Best Practices for Deploying a Cloud Call Center

By Rich Steeves, TMCnet Web Editor

Everyone is talking about the cloud and how it can transform your business. The fact of the matter is, there are some compelling reasons to move your call and contact center operations to the cloud. The ways that customers interact with contact centers is evolving, as people use multiple channels – e-mail, Web, fax, SMS, VoIP, mobile phones, etc. – to get in touch with businesses. Today’s call centers must be agile enough to handle these changing demands, evolving with consumer tastes. Cloud call centers are well suited for these demands as they can provide access to new features and functions, are based around OPEX (News - Alert) models, and are more scalable and flexible.

There are, of course, many crucial strategies that businesses must use when they deploy a cloud call center. A recent whitepaper by cloud call center provider Genesys Labs details 10 best practices for cloud-based contact centers. Here are some of the company’s recommendations:

1)      Start with a clean slate. In other words, try to leave your preconceptions at the door. Think outside the box and don’t cling to legacy processes that were tied to your old technologies. Embrace the choices available in cloud-based deployments.

2)      Understand the technology and resources you already have in place. It’s important to do a full assessment of the technology you already have before making decisions about new cloud-based solutions. You need to figure out what you should keep in-house and what you can outsource. You should provide reports for executives and be prepared to readjust your business goals based on your new situation.

3)      Link front- and back-office functions to improve the overall customer experience. Aligning the contact center with the back office provides real strategic value and operational efficiency. You can learn from certain innovative call center processes and apply them to your back office. You should also consider using UC and SIP technologies in both your call center and home office. Finally, be sure to unify your social media vision to encompass all departments.

4)      Understand implications for security, availability and manageability for a cloud-based contact center. Data security is of paramount importance, and compliance issues should be at the front of your mind in this situation. Be aware of PCI (News - Alert) certification and compliance. Consider deploying hybrid managed services so you can maintain strict control over some areas of your business. Be sure to have clear disaster recovery plans and SLAs as well.

5)      Think about contact center staffing more flexibly. Don’t let your current staffing model box you in. The cloud model provides you with enormous staffing flexibility, and you should take advantage of this by altering your staffing model appropriately.

For more information on these concepts and to learn about the five other best practices for deploying a cloud call center, click here.

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