What is a Cloud Contact Center? Features, Benefits & Pricing

Cloud contact centers are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions to help your business exceed customer expectations while increasing agent engagement.

CCaaS platforms have exploded in popularity in recent years, and continue to grow in research, development, and usage rates. The cloud-based contact center market is expected to reach a value of 86.4 billion by 2029 with a CAGR of 26.9%.[*]

In this article, we explore the benefits of cloud contact centers, essential features to look for, and how to choose the right provider for your business.

• Overview
• How It Works
• On-Premise vs Cloud
• Benefits
• Essential Features
• How It Improves CX
• How to Choose
• Best Providers

What is a Cloud Contact Center?

A cloud contact center is a centralized business communications platform hosted and managed by a third-party provider offsite, on remote servers. It allows businesses to manage and optimize customer interactions across voice and digital channels like inbound/outbound calling, website chat, social media messaging, SMS, and email.

Cloud-based Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) platforms aren’t tied to a single physical location and are accessible from any Internet-connected location and device, making them ideal for remote and hybrid teams looking to eliminate the need for costly on-site hardware. The CCaaS provider, not the business using their services, is responsible for maintaining, updating, managing the hardware and software.

This means businesses can focus on streamlining business processes and improving CX, free from the hassle of managing a complex contact center infrastructure.

How Does a Cloud Contact Center Work?

A cloud contact center works by routing customer interactions (e.g. phone calls, emails, chats, and social media messages) to the best available agents equipped with the necessary training and resources to resolve the customer's issue. Users can access their cloud contact center on desktop and mobile devices (or compatible hardware) inside and outside of a physical office space.

Elements of a Cloud Contact Center 

Cloud contact centers are web-based applications powered by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), not a wired connection to the PSTN. All customer interactions are streamlined into a single unified interface (dashboard), eliminating constant app and channel switching.

There are several elements that make up an effective CCaaS solution:

• Call Routing: IVR or omnichannel routing systems use advanced algorithms that route calls according to factors like agent availability and skillset, interaction type, customer priority, business hours, and custom routing rules
• Call Monitoring: Real-time call monitoring, call recording and transcriptions, call barge, and call whisper let supervisors listen in on active calls, coach agents, and intervene to avoid escalation
• Reporting and Analytics: CCaaS solutions monitor real-time and historical contact center KPIs, provide template-based and customizable reports, and leverage speech and text analytics to identify trends in customer/agent behavior and evaluate contact center operational efficiency
• Agent Productivity and Training Tools: Features like real-time Agent Assist, knowledge base integration, call scripts, canned responses, in-call coaching, agent scorecards, and workflow automations increase productivity and improve agent performance
• Integration with other systems: Cloud contact centers can easily integrate with third-party platforms like CRM and ERP systems, marketing apps, collaboration solutions, and more (on-premise contact centers may require significant effort to integrate with other systems)

Difference Between On-Premise and Cloud Contact Center

The main difference between on-premise and cloud contact centers is that on-premise solutions are hosted and maintained on-site by the end user, while cloud-based systems are managed and maintained offsite, in the cloud, by the CCaaS provider.

On-premise contact centers require physical office space to house on-site servers and additional equipment, and must be installed and maintained by the business itself.  expensive equipment

Cloud hosted PBX solutions are accessible through the internet, can be accessed from any Internet-enabled device or location, and are maintained by the third-party provider.

Benefits of Cloud Contact Centers

Cloud contact centers are more flexible and scalable than their traditional counterparts because phone lines and digital channels can be added online with one click. This also enables complete CCaaS platforms to be set up in minutes instead of weeks.

Top CCaaS platforms have more security protections and features than traditional PBX systems. As new features are developed, cloud-based systems are updated automatically.

Cloud-based phone systems save companies money because they don’t have to pay for expensive hardware, maintenance, and office overhead.

Flexibility

Cloud contact centers can be accessed from any location and on any device with an internet connection, whereas on-premise contact centers are tied to a single physical location. CCaaS platforms make it easier for businesses to ensure customer success from multiple locations and empower remote teams.

Without the need for maintenance and upgrades, cloud contact centers can free up IT resources for other initiatives, like hiring additional agents. Finally, cloud contact center software is billed per-line or per-user, and don’t require equipment, licensing, and installation costs.

Scalability

Cloud contact centers can easily scale up or down to evolve with changing business needs. As a business grows, admins can add more agents or expand the system's capabilities–and only pay for the additional lines/features they need. On the other hand, on-premise contact centers require physical hardware and software upgrades, a time-consuming and expensive process.

Cost-effectiveness

The cost-effectiveness of cloud contact centers is mainly due to lower upfront costs, scalable pricing, and the reduced need for IT support and upgrades.

With a cloud contact center, all of the necessary technology is provided and maintainted by the CCaaS platform, eliminating the costs of expensive VoIP equipment and IT costs. Software. Cloud contact centers also offer features that increase call center efficiency, like AI-powered workflow automations, WFM scheduling and forecasting tools, and real-time analytics with KPI alerts.

Advanced features

Cloud contact centers offer a range of advanced VoIP features unavailable in on-premise systems, including third-party integrations, high-level omnichannel customer self-service, and unified communications.

Cloud contact centers leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, and customer intent and sentiment analysis to reduce call volume, improve customer satisfaction, and eliminate repetitive tasks. On-premise contact centers typically don't have access to these cutting-edge AI technologies.

Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of customer support teams will be leveraging generative AI to improve service.[*]

Reliability

Cloud contact center platforms are more reliable than on-premise contact centers, offering a minimum guaranteed uptime of 99.9%, network redundancy via numerous global points of presence, and automatic data backups and updates. On-premise contact centers, on the other hand, are susceptible to outages and disruptions as they rely on a single physical location and hardware. Unlike cloud solutions, premises-based contact centers require an in-house IT staff to configure and maintain their systems.

