There have been some recently who have said that a cloud-based contact center solution is not as customizable as a traditional premise-based solution. That’s somewhat like saying that a rock is more fluid than water. In thinking about this analogy, there are actually a lot of similarities between water and a cloud-based contact center versus a rock and a traditional premised based system.
If I were to ask you to describe what water looks like, it’s actually somewhat difficult to do. You’d probably describe it as a fluid with no defined shape that it has to conform to. Similarly, a cloud based contact center solution really has no pre-defined shape or parameters that it has to conform to. For instance, if a cloud-based contact center needs to add additional ports, that activity can be accomplished very easily without adding any additional customer-purchased hardware. Whereas in a traditional premised based system (the rock in this case), there are limits on scalability that often times result in additional hardware needing to be added. The additional hardware being added often has to conform to the original, and often outdated, design of the “box” that it needs to fit.
Think about the evolution of the cell phone. Many of us can remember the days of the original “brick” phone. At the time, it was an incredible tool and a giant leap forward in technology. Over time, top cell phone manufacturers quickly figured out that if they could put the power into the software using a touch screen interface, versus the hardware with pre-configured buttons, that the value of that device to their customers increased exponentially. Cloud-based solutions use that same premise in delivering continually advancing software technologies and capabilities with minimal capital expenditures required of customers.
Merriam-Webster defines customization as “to build, fit, or alter according to individual specifications”. Well, that’s exactly what we do each and every day with the NICE CXone enterprise-class cloud contact center technology. Any customer, located anywhere in the world, who has internet connectivity and a dial tone via a hard or softphone, can have an extremely robust solution built in the cloud without having to install any additional expensive capital equipment. Instead of having to install separate “boxes” for an ACD, IVR, Dialer, CTI interface, reporting engine, etc. our solution provides immediate access to all of these applications in one cloud-based application. Our powerful enterprise GUI-based scripting tool provides hundreds of various actions that can be taken on all multiple contact channels (voice, chat, email, fax, etc.). All within one tool!!! Try getting all of that within a single premise-based system, many of which still rely on outdated text-based programming techniques.
For those who say that a premised based system is more customizable than a cloud based system, it’s definitely time to get out from under your rock and enjoy the view from the cloud!!!
Kevin Jensen is the Director, Professional Services - Business Consulting at NICE CXone.