Time’s Up: It’s Cloud Call Center Software or Bust

Cloud-based vs. on-premise platform

Contact centers have existed in companies for years to offer customers efficient and practical support. As consumers, we constantly make phone calls to healthcare providers, banks and collection agencies to find solutions to our issues and answers to our questions.

In the past, companies have primarily used on-premise, hardware-based software. This software runs on computers at the location of the company or organization. As of 2017, over 60% of businesses with call centers had switched to cloud call center software. Technological advancements have continued to push this switch throughout the years. On-premised solutions are being pushed from the spotlight, and the industry is slowly being replaced with cloud call center software — and rightfully so.

Contact centers on the move

The expected technological growth rate from 2018 to 2023 is 104%. Imagine the growth that has taken place since the early 2000’s. As our world advances, the need to accept better ways to run businesses comes with it. On-premise software held most of the market during the early years of contact center advancements but has slowly trickled down to the minority. Several factors have played a piece in this.

Compare the advancements of the television. In the early 2000’s we were still using VHS tapes to record and watch our favorite movies. The TV was hooked to an extensive VHS system with several different cords. A system like that took up a lot of space. Eventually, we moved to DVD; by 2008, VHS tapes were almost obsolete. The system to play your DVD was sleeker, slimmer and took up less space. Even the DVDs were more accessible to store. Eventually, over the years, we have shifted to nicer, slimmer TVs and transitioned entirely to streaming services—no cords or system that we need to update physically. Our streaming services – Hulu, Netflix, and Prime – are all updated through the cloud.

The low-cost game changer

On-premised solutions have become the VHS tapes and their systems. They are out of date and have now cost us too much money to maintain. Their need to be updated every five years or less costs companies thousands of dollars. Not only that, but their system takes up valuable office space and requires constant maintenance and updating.

Cloud call center software is the streaming service – the sleeker, slimmer version. The cloud-based platform is a game changer for a company. Switching to a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider has fortunately reduced the need to take up space and maintain expensive hardware. TCN is an example of a “streaming service.” As a company providing the cloud-based platform, TCN allows customers of their service to pay as they adopt more features. I.e., the more cloud features your customer uses, the more it may cost. It is a more efficient way to deal with costs. On-premise-based usually has users purchase data in bulk.

Don’t get stuck in the early 2000s

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way people work and function. Unexpectedly, companies had to accommodate work-from-home options for employees due to the pandemic. Fortunately, this work style has continued to be commonplace for companies, especially call centers. It’s a bonus for agents and companies in the cloud call center software, which provides the functionality to log into the software needed on your laptop or computer anywhere. On-premised solutions don’t provide that opportunity for their agents, making it, again, a VHS tape that we can rarely or no longer use.

Due to the high usability and many functions on the cloud-based software, collecting usable data on consumers and customers has never been simpler. Contact centers can collect data to better staff their centers, and better supplement customer needs with information automatically gathered. Once agents understand a customer’s needs, they can more efficiently and adequately help with their issue.

Cloud-based providers can offer real-time insights and data. Suppose a call center notices through its cloud-based software that, during certain peak times, more agents are needed on the floor. Or rather, there is a severe influx of calls during a particular season. A company can collect that data and scale its staff accordingly—ready and able to make decisions on the fly. This saves time and money, whereas on-premised software doesn’t provide the in-depth forecasting needed and again is stuck in 2000 with our bulky TV and random VCR boxes.

Continuing to advance

Cloud-based software continues to advance and provide the flexibility, scalability and cost structure that can benefit contact centers in several areas, giving room to improve and move forward.

On-premise software providers have found themselves caught in the past with an inability to keep up with ever-advancing technology. It served its purpose, and it’s time to upgrade to the sleeker, nicer cloud-based solutions.

Cloud-based software offers opportunities to connect better with customers and increase your company’s revenue. This software is the streaming service of call center technology and will continue to be a leading factor in the years to come, request a demo to learn more.