As we become an information economy, it’s apparent that contact centers in some form – whether they be straightforward call centers or complex technical help desks – are a big part of the nation’s economic future. Today, we have more gadgets than ever, and those gadgets all, sooner or later, require us to seek support. As the Internet of Things marches forward and connected appliances, cars, homes, machines and more become the norm, the contact center will become more important than ever.

The contact center industry is currently in a state of change. Companies realize that to compete, they need to improve quality while at the same time keeping costs low. For many, this has meant turning to the hosted contact center model in which the call center technologies and hardware are stored in the provider’s data center and the contact center simply uses the services via a network connection. The primary reason hosted contact centers are becoming so popular is cost, according to a recent blog post on the Web site BPOVoice. 

“A cloud based call center such as hosted call center is also a better option for business funds,” wrote the blogger. “Those who prefer a hosted contact center over a premise based call center have found that it results in a 20 percent cost reduction, a huge amount for any business.”

But cost savings are about more than purchase price and the way the hosted contact center can be accounted for (in operating expenses rather than capital expenditures, for example). Those companies still using a premise-based solution must maintain significant IT staff, and often must pay for improvements and upgrades to the system, according to BPOVoice.

“Another noted advantage of hosted contact center over premise based contact center is that since the technology is placed in an external data center, the software will be constantly upgraded and maintained,” wrote the blogger. “As a result, businesses are always incorporated with new and effective software without worrying about the maintenance and upgradation [sic] of the software.”

Flexible usage, administration from anywhere (even on a mobile device) and the ability to use distributed or home-based agents are all ways that companies can use hosted contact center solutions to save money and improve operations at the same time. This makes it a compelling model for significant cost savings, and allows it to be one of those rare technologies that can save money and improve business outcomes at the same time.