Hosted Call Centers: Transforming Customer Support with Key Benefits and Applications

Why are Hosted Call Centers Important?

A few years ago, companies required significant investment to purchase hardware and software and manage complex installation and maintenance. Additionally, customer support and sales agents were limited to physical workspaces with little flexibility and scalability. Complex sales calls and higher call volumes have also become challenging over time making it harder to deliver great customer service experience consistently. Advanced technology is the solution to make customer service more efficient and scalable. Hosted Call Centers have overcome these challenges using cloud-based omnichannel support tools. Let’s delve deep into how modern call centres can improve customer service and drive efficiency into your customer support operations. 

What are Hosted Call Centers?

When it comes to the term ‘hosted’ in a call centre environment, the setup or infrastructure needed to manage inbound and outbound calls is kept outside the business premises. Typically, a third-party vendor hosts the entire setup from their data centre, physical location or using cloud technology. Sometimes, the word hosted is also used to explain cloud call centers but they are not the same thing. Every cloud call centre is hosted, but not all hosted contact centres function in the cloud. Hosted contact centers function either on a physical server or are cloud-based and you don’t need to invest in hardwired equipment.

Navigating Through Key Differences Between Hosted & On-Premises Call Centers

Hosted contact centres on physical servers are generally single tenants, meaning only one client can use the software and infrastructure. Meanwhile, the ones which function on the cloud are multi-tenant allowing multiple customers to use the service as requirements. Let’s learn more about how hosted and on-premises call centres are different from each other.

1. Location: This makes the difference pretty clear as all the servers and infrastructure in on-premises call centres are located in your office while hosted contact centres are offsite. Meanwhile, call centre agents, whether customer service or sales representatives, must be physically at the office to access the system. A hosted contact centre allows agents to work from anywhere using an internet connection without the need to be present on physical premises.
2. Responsibilities:  Third-party vendors or service providers of hosted contact centre systems have their infrastructure and equipment to facilitate businesses. They manage maintenance and upgrades of your business, allowing you to focus on core activities. In the case of on-premises call centres, the enterprises own the physical phone lines and servers while installation and maintenance are also their responsibility. Additionally, an expert IT team is also required to manage all this.
3. Operation: Business phone systems function on traditional phone lines using PBX while computers are connected to the onsite servers through hardwiring in on-premises setups. It takes a long time to install the setup, you may need new wiring to add a new agent. On the other hand, hosted contact centres take advantage of VoIP technology to make calls over the Internet. You just need a router and an internet-connected device to make and receive calls.
4. Capacity: On-premises systems offer basic features like call transfer, hold, or voicemail. Although you can get more features or integrate with other communication channels and tools, it is not an easy job. Meanwhile, the hosted contact centres function in the cloud, making it easier to benefit from omnichannel customer support. They come with advanced features like auto-dialers, virtual receptionists and intelligent routing.
5. Security & Reliability: Investing in a hosted contact centre system means third-party experts are responsible for security and reliability. Your service provider ensures round-the-clock monitoring of the system to ensure your business information remains safe. Meanwhile, on-premises systems give you full control over your business data and security, but maintaining security is also challenging.

How Does A Hosted Service Work?

Instead of owning onsite hardware and software or taking responsibility for maintenance, companies can outsource their customer communication infrastructure to third-party service providers eliminating the need for onsite servers or software. Moreover, your agents can make and receive calls through softphones than traditional phones, anytime, anywhere. ACD system automatically routes incoming customer calls to the most available agents considering factors like availability, skills and priority. Your teams can access applications like chat interfaces, data dashboards, CRM systems and ticketing using web browsers. Companies can see agent performance, call flow and reports and easily scale up or down without making costly investments. They only pay the fee for the features and services they use. 

Which Industries Can Use Hosted Solutions?

Many companies use hosted solutions to improve some aspects of their business. Here are a few examples of industries that benefit from hosted systems.

1. Retail & E-Commerce: Hosted infrastructures can streamline the customer support process and are an efficient way to answer customer queries in the retail and e-commerce sectors.
2. Healthcare: These service-oriented sectors can benefit from hosted solutions that assist various customer support operations such as billing inquiries, appointment scheduling and specialist referrals.
3. Transportation: Hosted or cloud call centres offer proactive updates about delays or changes and can resolve customer issues instantly. Transportation services can easily manage their deliveries and improve customer service through customer feedback.
4. Finance & Banking Services: Customers expect 24/7 support in the banking and finance sector. These services can offer continuous service, facilitate secure transactions, provide personalised services and cross-sell or upsell considering customer information.
5. Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Businesses: Cloud call centres can help companies improve customer service experiences to boost loyalty and satisfaction. Hosted setups allow companies to scale seamlessly to achieve their dynamic business goals and offer insights about customer experience and agent performance. 

How to Find the Right Hosted Service Provider?

Companies face constraints regarding customer service operations, security issues and maintenance. They can streamline their customer-oriented operations through hosted infrastructure. However, selecting the right vendor is also challenging. You can consider the following factors to make the right selection.

