FOUR REASONS WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO MOVE TO CLOUD
Before I start, in order to make sure we're all on the same page, I feel that I must start with a definition, as the term is used to describe a wide variety of delivery models.
My perspective is that cloud encompasses:
Hosted perpetual licenses. You own the software, and have a third party manage and maintain it in their facility.
SaaS subscription licenses. You rent the software, and have a third party manage and maintain it in their facility.
Cloud isn’t new. Companies have been touting the benefits for a decade, but only now has it hit the contact center and business operations full force.
ACCORDING TO GARTNER: As more applications are built in a cloud-based model, SaaS will emerge as a critical selection factor at all levels of the customer service contact center. Gartner projects that the SaaS market will grow at 19.5% annually through 2016 and that global SaaS spending will grow to $32.8B in 2016.
That’s because these operations have fully recognized the core benefits of any cloud deployment:
Flexible footprint. Contact centers and business operations are often seasonal, with bursts of volume during holidays or other time periods. When software is delivered via SaaS in particular, it is possible to expand and contract your license count to always match your workforce—saving cost.
Rapid deployment. Rather than spend your time readying your hardware footprint and configuring the solution, you can turn it on and go.
Latest capabilities. Cloud delivery ensures you have access to the newest releases and most advanced capabilities.
Expense shift. Rather than investing in capital expenses like facilities, hardware, etc. cloud shifts your dollars to operating expenses (ie: hosting fees)
Your Workforce Management isn’t the only solution in your contact center or business operation that’s potentially a little bloated. You likely have recording and quality management, and perhaps also performance management, analytics and
other applications. You can start a trend with your WFM solution—it can be the first to move.
This is the perfect time to clear up a misconception—cloud isn’t all or nothing. Many customer service leaders make the assumption that they need to move all the component applications of their ‘suite’, often called Workforce Optimization,
to the cloud at once.
When you move your WFM solution to the cloud, you can easily expand your footprint to cover BOTH the contact center and business operations, giving a shared solution across the entire service organization. This makes it easier
to schedule operations work with greater efficiency, and to address looming backlogs. Since the solution is shared, workload can be shared; during slow periods, the business operation can help take calls (and vice versa, the contact center can process claims, loans, etc.)
The most challenging part of pursuing a more fit solution is taking the first few steps. But you have what is needed to build momentum and can create the business case based on core cloud benefits. Be clear that WFM can lay a path to the cloud for other applications to follow. And take advantage of the move to introduce forecasting and scheduling to business operations and performance management across the organization.
Not only will your WFM solution be leaner and healthier as a result, so will your entire operation. Now is the time to move your WFM solution to the cloud.