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Three Factors to Consider When Choosing a Hosted Call Center Provider

The question no longer is whether businesses should consider the cloud when it comes to its IT infrastructure. The question now is how they should evaluate and transition to the cloud.

A recent video produced by cloud contact center software provider, inContact, highlights some key considerations when businesses look to move their contact center to the cloud.

The advantages of cloud infrastructure are clear: Cost savings from outsourcing IT infrastructure to the cloud, from investment to maintenance; streamlined IT from needing less personnel to manage the IT technology since it is handled by a cloud provider; scalability from being able to bring online as much or as little of the cloud provider’s infrastructure as needed for a company’s particular business needs. These are just three key benefits.

“These days, we hear more and more success stories about companies transitioning to the cloud. The results speak for themselves,” inContact noted in the video. “But how do you begin your transition to the cloud?”

The video pointed out that the transition, while worthwhile, should be taken with care. “It is a big decision, especially for something as critical as your contact center, and not all vendors are created equal.”

inContact highlighted three key areas that businesses should consider when looking for a contact center cloud provider.

First, look for experience.

“The provider you’re considering may be an expert in cloud computing, but what’s their expertise in networking and telecommunications?” inContact noted.

The cloud provider might be an expert in hard drive performance, but does it have similar expertise with automatic call distributors, workforce optimization software and internet telephony solutions and voice-over-IP?

“Deploying the technical infrastructure and data assets of your contact center is serious business. Be sure you work with a company with a proven track record,” inContact advised.

Second, companies evaluating call center cloud providers should pay attention to security and reliability.

When it comes to customer contact information, cloud providers must have a clear security approach. Are they members of an organization such as the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)? Do they have a dedicated team proactively ensuring security?

When it comes to reliability, does the provider offer a detailed service-level agreement (SLA) with guaranteed uptime and remedies if that uptime is not maintained? How about detailed reporting that shows exactly how their cloud solution is performing?

“Ensure peace of mind by asking the right questions,” inContact stressed. “Do they guarantee uptime and transparent reporting? Find a reliable partner who values the protection of your data as much as you do.”

Finally, businesses should see if the call center cloud provider is a good customer advocate. One way to tell if a provider is good to its customers is the time-tested method of hearing what its customers actually say about the service.

Businesses should ask what results other customers have seen, how the solution scales to meet the customer’s needs, and how happy current customers are with the service.

“Genuinely satisfied customers speak volumes,” inContact concluded.

With more than 1,000 implementations and 65,000 agents using its contact center cloud software, according to the company, inContact should know what it takes to make a good contact center cloud provider.

The company highlighted a white paper published by technology research firm Ovum (News - Alert) that helps businesses evaluate cloud solutions. The paper can be found at the inContact web site.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli

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