Quick Deployment 

Traditional call center technology can take weeks to install due to the complex hardware and software involved. It is also necessary to find adequate space to house all of the physical elements.

Alternatively, cloud contact center systems can be set up in minutes as they rely entirely on the internet. Supervisors can start building IVR call paths almost immediately after purchasing a subscription. Employees and agents can access the system using their own smartphone or laptop so there is no special hardware to install.

Enhanced Security 

Companies that rely on their own servers for contact center servers may have security vulnerabilities that they are unaware of. Cloud-based CCaaS providers comply with strict international security standards such as GDPR and HIPAA and utilize features such as SSO, 2FA and MFA, and E2EE to ensure voice, video and text-based interactions are secure.

Many CCaaS providers also give business owners control over who in their company has access to certain features and data with the ability to create roles and grant permissions.

Remote Work Capabilities

In addition to allowing agents to interact with customers from any device and any geographic location, cloud contact centers platforms give companies access to team collaboration features such as video conferencing, task assignment, and document sharing. These capabilities enable teams to stay connected even if they are in different countries and time zones.

Team leads are also able to monitor interactions in real-time using tools such as live transcription and sentiment analysis, giving them the same level of oversight they would have if they were in the same physical building as agents. Transitioning to remote work offers companies a number of benefits as over one-third of hiring managers have reported that implementing work from home policies increased productivity.[*]

Essential Features of a Cloud Hosted Contact Center

A cloud-hosted contact center includes many features to help businesses manage customer interactions effectively and efficiently. Some of the most essential cloud-hosted features are:

• Omnichannel support: Manage and provide a unified view of customer interactions through multiple channels (phone, email, chat, video calling, online faxing, social media, etc.)
• Advanced routing algorithms: Route customer interactions to the right virtual agent via round robin, time-based, relationship-based, and skills-based routing.
• Reporting and analytics: Monitor and track key metrics, such as call volume, wait times, and agent performance, and generate reports for analysis and improvement.
• IVR (Interactive Voice Response): Customers can interact with multi-level pre-recorded call menu prompts to direct their own calls or resolve basic support issues without involving a live agent
• Call recording: Record customer conversations and agent screens for quality assurance and training purposes.
• Call monitoring (listen, whisper, barge): Allows supervisors to listen in on agent calls and intervene or take over the call when necessary
• Integrations with other systems: Ability to integrate and sync with other systems, such as Microsoft products, Salesforce, HubSpot, social media platforms, and industry-specific apps to provide a more seamless, integrated customer service experience

How a Cloud Contact Center Improves the Customer Experience

A cloud contact center significantly improves CX by providing customers with more convenient, efficient ways to interact with a business–and by empowering agents with the tools and resources they need to quickly resolve customer issues while providing personalized support.

Some specific ways that a cloud contact center can improve the customer experience include:

• Multi-channel support: Enabling customers to use their preferred communication channel increases customer engagement and creates a more personalized customer experience
• Faster resolution times: Advanced IVR, auto attendants, and omnichannel routing connect customers to the right agent quickly. Analytics can be used to track specific metrics such as average handle time (AHT) and average on-hold time to alert management of issues or to determine when peak call times are. These measures reduce wait times, improve business processes, and streamline the customer journey
• Seamless and integrated experience: By integrating with other business software, such as CRM systems, ERP, and social media platforms, a cloud contact center provides customers with a seamless and integrated experience across channels. These integrations also give agents immediate access to full customer interaction and conversation history, so customers don’t have to repeat themselves
• Personalized and empathetic customer service: By providing agents with access to customer information, call scripts, and knowledge base articles, a cloud contact center can help agents provide personalized and empathetic customer service, building stronger relationships with customers and improving customer loyalty
• Improved self-service options: IVR (Interactive Voice Response) and chatbots can answer customer FAQs and process simple requests, resolving basic support issues while freeing up agents–improving CX and reducing agent burnout
• Consistent quality: Consistent customer service quality is imperative to building and maintaining strong customer relationships. Call recording, monitoring, agent coaching, and performance gamification features ensure customer calls are handled efficiently, improving CSAT scores and customer retention

How to Choose a Cloud Contact Center Provider

When choosing a cloud contact center provider, there are several key factors to consider to ensure that you select a solution that meets your business needs and provides a high-quality customer service experience. Some of these factors include:

• Pricing and value: The first thing to consider with any contact center software provider is the pricing and overall plan scalability. When determining cost, don’t forget to look at which features are included in plans, and which ones are paid add-ons
• Features and functionality: Research the features and functionality offered by different providers, such as skills-based routing, call center agent performance gamification, and automatic dialers. Necessary features will vary based on whether a contact center is inbound, outbound, or blended
• Reliability and security: look into the provider's track record for reliability and security, and ensure that they have robust measures in place to protect customer data and maintain high network availability
• Integration capabilities: Businesses already using various digital tools should consider the call center software's available third-party integrations, APIs, and developer community
• Customer support: Consider the level of customer support different providers offer, including support hours, channels, priority support options, and training/setup assistance–especially companies without an in-house IT team
• Ease of use: The ease of use and user-friendliness of the provider's platform is also important to consider. Ensure dashboards are intuitive and helpful for agents, supervisors, and administrators

By considering these factors and carefully evaluating the different options available, you can choose a cloud contact center provider that meets your business needs and provides a high-quality customer service experience.

Overview of the Best Cloud Contact Center Solutions

Here is a quick overview of some of the best cloud-based contact center providers out there.