What is a Cloud Contact Center and What Can It Do for You?

The modern business landscape makes location-agnostic operations vital for building a resilient organization. To meet this new need, companies have been steadily switching to cloud-based communications.

As evidence of this trend, experts expect the cloud-based contact center market to accelerate rapidly. The projected compound annual growth rate from 2021 to 2026 is nearly 20%.

How can you seize the many benefits of utilizing a remote contact center? 

Let’s unpack the facts about cloud-based contact centers. You’ll also learn why this technology is a critical part of contemporary business communications.

Key Takeaways:

• A cloud-based contact center uses hosted software to let a remote team work as a seamless customer support department.
• A cloud contact center can be up and running in a much shorter time than an on-premises solution and offers omnichannel connectivity.
• Cloud-based contact centers open the door to 24/7 customer support, lower costs, and higher employee engagement.
• Cloud contact centers boost the customer experience, offer advanced business intelligence, and provide maximum reliability.

What Is a Cloud-Based Contact Center?

A cloud-based contact center is a customer support team that uses online software to run its communications channels. Instead of landline phone service, a cloud provider maintains the program on secure off-site servers.

This setup contrasts significantly with a traditional call center where customer service agents work on-site. Rather, your agents can work from anywhere. For that reason, people may refer to the arrangement as a virtual or remote contact center.

Cloud-based contact center employees simply need to download the communications software on their laptop, desktop, or another device. Then they can operate from any location with an internet connection.

Here’s the best part: Even with this leaner, high-tech setup, customers still receive an exceptional experience. In fact, with an industry-leading contact center solution, your teams can deliver more streamlined, personalized, and convenient service.

How Do You Deploy a Cloud-Based Contact Center?

Don’t worry about renting office space or hiring local agents when operating a cloud-based contact center. You now have the freedom to put together a remote team, and you don’t require on-site maintenance.

Implementing your virtual center is as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Pick a vendor: Your organization chooses a contact center as a service solution. For the best results, opt for software with features for call queue management, smart routing, advanced call handling, and built-in business intelligence.
2. Download the software: Your agents then download the software suite to their devices. Your provider can offer training to onboard your team so you avoid losing valuable time during the transition.
3. Get to work: The software does all the heavy lifting and provides a plug-and-play solution that can have your team working in days or even hours. If any issues arise, your vendor is on hand to provide further support.

Your cloud-based contact center takes you beyond voice calls and messages. With a CCaaS that integrates with your unified communications solution, your agents can also interact with customers via chat, email, SMS messaging, and video.

What Are the Top Benefits of a Cloud Contact Center?

Aside from the flexibility that comes with a remote team, your business can gain other meaningful benefits by using a cloud-based contact center. Consider six.

1. The Ability To Offer 24/7 Customer Service

With a virtual team, your contact center agents don’t have to be in one location. You can hire employees in different time zones to expand your contact center’s availability without burdening your staff. 

A round-the-clock cloud-based contact center can lead to less customer frustration because callers can reach you at their preferred time. You will also be able to spread out call activity, making it easier to manage peak hours.

2. Reduced Contact Center Costs

Without the need to pay for office space, your business can save on overhead expenses with a remote contact center. Cloud-based software also eliminates the need to pay for on-site servers and IT resources for maintenance. 

In addition, deploying a cloud solution is faster than an on-premises one. You’ll immediately minimize your downtime and can start generating revenue.

3. Engaged Employees

Cloud-based contact center software streamlines time-consuming processes for agents. Features like interactive voice response and skill-based routing leave customers less frustrated because agents can spend sufficient time with customers who have complex issues.

4. Improved Customer Experience

Better engagement in itself boosts CX. Research shows that companies with CX initiatives see a 20% increase in employee engagement.

With an integrated cloud-based solution, customers have more interaction options, enabling them to connect using the channel they prefer. Agents also have better data visibility, which means they have real-time customer information that can help them resolve issues faster.

5. Advanced Business Intelligence

A modern cloud-based contact center brings together real-time data, including in-depth interaction analysis powered by artificial intelligence. Managers can use these built-in analytics to make real-time decisions and generate custom reports. 

You can also use that information to identify pressing issues, which agents need training, and how the contact center as a whole can improve.

6. Optimal Security and Reliability

With the right cloud provider, your remote contact center can also count on best-in-class security and reliability. Your provider can invest more time and resources into network and infrastructure protections, making you less vulnerable to a data breach.

Remember to choose a provider who guarantees exceptional uptime. Then your agents will never have to worry about poor performance.

How Can You Start Your Cloud-Based Contact Center Today?

With cloud technology, businesses of all sizes can operate with a high-quality contact center and deliver excellent customer service. All you need to do to get started is choose your CCaaS.

Intermedia Contact Center is a cloud-based contact center that comes with all the features your business needs to boost employee engagement, customer experiences, and company productivity. Learn more about how it works today!