Page 23 - Telecom Reseller October-November 2016

October/November 2016
TESSMER
customers shopping around at the end of their contracts for better rates.
Over the past several months, I’ve published several articles advocating for telcos and other CSPs to consider adding cloud contact center services to their portfolios. e business case
is crystal clear. Carriers, mobile operators, multiple-system operators (MSO) and other service providers have the unique opportunity to create new, recurring revenue streams and to help their business customers with the complexity
of managing an e ective customer experience program.
Caylar and Ménard detail what telecom companies must do, “To become a successful multiservice provider.” Let’s examine these points one by one, and the strategic alignment of cloud contact center with their recommendations.
“Create a focused o ering for promising adjacent opportunities, with clear positioning, a well-de ned value proposition, and a carefully targeted customer segment. Such an o ering should rely on standardized IT products and services and existing platforms where possible.”
Service providers are ideally positioned to o er Contact Center-as-a Service (CCaaS) by having the core infrastructure, network and operational ability needed to deliver cloud applications as a service. By virtue of their existing relationships service providers are uniquely positioned to sell cloud contact center solutions to their customers. ey can easily leverage their cloud-based
architectures, especially around multi-tenant o erings. Not only does this model allow for amortization of the platform cost across many customers, but also helps them operate, maintain and upgrade the multi-tenant cloud application e ciently, e ectively passing along operations e ciency to their end-customer.
“Develop platform-based solutions in disruptive technology areas that are close to the core business but provide additional growth potential. Telecom companies should also consider how to derive additional value from their existing assets and competitive advantages.”
One of the primary di erentiators with a contact center solution that is purpose built as a cloud application is that it uses a multi-tenant architecture, which means that a single instance of a so ware application services multiple customers (i.e. tenants). Multi-tenancy greatly enhances the cost e ectiveness of the platform by enabling more e cient use of hardware and so ware resources as well as IT and operations labor.
Contact center solutions are particularly “sticky,” as switching out an application that works well and is such a critical component of a business is not something customers do lightly. Industry analysts estimate the Cloud Based Contact Center Market to reach $14.70 Billion USD by 2020. Validating the long-term viability for service providers to adopt the cloud model for contact centers is analysts’ prediction that
in the next 3-5 years, the growth rate of CCaaS will continue at 17% to 25%. What is equally impressive is that among those that have already made the move to CCaaS, more than 90% report being satis ed, highly satis ed, or completely satis ed with their decision.
“Minimize costs in production and delivery by using automated and “low touch” processes to avoid building in extensive personnel requirements and increasing speed to market with a product that is not fully integrated in existing legacy systems and potentially running on a separate infrastructure.“
For low customer point of entry requirements, multi-tenant architecture is a proven model. Virtual partitioning allows each tenant to retain its own data access and con guration parameters, while at the same time sharing CPU processing, memory, network infrastructure and data
storage resources. Using shared resources creates e ciencies and economies of scale, and simpli es administration and maintenance operations.
A multi-tenant CCaaS solution shares compute resources and requires far fewer infrastructure requirements and IT resources to setup and manage, and can be just as pro table for a 10-user deployment as it is for a 1,000-user deployment.
“Drive sales by starting with a basic portfolio of services to gain traction and then developing one or two solutions with demonstrable advantages for a particular business. As customer
Telecom Reseller 23 ›› continued from page 13
demand increases, telcos can improve their responsiveness by implementing lean approaches and speeding up processes though multiskilling and dedicated presales and sales support. ey should also capture synergies with their core business in areas such as local presence, customer access, and industry knowledge.”
Utilizing multi-tenant architecture, CCaaS o ers unmatched exibility and scalability.
Unlike legacy contact center models, where service providers may need to invest in additional hardware resources and so ware licenses to ensure better uptime and o set customers’ unexpected growth, a CCaaS environment enables CSPs to easily remove or add seats and turn on or turn o product features as customers’ sta ng and business needs evolve. Businesses can grow organically, all but eliminating pressure on service providers and their customers to predict the future.
In a true cloud CCaaS scenario, end customers can leverage built-in IP so phones, connect to their uni ed communications platform such as Skype for Business, or use any IP handset. CCaaS solutions also feature web-based provisioning and administration, which service providers can easily extend to their customers to provide self- service capabilities.
For instance, contact center managers could perform tasks such as adding new agents or changing call routing rules without relying on service provider personnel.■
enable customers to engage in live chats with service agents right over your website or in your mobile application.
So, how do you obtain a WebRTC solution for your contact center?
ere are a few di erent ways. Skilled developers can attempt the DIY approach by downloading the source code and building a WebRTC-enabled communications portal.
As with any open source technology, though, it can be tricky getting WebRTC to work properly. So it’s generally recommended that you work with a third party WebRTC enabler and platform provider like Temasys. is type of company will provide end-to-end WebRTC management and support solutions, guaranteeing a high quality communications experience for customers. A WebRTC enabler will also come in handy if you plan to scale your service.
HEDBERG
continued from page 21
So You Want Video-Enabled YCustomer Support. What Next?
communications network gives them an opportunity to share information and resources in a way that they have not been able to do
with their previous traditional communication devices.
PTT solutions based on standard smartphones and tablets/laptops make task group communications faster, more exible, secure – and, not least – more cost e cient. It might be the single most e cient and bene cial measure that the security industry can implement the solution in their quest for improved packaged services and lower costs. ■
TR
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our business is considering using video for real-time, face to face customer service. And the onus is on you to move the
initiative forward.
Where should you even begin?
As you conduct preliminary research, you may
be tempted to use a dedicated video conferencing solution. Your business, for instance, may already have access to a platform from a company like Vidyo, Zoom, Blue Jeans Network or Microso (Skype).
ese services are great for video conferencing; they enable secure, reliable video communications between two or more parties. So it may seem like a natural t to upgrade your plan and use your current platform to connect with customers. is is not a good idea.
Here’s why:
Most of these types of dedicated conferencing services require customers to either download a special platform or create an account. And they’re expensive to support, especially at scale.
Now, for someone like an employee or existing client, this might be ne. It’s di erent when working with random customers or visitors to a website that may or may not end up as customers. In order for these folks to use a communications channel like video, there need to be as few barriers to access as possible. e video solution needs to be lightning-fast and reliable. It also needs to be visible and immediately available — meaning it needs to live directly on your website
JONES
by Christopher Jones, Contributing Writer at Technology Marketing Corporation (www.tmcnet.com)
or in your application. Otherwise, customers will be more apt to stick with traditional communications solutions like the telephone or email. Or, they may get frustrated and never contact you at all.
e good news
is that you don’t
have to invest in any expensive equipment to use WebRTC. ere’s no heavy capital or operational expenditures. With free WebRTC code, and the assistance
of an a ordable WebRTC enabler, you can equip your
Remember: Video is still new for customer support purposes. Customers are still getting used to the idea of using video to speak with call center agents. But they will get used to it, just like they now take wi connectivity on airplanes for granted.
Remember: Video is still new for customer support purposes. ustomers are still getting used to the idea of using video to speak with call center agents.
e technology you need to enable fast, e cient video that customers will actually use is Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC), an open source communications engine that enables browser-to-browser and in-app video, audio and text conversations. In other words, WebRTC can
contact center with video in no time.
Your customers will love having an extra
channel, as they will be able to use it to bypass the phone and gain immediate assistance. And you will love it, as your telecommunications bill will drop. ■
Clarity