are trying to keep their costs low while having the ability to scale up when business expands or busy seasons approach.

Cloud contact centers offer both of those benefits in spades.

Legacy, in-house contact center solutions are often very expensive because they require constant maintenance. Hardware needs to be updated periodically as new technology is released, and software needs to be updated regularly, causing too much downtime.

With a cloud solution, all hardware upgrades happen on the service-provider’s side. Same goes for software. And most cloud contact center software providers guarantee 99.99% uptime.

And when a contact center grows and needs more storage space, more functionality, better collaborative tools, providers can manage and implement the upgrades instantaneously, in most situations.

For all these reasons and the ones below, cloud contact centers are on the rise.

2. Business Intelligence and Analytics Inform Every Decision

Managers and supervisors can’t be everywhere all the time, analyzing everything on their own. They need advanced software tools that can handle tens of thousands of inputs and organize raw data into usable, well-structured reports – a far cry from a quarterly report and the dreaded spreadsheet.

That efficiency and insight is what stellar contact center business intelligence (BI) enables.

It can track call metrics, attendance metrics and performance metrics to make sure agents are hitting their key performance indicators (KPIs).

It also provides real-time monitoring – helping managers effortlessly shift agents from inbound to outbound calling efforts.

And it allows managers to forecast the future, especially for busy times.

Plus, BI provides cost-tracking and monitoring. The level of detail can include each live call with a live cost-tracking number actively updating in real-time. Entire call campaigns can be monitored as well, which helps set growth targets and can raise awareness on underperforming campaigns.

3. Leveraging Remote Employees Is Easier Than Ever

One of the biggest boons to modern-day call centers are remote employees.

Managers don’t need a massive office to direct a growing team of call center agents. They can be hired from anywhere in the world, and as long as they have basic equipment such as a computer, headset, and an internet connection, they can efficiently do their jobs remotely.

This means lower overhead, time zone flexibility, and flexible working hours.

Combined with workforce optimization tools (WFO) that record all agent activity on their computer – allowing them to literally see their screen and mouse as if they were watching them work right in front of them, they can ensure great off-site work performance and more. How does TCN’s WFO work?

Managers can then review the total work done, which:

• Helps review agent conversation, spoken/verbal interaction techniques
• Helps review agent computer use to help see if they struggle with certain processes or need better ways to access key information or screens

Workforce optimization paired with remote employees means huge gains in productivity.

4. Enhanced Regulatory Compliance Tools to Aid in TCPA Compliance, and More

Just this year, Congress passed the “Stopping Bad Robocalls Act,” a substantial amendment to the TCPA that sets fines of up to $26,000 per call and strict liability for wrong number calls.

Compliance has always been a top priority for smart call center managers, but these days it’s an indisputable must-do.

That means you’ll need every tool and resources available to maintain compliance – thankfully the cloud contact center software industry continues to work hard to help.

One of the newest and most powerful tools TCN has developed is Natural Language Compliance.

Key benefits of Natural Language Compliance include:

• Natural Rule Creation, which eases a contact center’s ability to generate and edit new rules as needed through easy-to-fill, English language rule writing, rather than coding and jargon.
• Rule Sets, which allow managers to assign specific lists of rules to various campaigns or subset of communication channels – use repeatedly and stop rebuilding campaigns over and over!
• Unlimited Rule Creation, which gives managers the ability to create and establish as many rules as needed.
• Scalability, making NLC technology suitable for businesses of all sizes with a pay-per-use pricing structure.

The Need for a Manager’s Guide to Call Center Regulations Is More Urgent Than Ever

Another big trend in 2019 is using as many tools available to stay abreast of call center regulations.

That’s why we put together the Manager’s Guide to Call Center Regulations.

We’ll show managers all the ins and outs of the major regulations they need to be aware of and the best practices to avoid being fined.

Put it all together and you have some of the must cutting-edge contact center developments at your disposal.

Get a free copy of the Manager’s Guide to Call Center Regulations today!