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Cloud Contact Center Growth Shows No Signs of Slowing Going into 2015
Though most organizations have experimented with moving some applications to the cloud, for a majority of companies, the experiences have been only “dabbling.” While the benefits of a cloud-based contact center have been known for many years, the model is only coming into its own now, and growth is explosive in the sector.
According to a recent blog post by Chuck Ciarlo, CEO of Monet Software, 2015 will continue this year’s large-scale trend of contact centers making the switch to the cloud. In fact, he notes that DMG Consulting projected several years ago that the cloud-based contact center infrastructure market would grow between 35 to 45 percent every year through 2015, and this prediction seems to be holding, particularly with regards to workforce optimization solutions.
“There are a number of reasons for this movement,” wrote Ciarlo. “The cloud model offers all of the advantages of call recording, workforce management and workforce optimization without the upfront investment in hardware and software. System flexibility and ease of implementation are also benefits. And since all data is stored ‘in the cloud,’ it can be accessed from the office, from home and from a mobile device.”
The move to the cloud has enabled a trend in contact centers, turning them from physical places in which hundreds or thousands or agents sit taking calls and other contacts, to more of a virtual, networked idea that encompasses agents and workers all over the country or all over the world, some of them even working from home. Cloud contact center technology has come into its own at the right time: it is enabling companies to embrace more cost-beneficial business models as alternatives to foreign outsourcing.
While small businesses embraced the cloud early – the benefits to small companies are very compelling, particularly to those looking for advanced features they simply couldn’t afford in premise-based installations – large companies are also jumping on the cloud contact center bandwagon, according to Ciarlo.
“The misconception that cloud computing is best suited only for small and medium-sized contact centers began to dissipate in 2014,” he wrote. “More larger businesses discovered that the cloud is not only ready for the enterprise, it is also now the preferable option over traditional on-premise software.”
IT departments in large companies are finding benefits in offloading non mission-critical applications to cloud solutions providers, large companies are coping better with shrinking technology budgets, and these enterprises are also finding that cloud-based contact centers offer better options by way of disaster recovery in case of storms or outages.
While 2014 has been “the year of the cloud” for several years running, the trend will continue to permeate through companies of all sizes into 2015, experts say. The benefits to customers should be substantial, as well. With cloud-based solutions, companies are better placed to offer them the precise service they need at the right time.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi