On premises Vs cloud-based call Center solutions: Which one your business
Cloud contact center is not a new name when talking about better customer experience. More and more businesses, regardless of size are adopting cloud telephony and making the most of it.
But there are still some debates on which contact center system is better for customer communication.
Here are some facts about cloud-based and on-premises call center solution which makes things clear on what businesses need in this era.
When you look for the best call center software in India, you must know about the basics on which solution can suit your business needs. You can also make use of a trial version of call center software for free in order to judge it.
Let’s have look at those types and main differences between On premises Vs cloud-based call Center solutions
- On-premises call center software- When you talk about on-premises call center; it means that your call center communication equipment including hardware, software and entire infrastructure will be set at your premises. You will also need a team to take care of installation, maintenance and all the other aspects related to the system. Everything including the server, integration, and support has to be controlled internally. In short, it is a traditional wired telephony system which requires maintenance every couple of years.
- Cloud-based call center software- This specific of call center solutions are hosted on a cloud. They are provided and managed by the cloud telephony provider. Users can access this service by means of an application installed in their computers or cell phones. Cloud contact center is capable of providing Omni channel customer service for big enterprises and cost-effective customer communication for SMEs. It also has an intelligent call routing logic to divert calls to a particular agent’s mobile number or desk.
Both solutions mentioned can be inbound call center software or outbound call center software. Let’s dive into important factors for on-premises Vs cloud-based call center
- Initial Setup
Setting up on-premises call center solution is not an easy task. You need to purchase hardware, licenses, space for equipment; server and most importantly, it requires technical knowledge or technical team to set up correctly. This process may take more time and resources. It also requires big costing to implement it completely.
Whereas cloud contact center is easy to install, it does not require any technical knowledge and big infrastructure. It won’t eat up any space as the whole system is managed by a cloud telephony provider. So basically users don’t need to worry about any maintenance and setup.
- Operating Cost
When you have infrastructure and equipment on the premises, it is clear that operational cost will go high. On-premises call center solution requires frequent maintenance and updating. It will also need more people to operate, for instance, specific support and technical team to look after if it is working fine.
In the case of cloud-based call center, the maintenance cost is cut down to almost nothing. These services are managed outside the premises on cloud by the provider. Users don’t need to worry about anything starting from support to updating the system regularly. It will cut down 70% cost compared to a traditional phone system.
- Scalability
Once the on-premises call center is installed, it is a very daunting task to change it. Adding more extension will require more hardware and additional installation cost as well. And if you want to remove extensions after its added then it is a loss as the hardware will remain with you.
On the other hand, cloud call center is highly scalable. You can change or modify your call flow any time with drag n drop menus. It is possible to increase or decrease extensions with a few clicks. It will not require any additional hardware or major cost to expand.
- Availability
On premises, call center may face issues in bad weather conditions due to damage in physical infrastructure or human interruption. It may take a while for the system to work again after downtime, which can trouble business operations. Most importantly this system must be used from office premises only; there are zero possibility of working remotely.
While talking about call center on cloud, it has 99% uptime. It provides redundant cloud infrastructure spread across multiple regions to ensure high availability. In case of any sudden outage in a particular region, cloud infrastructure plays an important role in failover management. Most importantly, calls can be answered from anywhere at any time with call routing logic. You don’t need to stick to office desk to answer calls. This makes it more flexible in term of not missing calls when not in office.
- 3rd party Integration
With on-premises solutions, integrations like CRM is hardly possible. You require immense technical skills or a dedicated team who can take care of the integration process. Even for any other third party applications, the process is complicated.
For a cloud-based system, CRM is already integrated in most of the purchases. And if not then user can integrate CRM or any third party application with ease. With CRM integration customer data becomes easily available and it helps agents in improving customer experience.
- Features
On-premises call center comes with traditional features like call transfer, call waiting and music on hold, which are not sufficient to get business insights. Even measuring call quality and agent performance is hardly possible with it.
Cloud-based call center software comes with a lot of additional features which provides complete business insights to users. For example, it has feature like Call recording and monitoring, which can be helpful for training and development purposes.
It also comes with intelligent routing, which transfers calls to correct agents according to requirements. Just like a traditional system, music on hold is also there and also call conferencing is possible with cloud call center.
This phone system works on a virtual number, which is easy to remember for customers and provides brand identity to businesses, this also leads to improving the company image.
With all these data, it is clear to judge which call center solution is suitable for businesses in this digital economy.
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