Customer engagement channels are evolving and changing the overall contact center dynamics. The call center solution is becoming more crucial following the growing expectations of consumers. All-time access to technology and internet connections have played a major role.

For instance, if you asked a call center owner from 10 years ago, what kind of call center software they were using - majorly would say ‘on-premise.’ No one ever dreamed of using the internet to make calls but it is now in practice. Consumers' reliability and pace have increased over time, supporting cloud-based solutions.

International Data Group revealed in its study that 69% of businesses are already practicing cloud technology. Meanwhile, 18% are planning to incorporate it at some point. Further, the report by Dell highlighted that businesses can enjoy 53% faster revenue growth than their competitors if they invest in cloud, mobility, big data, and security.

Here are the key differences between on-premise and cloud contact centers. It will help businesses make the right decisions and pick the appropriate solutions.

On-Premise vs Cloud Contact Center

Cost

What kind of expenditures do you want? Capital or operational? You have to keep two points in mind when choosing between on-premise and cloud contact centers. There’s an upfront cost for hardware, licenses, and housing servers onsite that requires installations once every 5-10 years. Technology keeps on evolving whereas hardware will seek constant modernization.

Conversely, a cloud contact center needs no upfront hardware or infrastructure cost. You just need a strong internet connection and bandwidth for the latest updates. The maintenance cost depends on the monthly subscription.

Remote Support

The pandemic made companies and businesses realize the importance of working from home. Now it has become a common practice with the acceptance of the hybrid model. On-premise call centers have dedicated phones, the whole phone infrastructure, a customer database, tools, and more in a physical location.

Cloud-based systems operate from the cloud - there’s no specific location. It gives companies the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world as long as there’s a stable internet connection. Agents can even work from a coffee house as they have access to the same tools and database as they had in the office.

Features

The features create a major difference between on-premise and cloud contact centers. On-premise call centers are called traditional call centers for some reason. They offer basic features like transfer, hold, wait music, conferences, and call logging.

Cloud contact centers offer traditional features along with advanced technological solutions. It includes live monitoring, smart IVR, click-to-call, barging, proactive dialer, state-of-the-art of reporting, etc. It will be difficult to list all the features as it may vary according to the companies.

Agent Prolificacy

On-premise call center increases agents' dependency on one particular application. Think about all that time spent manually switching back and forth between programs. On the other hand, cloud contact centers offer an all-in-one solution - all the functions are accessible in a single application. Agents can enjoy features like auto-dialing, and automatic consent gathering for a minimized workload.

Integration

Integration takes time in an on-premise call center, mainly because of licensing and installation. It takes a lot of time even for experienced IT professionals, which can be utilized for business growth.

Integration in cloud-based call centers is smooth as the products are designed to integrate with other services. The sole purpose of integrations is to enhance customer satisfaction and experience. CRM, call script generators, and many more features can be integrated to give a seamless and intuitive agent experience.

Security & Privacy

The security level of on-premise call centers is high as the hacker would need to breach the servers in person to gain access. Most people consider it highly secure compared to cloud contact centers but it is not the case. Human error and intentional malice are the overwhelming cases, which can occur in on-site call centers.

Cloud contact centers are secured and private both. Service providers ensure their clients’ businesses are prepared ahead of security threats. Most companies follow military-grade security protocols and monitor any suspicious activities around the clock. Cloud contact service providers employ thousands of security experts that are constantly testing the system.

Uncertainties never knock on the door! Use the opportunity to move your call center to the cloud. It can help you scale quickly, set you apart from the competition, serve the customer expectations best, and have many more benefits. Learn more about cloud contact centers by connecting with an expert at DeepCall - a cloud telephony service provider

Now, can you decide which call center is better for your organization?