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Has your call center embraced the cloud? You probably already know the advantages from constantly seeing or reading about them in the trade press. These can include little to no upfront capital; lower maintenance costs; the ability to build a virtual and distributed contact center environment; the ability to use home agents; and no need for large, heavily air-conditioned IT rooms staffed full of personnel with esoteric skills. But while information about the benefits abound, myths about the drawbacks of cloud-based contact center solutions also proliferate.

Let’s take a moment to sift these sands to determine what’s what when moving your call center to the cloud.

8x8 (News - Alert), Inc., a provider of everything from contact center software to IP phones, helps us in this mission by recently releasing a whitepaper tackling the most common myths of cloud-based contact center head on. If anybody is suitable to do, it’s definitely 8x8, who is a highly regarded expert in crafting such things as the ultimate cloud call center and virtual call center experience.

So without further ado:

Premise-based solutions are cheaper in the long run

It’s believed by many that cloud-based contact centers initially cost less than their on-premises counterparts, but that premise-based solutions are cheaper in the long-term when software licenses and hardware costs are amortized. However, it’s important to note that this is not true when you factor in the extra costs that premise-based solutions require, such as the need for an IT staff to deploy, maintain, support and upgrade the solutions, as well as the system and hardware and secure and reliable facilities with appropriate network and telephone connections.

A lack of integration

Many call centers have dismissed cloud-based solutions because they believe they won’t integrate with legacy technology. While this was actually once true, 8x8 assures us that with the proliferation of second generation cloud-based contact center applications and Web APIs, integration issues are a thing of the past – and they’re going to stay there.

The security just isn’t there

Of course, you keep customer information, and obviously, it’s your job to keep it secure. While you may think it’s better locked up on your premises, many experts advise that the most common source of personal data breaches are due to people tampering with in-house systems. In the case of cloud-based solutions, you’re putting your data into the hands of experts. Cloud vendors can provide higher security levels because they use professional data center facilities and enable the latest versions of encryption protocols, according to 8x8.

The cloud is only for small companies

In the past, hosted solutions were the best fit for smaller contact centers, with on-premises systems catering to the needs of larger organizations, divulges 8x8; however, according to Yankee Group (News - Alert), the next generation cloud-based, multi-tenant, VoIP-enabled solutions are increasingly winning the mid-to-large contact center market.

Looking for a solution you can call your very own? The 8x8 Virtual Contact Center was designed to reduce the costs of outfitting customer service, help desk, technical support and inside sales operations by eliminating the need for premises-based infrastructure. Eliminating all upfront hardware and software costs, this solution enables organizations to operate virtual contact centers with agents working from home and/or multiple sites, as well as unifies customer communications from phone, VoIP, voice mail, e-mail and Web channels into one routing, queuing, tracking and reporting system for maximum efficiency.

For more information, find the 8x8 whitepaper in full here. To learn more about all of 8x8’s offerings, visit www.8x8.com.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.