The SaaS Advantage for Inbound Call Centers- Reduce Costs and Increase Performance

The pursuit of excellence is the driving force for every contact center, regardless of size. Then customers receive excellent service, customer satisfaction and loyalty improve and contact centers are successful. However, recent economic events and the overall volatility of the telecommunications manufacturing sector are now driving centers with outdated or non-upgradeable premises-based equipment toward a critical juncture: make significant new capital expenditures or risk customer-impacting declines in performance. For these contact centers, finding an affordable contact handling and workforce optimization solution is a top business priority.

Although premises-based equipment has been the de facto contact handling solution, it carries a high total cost of ownership (TCO). This high cost is created by up-front capital expenses, internal IT maintenance/support staff and frequent upgrades to support critical advances in contact handling and workforce optimization. Until recently, there has not been a viable alternative. However, cost concerns, the increasing trend towards at-home workers and vendor instability have all given rise to an alternative solution that is rapidly gaining widespread acceptance: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), also known as on-demand services. SaaS is now moving into the mainstream. For inbound call centers, SaaS solutions have the added benefit of integrating with existing on-premises equipment, providing enhanced features and functionality without requiring additional hardware expenditures.

The current state of the economy has started taking a toll on telecom/network equipment manufacturers. Take the Nortel Networks as an example – revisit what happened when they filed for bankruptcy. While the eventual impact of this shakeup is uncertain, one effect is clear: contact centers faced with maintaining and supporting an obsolete solution will rapidly reach a point of diminishing returns. To remain competitive, they must invest in a new solution.

Volatility among hardware vendors and pressure to adapt to changing economic conditions pose significant challenges for contact centers relying on obsolete premises-based contact handling systems. The primary challenges associated with outdated premises-based systems are the costs, both of maintenance and ultimately replacement; the inability to increase performance; and the loss of productivity.

While SaaS has been in use since the beginning of the century, it is only recently achieving widespread adoption. Reluctance to implement an on-demand solution in contact centers can be attributed to a number of factors:

• Concerns over security

• Questions about regulatory compliance

• Skepticism about stability and reliability

• Perceived lack of industry-specific customization

• Resistance from internal IT staff

SaaS eliminates the barrier to excellence created by outdated and non-upgradable premise-based solutions by providing a viable alternative to reduce costs while increasing performance. Because of this advantages, SaaS is well-positioned to overcome the challenge of obsolescence.

The challenging economy combined with volatility in the telecom/network equipment manufacturing sector is pushing inbound call center executives to look for alternatives to on-premise contact handling solutions. Proven SaaS contact handling solutions merit consideration by any executive trying to achieve the seemingly opposing goals of reducing costs and increasing performance. The right SaaS solution makes it possible for contact centers to eliminate barriers created by obsolete premises-based solutions, achieve excellence in customer service and continue business success.