How AWS and Cloud Migration are Transforming Call Centers

The year 2016 saw a lot of changes in the call center and customer experience industry as social media grew in prominence while virtual agents and sharper analytics took center stage. 2017 shaped up as a year where cloud migration and cloud-supported call centers ingrained themselves into decades-old call center technology and created better customer experiences. Such a technological revolution in an industry which is not really known for its innovation is extremely surprising.

One of the main drivers behind such explosive growth is the integration of cloud migration in call centers which in turn is powered mostly by AWS (Amazon Web Services). In fact, the efforts behind integrating cloud solutions have been so successful that the call center industry is finally letting go of its proprietary legacy solutions for better profits and customer service experience. This rapid implementation of AWS in call centers has also made the business more competitive while allowing for new players to emerge and compete based on the inherent reliability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness that AWS and other cloud security vendors provide.

How is AWS Re-defining the Call Center Industry?

Cloud services deployed for the IT infrastructure and other similar applications are set to touch $230 billion by 2019. AWS and other similar cloud-based services are therefore ripe to disrupt the call center environment and various technologies involved within, such as IVRs (Interactive Voice Response), outbound dialers, and ACDs (Automatic Call Distributors). These technologies are traditionally provided by established technology vendors and are steeped in legacy infrastructure. This, in turn, necessitates large upfront commitments, reduced flexibility, and requires a significant investment of time, money, and resources.

Therefore, the cost to value proposition for cloud migration is significant for both small and large companies. Not only does the usage-based pricing work in their favor, but also helps reduce dependency on existing training and retention models, decreased maintenance, and overall TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) reduction, to the tune of almost 30-50%. The impact of cloud migration in call centers can be seen in the way AWS has today captured the market in a short time span, by allowing call centers to implement the following -

• Leave legacy communication platforms behind
• Create a future-proof Unified Communications and Contact Center which included cloud technologies from the get-go
• Change ancient TDM infrastructure to support modern needs
• Elevate limited CAPEX budgets to OPEX models without having to invest in new equipment

The Top 4 Benefits of AWS in Modern-day Call Centers

For most of the call centers, the focal point is to provide exceptional services to their customers and make them leave satisfied. This, in turn, means being able to provide preferred channel options such as special voice channels, IVR, personalized services, rapid call resolutions, etc. These are the areas in which the benefits of AWS and public cloud become apparent, and include the following -

1. Reliability

   With the recent release of Aurora, AWS has ensured that their most recent offering is now equal to, if not better than most of their legacy on-premise competitors. Aurora is a relational database engine which effectively combines speed and reliability exceptionally well with simplicity and cost-effectiveness, and features automatic backup and replication, ensuring full-scale data redundancy. A recently concluded study states that cloud call centers are experiencing significantly fewer downtimes as compared to the legacy platforms, purely based on the strength of their infrastructure, technology used, and the overall investment.

2. Flexibility

   One of the biggest challenges in front of most call center companies is expensive licensing and purchase of high-quality enterprise software. Such software often needs to be updated yearly and require extensive tune-ups and training operations. AWS, on the other hand, offers the ability to use scalable and flexible software solutions delivered as a service, because of which frequent updates are pushed from the backend, resulting in less downtime and licensing worries. As a result, companies of any size are equally benefited in a level playing field, and the extremely scalability of the software ensures that they remain sensitive to today's evolving, multichannel environment. AWS also provides more freedom when it comes to incorporating new technologies such as CRM, WFO, WFM, etc., into their existing services.

3. Cost-effectiveness

   Since AWS's offerings are all based on "pay for what you use", it makes their services better suited to today's modern call center companies, both large and small. Companies also save money since they do not have to pay for expensive infrastructure while keeping intangible costs and network security costs at bay. Since AWS sells the storage space based on the requirement of the call center company, they do not have to buy large volumes of storage, which might never get used. By cutting such expensive costs, companies can focus on better customer satisfaction ratios while rapidly changing technology adoption of different communication platforms as and when they become popular.

4. Security

   Security is a major concern for companies both large and small, especially when dealing with cloud-based service providers. This is because a lot of important information is open to hackers unless secured by tough network security protocols. Thankfully, AWS offers extremely secure services which are based upon virtual private cloud networks and up-to-date security guidelines. With its latest version, AWS is further ensuring that security is taken more seriously than ever before. This is especially true in the case of call centers that have a large amount of customer data stored online, as they can ensure complete security, scalability, and reliability while saving costs.

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Challenges in Implementing AWS in Call Centers

Even with all the positives that AWS has in store for call centers, there are quite a few challenges facing its widespread adoption. Historically, call center companies have cut costs solely by outsourcing their services to competent service providers. While the cloud is a challenging competitor, there are a few reasons why there is still some time to go before it becomes the de-facto choice for most companies. These reasons include -

• Product lifecycles in most call center companies often surpass 10 years. Such long cycles are one of the main reasons why enterprises are still choosing to defer from embracing cloud technology fully. This same dynamic is also the reason why many companies are still on the rope when it comes to migrating to IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) models.
• Even with all its bells and whistles, AWS or for that matter any other cloud contact center truly provides an end-to-end customer care management solution. Each cloud service provider has its own specialties including IVR, ACD, etc. but they still have to support scheduling activities and workforce management. This results in enterprises choosing better turnkey solutions than choosing different cloud service providers for different requirements.
• Even though the basic architecture for most cloud platforms ensures total security and data dependability, they still face the same compliance questions that plague on-site services. Cloud technology makes working from anywhere else than the office much easier for the employees, but also raises security questions in an unregulated atmosphere. Uncertainty about implementing solutions to counter such threats is one of the major reasons why many enterprises are still holding on from moving base.

Implement NexGen Cloud Solutions for Call Centers with Flatworld Solutions

At Flatworld, we believe that we hold the key for small and medium scale call center enterprises that are looking to scale up while ensuring they have the flexibility to meet current and future demands. Our BPaaS services and other solutions ensure that you are never limited by office space and infrastructure, but at the same time embrace high-end tech solutions for VoIP calls, email, instant messaging, etc. Our call center services have helped more than 18,000 clients achieve better success, and we are sure you will too!

Contact us right away and implement cloud technology the correct way!

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