Research released today from analyst firm ContactBabel demonstrates that the compelling business proposition of Cloud contact centres is driving adoption and a move away from traditional on-premise solutions. The report was commissioned by NewVoiceMedia and reviewed organisational barriers to contact centre evolution.

The report, The Inner Circle Guide to Cloud-Based Contact Centre Solutions, examined the benefits and the barriers of Cloud-based contact centres versus conventional contact centre platforms that use equipment on the customer’s premises. Examining the use of Cloud services, the report demonstrates how Cloud contact centres provide a way to break the cycle of capex, licences, maintenance and renewals of existing solutions. The report can be downloaded free of charge from NewVoiceMedia.

It found that while large businesses with predictable inbound call patterns and with all or the majority of staff based at one site were better suited to conventional contact centres, many other types of company were likely to gain greater commercial and operational advantages from a Cloud-based solution.

Typical factors that meant a business was more likely to be suited to a Cloud-based contact centre include:

    Fluctuating call volumes from customers, particularly because of seasonal demand or the nature of the product/service offered

    Multiple sites and the need to maximise skills across sites

    The ability for people to work from home or remotely

    Have disaster recovery built-in

    Fast-growing organisation, whether that is because of organic business development or through mergers and acquisitions

    Seeking eduction of capital expenditure budget in favour of operational expenditure

    The pursuit of competitive edge through innovation, particularly in frontline customer service

“Moving to the Cloud is not necessarily right for every business but these characteristics are typical of firms that will consider migrating to Cloud-based contact centre solutions and could reap the rewards of doing so. While some businesses may be suited to moving all customer service agents to a Cloud-based platform, others are starting to see the Cloud as a smart addition to their commercial armoury,” said Steve Morrell, principal analyst at ContactBabel.

“As ingrained cultural and technical inhibitors to outsourcing enterprise IT are broken, and  customer relationship management (CRM) platforms move to the Cloud, contact centre functionality is also making the transition,” he added.

While a nervousness to give third parties control over sensitive information by moving to Cloud-based solutions was seen by some businesses as a main barrier to moving away from conventional contact centre approaches, many Cloud-based solutions now have greater security levels and transparency than those used with customer-premises equipment contact centres, according to the report.

Jonathan Gale, CEO of NewVoiceMedia, said: “This report is a ringing endorsement that the Cloud is not only at the forefront of an evolution in customer services, but for many businesses is now the most appropriate and effective way to run a contact centre. Customers particularly like our devotion to security and transparency. Anyone can log onto our Trust Site and see, in real time, the availability and performance of our service. What’s more, by ensuring we’re fully certified to some of the most rigorous standards in the industry, we’re giving our customers peace of mind that our service is secure.”