• Ownership Cost & Pricing Model: Enterprises must compare monthly fees and upfront costs when deciding to invest in hosted contact centres. They must also be clear about the additional charges regarding storage, training, and integrations. Similarly, they should understand the total ownership cost of technology lifespan because some service providers offer usage-based pricing plans that can change as business needs change.
• Security Measures & Compliance: While reviewing the vendor information, get detailed information about the policies and procedures to protect data. Inquire about 24/7 availability, real-time status updates and disaster recovery plans. If the service provider meets all those requirements, consider it for investment. Likewise, you must have their compliance certificates to make an informed decision.
• Features & Integrations: Make a list of the features which you require to ensure efficient business communication. Consider an integrated omnichannel approach to handle your communication channels efficiently. Don’t switch to different service providers but consider the one that offers your required features and integrations. Your hosted solutions should provide automation, intelligent routing, predictive dialers and automatic call distribution. This will increase your agent performance and make management easier.
• Predictive/Auto Dialers & Automation: You can analyse service provider features like add-ons, reliability, geographic redundancy and auto dialer functionality to collaborate with the best vendor. Moreover, you can grow digital channels through AI-based automation to resolve customer issues faster and boost satisfaction.
• Customer & Agent Experience: Agent performance has a great impact on customer experience. For this reason, considering your agent’s needs is important when investing in hosted or cloud solutions. Hosted infrastructure automates many routine tasks and equips your agents with an easy-to-use interface to increase their focus and reduce distractions. 

Top Advantages of Hosted Call Centers for Efficient Customer Support

A Less Expensive or Cost-Efficient Solution

Call centres must maintain their infrastructure to manage inbound and outbound calls in case of on-premises solutions. Overall, it can be expensive, especially regarding high upfront costs for the equipment and employing a specialised IT team. Meanwhile, when on-premises becomes outdated, it fails to provide a good ROI. However, hosted solutions can lower these costs as the subscription model enables companies to pay monthly or yearly service costs. You don’t have to buy any equipment and can employ remote agents to offer efficient customer support. Additionally, VoIP solutions are cheaper leading to significant cost savings. 

Ensure Better Agent Experience

Your customer service and sales agents are the frontline workers so you can make their jobs a lot easier by providing the right tools. For instance, hosted/cloud call centres allow you to manage high-volume calls and route customer calls to the most relevant agents. Moreover, self-service tools like IVR lower your agent load and let customers save time by handling basic inquiries. Likewise, implementing auto dialers or predictive dialling solutions can automate manual dialling tasks, reduce manual error and improve overall productivity. Furthermore, flexible remote working promotes a healthy work environment and keeps agents and customers happy. 

Offer Advanced features & Countless Integrations

Hosted solutions especially the cloud-based give you access to advanced integrations and features that may seem impossible with on-premises systems. For instance, companies can offer self-service options using interactive voice response technology or provide answers to simple queries through chatbots and route the complex queries to live agents. Meanwhile, they can integrate other communication channels like email, SMS, instant messaging, video and chatbots to enhance their business communication infrastructure. Integrating business phone systems with existing apps and tools such as CRM further increases operational efficiency and customer experience. 

Enable You to Provide a Better Customer Experience

When your agents are engaged and satisfied, they make your customers feel happy. However, this is not the only way hosted call centres enhance customer loyalty. Hosted or cloud solutions enable call centers to reach their customers on multiple channels, and provide maximum assistance in inbound and outbound interactions. Additionally, automated self-service and routing options also reduce the call queue list as customers don’t have to wait long on hold. Agents can access customer information through integrated CRM and offer faster resolution and personalised services. Meanwhile, the analytics tools also allow sales teams to monitor the entire customer journey and provide personalised solutions to their concerns to foster loyalty.  

Provide Scalability to Grow

Hosted systems offer greater scalability than on-premises systems so call centers can easily manage a high volume of calls and increase the number of happy customers. Meanwhile, they can easily add more agents as they grow or expand without installing new phone lines. Meanwhile, you can add extra users during busy times and remove them when things settle down. Additionally, as hosted call centres allow remote work you can hire top talent around the globe that can access your system on an internet connection. This flexibility enables you to employ and retain the best talent to offer exceptional customer service experience. 

Rapid Deployment & Enhanced Security

Another benefit of a hosted solution is its rapid deployment functionality. You can implement these solutions quickly compared to the lengthy setup of on-premises call centres. This allows businesses to start getting the benefits from the system sooner. Furthermore, the security of business and customer data is extremely important. Hosted or cloud call centers offer robust security measures including firewalls and encryption to protect sensitive customer information. Cloud infrastructure offers advanced disaster recovery plans, lowers downtime, and ensures business continuity around the clock. Thus, rapid deployment and enhanced security are the additional perks that encourage call centres to upgrade to advanced hosted or cloud solutions. 

Streamlined Maintenance & Upgrades

Your service provider manages all updates, maintenance, and upgrades with hosted systems, ensuring your call centre has the latest software and features without any disruption or downtime. In addition, regular upgrades and updates give you access to advanced features and improve security. You don’t need to worry about hardware and software maintenance as it is also your service provider’s responsibility. 

Final Words

Do you want to reduce your customer service overheads or turn the call centre from cost driver to revenue generator? Consider investing in a Hosted Call Center solution to manage customer interaction efficiently. This cost-effective, scalable and flexible solution simplifies maintenance and improves agility. However, selecting the right service provider is critical to increasing the value of hosted solutions. Partner with CherryBerry UCM experts to get the hosted solutions that transform your customer service operations, improve efficiency and increase customer satisfaction.