Looking beyond the cloud
Time to upgrade your CCaaS?
Contact center as a service (CCaaS) is a customer experience solution composed of technology that’s often hosted, or built natively, in the cloud. The cloud itself allows for instant access to tools and data without needing much more than an internet connection. The benefits of cloud-based CCaaS technology are many, including faster time to market and scalability, reduced downtime and more streamlined customer journeys.
In the past, businesses and service providers have mostly relied on contact center technology using in-house servers and computers. This meant large overheads that included the cost of maintenance, management and regular upgrades. (Not to mention the hassle of dealing with multiple vendors.)
Today, with demands for multi-channel customer service and digitalization, cloud computing means contact centers have more capabilities. And while on-premises solutions are still in use, many businesses and providers are migrating to cloud-based CCaaS platforms.
But not all CCaaS is created equal…
Many businesses are already convinced of the game-changing benefits the cloud can offer. But at the same time, they’re looking beyond cloud migration, to consider how more effective CCaaS platforms can better solve their specific customer service challenges.
What are the typical challenges of cloud-based contact center tech?
Cloud computing offers opportunities for faster data transfer, easier upgrades and quick fixes – reducing downtime and making integrations with existing systems and third-party CMSs, like Salesforce and Calabrio, seamless. It also has advantages when it comes to scalability – the cloud affords you the flexibility to adapt to meet new demands and changing priorities as you grow, making it easy to future-proof your business and virtually eliminate downtime.
It can significantly (and positively) impact profit, too. According to Dell, companies that invest in big data, cloud, mobility, and security enjoy up to 53% faster revenue growth than their competitors.
Yet many companies face challenges when transitioning to CCaaS – most commonly slow turnaround, systems integration, the need for specialist technical expertise and the seemingly inevitable downtime that comes with upgrading their legacy solution.
There’s also a need to know where data is being stored. Data residency is a big concern for businesses, particularly those in sectors with exacting regulations like finance and healthcare.
But working with the right CCaaS provider – with the right infrastructure – will negate these issues. We built Thrio for example, in a way that allows you to set up, test, and deploy integrations yourself, without costly or expensive professional services or unnecessary interruptions. Our platform’s architecture also makes data localization possible for peace of mind when it comes to regulatory compliance.
So what are the benefits of switching to a modern CCaaS platform?
A modern, automation-first, API-centric CCaas platform is fast becoming the solution to many brands’ greatest challenges. But what does all this ‘API-centric’ and ‘automation-first’ stuff mean? And what are the advantages?
Happier customers
Done right, a cloud contact center platform can benefit your bottom line, agents and customers. Studies show that moving to the right CCaaS can increase customer satisfaction scores from as low as 59% to 85%. That’s because modern contact center platforms offer a true omnichannel experience. Customers can meet you wherever suits them best – whether that’s SMS, web chat, social and messaging apps or the more traditional email and voice channels.
They’ll also spend less time in queues, have more helpful and friction-free interactions and find answers and assistance quicker, as well as having more options for self-service – something that’s in ever-increasing demand.
A Forrester survey reports that 73% of customers believe good online customer service is the most important thing a business should provide. So investing in technology that improves the customer journey is vital.
Smarter journeys
You’ll want to ensure the omnichannel experience extends to agents too. The customer journey is hard – or often impossible – to keep track of using traditional contact center platforms, because each separate touchpoint remains siloed. Communications across a brand’s websites, social media channels and support portals end up disconnected, so agents have a hard job understanding customer context.
To help deliver maximum value, CCaaS platforms with modern architecture, built-in AI and powerful process automation tooling, make seamless, connected omnichannel customer service achievable for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Through a carefully considered combination of process automation, optimized workflows and REST APIs, a platform with a robust architecture can deliver more value to customers and agents.
Modern cloud-based contact center solutions champion automation and make good use of REST APIs, passing numerous benefits on to customers, employees and your bottom line.
Business continuity
Job satisfaction plays a big role in the return you’ll enjoy on customer experience solutions. The platform may sound like a great way to keep costs down, save money and keep processes efficient. But employees need to buy in too. So how can we level up the experience for your agents?
The key is to make sure the CCaaS provider has your agents’ best interests (and time management) at heart, which means understanding how best to utilize their skillset and where automation is required most.
The right CCaaS platform won’t want to replace agents with AI – in fact, it’ll want the customer experience to be more human. Taking convoluted admin and long processes and making them more convenient will give agents the opportunity to spend more time on what they’re best at – connecting with customers, building trust and maintaining relationships.
But when it comes to improving the agent experience, the benefits of third-gen CCaaS technology don’t stop at employee motivation and retention. Many time and cost savings come from making processes more efficient, reducing the complexity of work and significantly cutting call handling times.
Enhanced security and compliance
According to a Deloitte study, 58% of IT managers rank security as either top or second on their list of reasons for cloud migration. When upgrading to a modern CCaaS platform, we know that security plays a big role. Equally, businesses worldwide are honing in on compliance as data policies become more stringent and security threats increase.
Further research reported that 94% of businesses saw an improvement in security after switching to the cloud. 91% of those said that the cloud makes it easier to meet government compliance requirements – a key consideration for many brands.
But it has to be done right
Modern cloud-based solutions offer in-built safeguarding measures, firewall protection and security upgrades for any new threats, making them much more secure than on-premises data storage.
The right CCaaS partner is one that can meet all your security and compliance requirements, keeping your data, infrastructure and applications safe, and giving your customers and employees peace of mind. Look out for security and compliance accreditations such as HITRUST and PCI certification, and Cloud Security Alliance membership.
And these benefits are really just the tip of the iceberg – with the right approach and smart architecture, CCaaS can offer so many rewards for businesses of all sizes.