Cloud based services and omni-channel digital contact solutions have been marked as the future of contact centre interaction, and recent reports indicate that future is fast approaching.
The term omni-channel is used to refer to multiple channels. For contact centres, this relates to the various channels of interaction used by customers. This can include avenues such as social media, email, webchat, as well as phone conversations.
In the 2015 Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report, Dimension Data forecasts a 41.8% drop in voice interaction and an 87.0% increase in non-voice. Unless these channels can be utilised, contact centres risk losing customers and valuable data which can be used for compliance and quality assurance. Utilising these channels also means implementing analytics which will work on more than just speech data, and having the right software to do it. While the report shows that currently 40% of centres do not have analytics capability, the technology is available today for omni-channel recording and real-time analytics.
Another area of innovation is cloud hosting. Cloud hosting uses digital networks to host, store, and manage software. There are two aspects to cloud hosting – Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). With IaaS, all the infrastructure needed to capture data is kept offsite. Similarly, with SaaS all software is hosted offsite, meaning no installation is required. It enables new features and upgrades to be added effortlessly without technicians having to visit onsite.
Implementing IaaS and SaaS eliminates the need to maintain and upgrade interaction recording hardware and software, cutting capital costs and saving staff time. SaaS also has the additional benefit of allowing for seasonal scaling and multi-site working. If a call centre has certain peak periods, users can be added and then removed remotely as needed, with additional licenses paid for only when required and used. SaaS also benefits centres which have multiple sites and remote users, for all users connect into the same software service and can be monitored. No matter where in the world a user is, they will have access to the same software and tools.
New statistics from the 2015 EMEA Hosted/Cloud Contact Center Buyers Guide show that up to 37% of contact centres in Europe now use cloud hosting, and by 2016 this is expected to jump to over 86%. While alarm bells may ring about the safety and reliability of cloud hosting, advances in encryption and bandwidth capability have provided greater assurance of security and access, and the technology is only getting better.
Together omni-channel and cloud solutions mean contact centres can effortlessly adapt to the new environment of the digital interaction age while saving time and money.
If you are interested in implementing omni-channel analytics and cloud hosting for your business, contact Liquid Voice today.
Sources
2015 Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report (source1)
2015 EMEA Hosted/Cloud Contact Center Buyers Guide (source2)
