Here is a partial but critical list:

• Alignment with overall strategic enterprise business objectives
• Compliance and corporate governance
• Security
• Risk management
• Workflow and process optimization
• Return on investment (ROI)
• Total cost of ownership (TCO)

In contemplating the transformation of contact centers from their traditional roles as customer touch point corporate outposts to being core components in business process optimization the list items have never been more relevant. Indeed, in the era of the cloud, the delivery of computing and communications as services, the intense focus on these items has become paramount as enterprise strain to keep up with dynamic market changes which are forcing technology purchasing to reach tipping points.

In short, information regarding the list items, inputs and outputs, are integral to the evaluation, consideration and decision whether to proceed about if, when, how, where, when, why and with whom a cloud-based contact center solution is right for your organization. But, where should you start in the process that can lead you to make the best decision for your enterprise?

We who care deeply about contact center solutions are constantly flooded with information about industry developments. That is a great thing. Ask any supplier and they will tell you that educated consumers are their best customers. However, the world is moving so fast in our space sometimes it can seem over-whelming without context.

IT professionals in business of all sizes have the challenge of sifting through the trends, news, buzz and a raft of marketing and collateral materials and filtering all of it. Their challenge is to arm themselves so they can make the right decision for their organization, and provide the best rationale possible to management, about what to do next and in what order as the pace of/need for contact center transformation accelerates.

Knowledge is power    

At a high-level there is now basic awareness that “moving to the cloud” offers compelling benefits:

• Increased flexibility
• Faster deployment times
• Minimal upfront capital expense
• Less stress on IT resources
• Bringing remote workers the full capabilities of premises-based systems

We have all seen the market studies about the tsunami of traffic heading toward enterprises, and how contact centers will be a critical place where the waves break as customers choose to interact with entities using the full suite of enriched media capabilities and are socially engaged. Less talked about are the waves of interactions this will set off across enterprises, their ecosystems and with customer outreach. However, this high-level understanding only goes so far. It does not answer the key question as to whether a cloud implementation (public, private or hybrid) fits the unique requirements of any given organization. 

Knowledge can be power, but having the right knowledge is key.

• Is the cloud right for you?
• Which cloud is the right one?
• Is now the time to be migrating your contact center to the cloud?
• What are the costs, benefits, risks best practices you need to know as you do further homework?
• In thinking about the cloud and contact centers where can/should unified communications (UC) fit?
• How can you present to your management a meaningful comparison of all of the alternatives?

If you need answers to all or some of these questions, no matter where you are in the consideration of moving some or all of your contact center capabilities to some type of cloud-based capabilities, a great place to get grounded is in the forthcoming webinar on April 24, Cloud-based Contact Center and Unified Communications: Is it Right for Your Business? Interactive Intelligence (News - Alert) Vice President, Joe Staples, Sr. will be joined by Michael DeSalles, Principal Analyst, Contact Centers, Frost & Sullivan, and Donna Fluss, President, DMG Consulting LLC., to provide the knowledge you need as you look at clouds, contact centers and UC from all sides now.

I have marked my calendar, and hope you will as well.