How recording calls “in the cloud” can save contact centers money

To remain competitive in an ever-changing global environment, contact centers are looking for new solutions that enhance productivity, reduce cost and increase security. Many companies are searching for solutions that allow them to provide flexible work options and enhanced operational flexibility without breaking the bank. Since offshore outsourcing has proven to be unsuccessful for many call centers, they are looking for low cost options that still allow them to operate competitively while providing the quality that their customers expect and demand.

Financial Advantages
In a recent study, by Frost and Sullivan ("The Hosted Model: Why it's Revolutionizing the Contact Center Industry") the costs of hosted call recording were compared to those for a premise-based platform. The study demonstrated a cost savings of 64% in the first year, 36% in the third year and 23% in the fifth year. Through hosting, contact centers save money historically spent on hardware, such as a physical switch or a call recording box. Eliminating this investment not only removes the initial capital requirement, but also eventual replacement and maintenance costs. Hosted call recording is far more affordable to the SMB.

Flexible Work Options and Virtualization
Contact centers implementing geographically distributed branches and home-based agents are finding the traditional premise-based PBX far too limiting. With the call recorder moved into the network, these innovators no longer have to deal with the geographic restrictions created by hardware located on-sight. Recording "in the cloud" provides them with the flexibility they need to place their agents wherever the business needs them to be. The most desirable hosted call recording solutions can easily integrate with a virtual PBX to provide real time, blanket and selective call recording for all agents regardless of their geographic location, providing superior quality call monitoring support for all branch and home locations.

Enhanced Operational Flexibility
In addition to the operational efficiency benefits described above, hosted call recording also helps mitigate risk. Failure to comply with regulations can result in hefty fines that will hurt the bottom-line. Having a permanent recording of customer interactions and regulated transactions helps to alleviate exposure and mitigate risk. If your contact center is faced with regulations that require effective and efficient retrieval of call records, hosted call recording may be the answer.