6 Reasons. to Consider Workforce Management in the Cloud

Transcription

1 6 Reasons to Consider Workforce Management in the Cloud

2 To Cloud... Or Not to Cloud? If you work in the contact center industry, you know that migration to the cloud is a common topic of discussion. Should we, or shouldn t we? Many contact centers are wrestling with that very issue. Saddletree Research reports that at the end of 2012, 57% of contact centers had no intention of ever moving to the cloud. In 2014, that number had dropped to 34%. And in 2016, that number decreased to 24%. That change over time is a pretty significant statement about how contact centers are rapidly embracing the cloud. If we do a little extrapolation, we could expect that by 2018, only about 18% of contact centers will have no intention of moving to the could. That s a small minority that will probably be wondering, Do we have this right? No matter where you turn, all roads lead to the cloud. 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% No Intention of Ever Moving to the Cloud 57% 34% 24% 18% Source: Saddletree Research Aspect Software 2

3 Benefits of a Cloud Contact Center The increasing interest in cloud contact centers is a natural consequence of advances in cloud technology and the collective movement toward Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings of ACDs, CRM, WFO, HRIS and other contact center-related software. How could it be any other way? We re completely comfortable with MS-Office, Salesforce and our own music collections existing and operating somewhere far away from our personal premises. And the benefits of a cloud contact center are increasingly obvious, even to those who have been historically skeptical. Ubiquity High Scalability Lowest Total Cost of Use The internet is virtually everywhere. With a SaaS model, you can have centralized agents, work-at-home agents, supervisors, workforce planners and administrators anywhere you like. Most contact centers have significant swings in the number of agents required to service customers. Why purchase and maintain hardware sized to support your peak staffing? Let your cloud provider do the scaling for you. Hardware, IT staffing, facilities, disaster recovery and other data center charges can be converted from fixed costs to variable costs with the cloud provider passing along savings they get from operating with economies of scale. Also, on-premises software upgrades usually require a significant amount of work for the software provider and the cost is passed on directly to the customer as a professional service charge or is embedded in the license fee Aspect Software 3

4 Reduced IT Dependency IT departments as cost centers are almost universally understaffed, at least in the eyes of the business unit. Virtually eliminate the need for IT with SaaS software. Affordability The cost of Workforce Management (WFM) software and options may be expensive in an on-premises licensed delivery mode. In the cloud, the software provider can amortize the cost of software over many customers using multi-tenancy, effectively lowering the price for the end-user. Continuous Upgrades Many contact centers see the value in software enhancements provided on a regular basis, without any professional services costs. Read on to understand why continuous upgrades are critically important Aspect Software 4

5 Continuous Updates Enable the Latest in Contact Center Advancements Contact centers are constantly striving to deliver higher customer satisfaction at a lower cost, while maintaining a happy work environment for employees. WFM software is the essential WFO tool that ensures the proper balance among these three important objectives. But technology and customer demands are continuously changing. Your WFM software must evolve to continue to give you the best results. Consider these seismic changes that will necessitate regular software enhancements. Agent Engagement Just in the past few years, contact centers have come to realize the importance of creating an environment that ensures agents are fully engaged in their work. New features such as the graphical user interface, remote scheduling via smartphone app and gamification are changing the life of the typical agent. Omni-channel The growth in digital channels is unprecedented, but traditional WFM models can t accurately schedule agents in a non-voice world. WFM forecasting and scheduling features and models must evolve to optimally schedule labor across voice and digital channels. WFO Integration The historically disparate components of WFO need to be integrated into process workflows that span multiple components such as automatically scheduling coaching sessions in WFM when the need is identified in QM. WFO Intelligence Analytic tools are already providing many valuable insights into contact center operations, and AI/machine learning will help guide agents and supervisors to take the next best action Aspect Software 5

6 Which Cloud is the Right Fit? For those seriously entertaining a move to the cloud for WFM, there are really two options: public cloud or hosted (aka private cloud) delivery. WFM software delivered through the public cloud such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) enables true Software as a Service available to anyone with a web browser. Hosted WFM software, on the other hand, is quite similar to on-premises delivery, except additional telecom lines are required to transport workstation and ACD data to remotely located WFM servers. The table on the right highlights some of the similarities and differences between these two delivery mechanisms. Price Environment Public Cloud Less expensive than hosted AWS, Azure, etc. Hosted (Private Cloud) Lower TCO than on-premise Rackspace, Cloudreach, etc. Customization Limited customization Fully customizable Scalability High Unlimited users Control of Upgrades Software Provider Customer For the vast majority of contact centers, public cloud delivery is the most desirable option. Larger Upgrade Price Free Professional Service Charge and more complex implementations may require a private cloud implementation. Level of IT Control Limited Moderate 2017 Aspect Software 6

7 Where to Start with Cloud For those on-premises contact centers being tempted by all the advantages of the cloud, workforce management software could be the best way to begin your journey. Workforce Management Applications Moving to the Cloud in % Many contact centers currently operate WFM systems that are provided by software vendors different from their Quality Management/Recording systems. WFM is fairly autonomous because the data integration with the ACD and other systems is not real-time nor complex, and the data is not confidential, so security is a minor concern. These relaxed constraints dramatically lower the barriers to moving WFM up into the public cloud. Agent Desktop Quality Management Interactive Voice Response Survey Software 15.3% 13.4% 13.3% 11.9% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% If you could get all the benefits of the cloud that we have highlighted above, with all the capabilities of a rich on-premises workforce management solution, with minimal additional risk, that s a best-of-allworlds scenario that deserves serious consideration. Source: Saddletree Research Aspect Software 7

8 Introducing, Aspect Via Workforce Management The Premier WFM Cloud Solution Aspect has recently released a major new addition to its WFO portfolio: Aspect Via Workforce Management. The SaaS version of its #1 rated workforce management solution is now available in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud. Aspect Via WFM is the latest addition to Aspect s growing collection of AWS public cloud offerings, including Aspect Via customer engagement solutions with native contact center, WFO and self-service capabilities. Not only does Aspect Via WFM include all of the rich features and options enjoyed by our many on-premises customers, it is a natural migration path from Aspect s on-premises offering as well as the on-premises offerings of other WFM software vendors. Aspect Via WFM is also a stepping stone to other Aspect Via WFO cloud solutions as well as to Aspect Via itself, using tools that make product migrations seamless Aspect Software 8

9 LEARN MORE Discover the remarkable benefits of Aspect Via WFM! Call us today: See more details online: Aspect Software 9