The expansion of the Cloud on an enterprise-wide basis is transforming the contact center industry, improving customer service and creating a seamless solution for Workforce Optimization systems.

Workforce Optimization - itself a combinative product encompassing communications recording, quality monitoring, speech analytics, eLearning and workforce management - has turned the contact center into a gold mine of information, but making it compatible with a company’s existing infrastructure involved a comprehensive effort. Now, with the latest solutions available instantly over the Cloud, a company can create an end-to-end system with seamless operational efficiency.

The Growth of Trust

During the initial onset of the Cloud, companies hesitated to integrate all their solutions, especially functions such as finance and manufacturing where failure could result in a catastrophic outcome. But the success of Workforce Optimization in contact centers forced top executives to consider expanding its use via the Cloud.

Workforce Optimization had proved to be an unmitigated success for the entire organization, optimizing processes and providing real-time intelligence to evaluate products and campaigns. Speech Analytics facilitated quality monitoring, especially for high-volume contact centers with an otherwise unmanageable number of conversations. eLearning analyzed the weak points of each agent, then forwarded customized instruction. As the agent learned, new weak points presented themselves, thus creating a continual loop of learning. Workforce management ensured the right agent received the right assignment at the right time.

Global competition worked in favor of early adopters, and the use of the Cloud expanded from the contact center outwards. Companies offering their entire portfolio over the Cloud prospered compared to those who failed to do so.

The Full Integration of the Cloud

The ability of a company to put its entire system on the Cloud led to significant competitive advantages. Time spent integrating the Cloud with other business systems was used instead in a more productive manner. The company received the most up-to-date features of Workforce Optimization without any risk, and only needed to purchase the functions actually needed.

The rise of the "end-to-end" Cloud created a noticeable difference in the level of customer service. The contact center could now track customer interactions over a variety of channels, eliminating the need for customers to provide a lengthy repetition of their problem when switching from one channel to another.

The Cloud worked in tandem with Workforce Optimization to provide an overall business solution, tested first in the contact center, and then expanded company-wide. The complexity of implementation with an existing infrastructure disappeared, either through next-generation Workforce Optimization systems with improved compatibility, or through end-to-end use of the Cloud.

Conclusion

The increased acceptance and implementation of the Cloud has provided a key competitive advantage for contact centers and the company on an enterprise-wide basis. When used in tandem with Workforce Optimization solutions, it offers real-time business intelligence and improvement of overall processes, turning the contact center into a gold mine of information.

The use of the Cloud on an end-to-end basis has resulted in a sea change for customer service across multiple channels of company interaction.