In a previous blog, we looked at how contact centres are usually perceived as “Cost Centres” and how businesses often fail to turn this around by exploiting this gold mine of data. Indeed, call centres and IT decision makers have always been under pressure to run them in more cost-effective ways without compromising quality and productivity.

Over the last 15 years or so, cloud-based solutions have been increasingly adopted by various industries as they provide flexible and scalable solutions to many requirements. Contact centres have historically been cautious about the Cloud, but it looks as though they are finally embracing it with great results for themselves and customers.

It is easy to see why cloud-based solutions are a game changer. In the past, starting a call centre from scratch would have meant a massive investment in hardware and software. With those new virtual solutions, capital investment is greatly reduced, meaning that smaller entities can now break into the market with far less initial capital. Some cloud solutions even offer a pay-per-use fee structure, keeping operating costs at a minimum for small companies.

Another benefit of cloud-based applications is that they remove the need for large server farms, which would have otherwise led to extra costs to acquire space to store them. Likewise, as software upgrades are carried out through the network, the need to recruit IT staff to maintain the server and implement upgrades is reduced.

For companies with call centres in multiples locations, adopting a virtual solution makes it eminently easier to manage staff and offer a seamless experience to customers contacting them. This is especially true with skills-based routing where agents’ competencies are displayed on the scheduler and calls routed to the operators with the most relevant knowledge, regardless of their locations, allowing businesses to use their human resources to the best of their ability.

Cloud-based solutions are also bringing about a revolution for their unparalleled flexibility when it comes to increasing and decreasing call handling capacity through VoIP. When, in the past, companies had to over-invest to cope with busier times and were left with overcapacity in quieter times, VOiP doesn’t require anything more than a flick of a switch to meet your requirements.

Corporate Connect is New Zealand’s premier contact centre, offering inbound and outbound call management, and order fulfillment. Call us today on 0800 230 000.