Putting WFO in the Cloud

There are many compelling reasons to put contact center solutions, including workforce optimization (WFO) applications, in the cloud.

Some of the top ones are:

1. It allows companies to get the system up and running and delivering information and benefits much more quickly.
2. It comes with highly experienced resources who are fully trained in using the application and available 24×7 to provide support.
3. Contact center managers do not have to depend on internal IT resources to provide support for their application.
4. Users receive upgrades and ongoing enhancements without having to go through an upgrade process, so they can quickly take advantage of the newest WFO capabilities.
5. Managers can add new WFO modules via a simple provisioning process.
6. It is highly scalable, so companies pay only for what they use – this is very helpful for contact centers that are impacted by seasonality.
7. The application can be acquired using the operating budget instead of having to get approval for a capital investment.
8. The operating expense of the application can be funded by the savings realized from using the system; this is particularly the case for first-time users of WFO, workforce management and analytics.
9. The service is designed to incorporate fully integrated back-up and disaster recovery at no incremental cost, eliminating a significant concern for most contact center managers.
10. The cloud is designed to be highly secure, as it must address the needs of security-conscious clients of all sizes and in all verticals.

The ease of using cloud-based solutions is changing the landscape for contact center and WFO solutions. Contact center managers have more choices than ever before and can pick the solutions and vendors they want to do business with. Very importantly, the cloud positions a company to do a “try buy,” which means that users can try out an application before they make a long-term commitment, which is something that users of workforce management solutions have wanted for years.

Donna Fluss, DMG Consulting LLC

Donna Fluss, Founder and President of DMG Consulting LLC, provides a unique and unparalleled understanding of the people, processes and technology that drive the strategic direction of the dynamic and rapidly transforming contact center and back-office markets. Donna can be reached at [email protected].