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Taking the Call Center Virtual

TMCnews Featured Article


May 20, 2011

Taking the Call Center Virtual

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor


The constant move to cloud computing and virtualization is making the center in your call center much more obsolete. You no longer need the four walls of the call center to drive customer service as a PC with a Web connection, a telephone and talented agents are all you need to develop an effective call center.


This was the focus on a recent Contactual (News - Alert) blog, exploring the traditional platform in which the call center anchored itself in a building located far away from company headquarters and customers. In some cases, the call center moved to locations offshore to keep costs low. Whether the call center was kept onshore or moved to an offshore location, companies often didn’t have a choice as they needed to keep their expensive hardware and software in a location that was not only safe, but one that could easily be monitored.

The locations with inexpensive labor were favored as agent attrition rates were often high. The Internet was not a part of the traditional call center and VoIP and the latest call center technology were just someone’s dream of a better environment. Now that environment is a reality and you can take the latest in customer service innovation without making significant investments.

Without physical constraints, the hosted, virtual call center is delivered as a service, which shifts the call center paradigm substantially. Resources are now available that were once limited by geography. Your agents can be located anywhere, whether remote offices or working from home. Regardless of their location, virtual call center agents work together to deliver a seamless customer experience.

The virtual call center allows you to leverage state-of-the-art technology in just days, enabling you to integrate all of your customer contacts, including e-mail, voice and chat. You can also eliminate the once-necessary investment in hardware and software nearly entirely. With the virtual call center, you have access to the latest tools and innovations, including call center recording, monitoring, routing and even interactive voice response. You can also leverage CRM in the cloud and on-demand provisioning allows you to facilitate rapid configuration changes as the business continues to evolve. You can eliminate lost calls, busy signals and ignored emails to ensure customer service levels improve and your agents are satisfied with their environment.


Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Chris DiMarco







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