Sales of cloud-based Workforce Management (WFM) solutions are on the rise

The order book at Teleopti promises a rosy future for cloud-based Workforce Management (WFM) solutions. According to the analyst ContactBabel cloud-based WFM is set to at least double with 24 percent of organizations planning to switch in the next two years. However, some contact centers are still reluctant to adopt a cloud-based approach.

There could be a simple explanation for this caution, most notably long replacement cycles in organizations that only change their systems out of necessity or after a major corporate-wide review.

Other contact center leaders may believe they don’t have the resources, time or manpower to assess what solutions are available, deploy and then manage their new infrastructure. Some worry about losing business while transitioning to the cloud and fear it will not offer them the same high levels of functionality, speed, reliability, security and integration. It’s time to look at the positives and benefits of cloud-based WFM.

Benefits today
Many organizations who have bought into the cloud model have already enjoyed a variety of tangible benefits, in particular no more major investments in hardware and software, easily accessible WFM data 24/7, automatic back-ups and disaster recovery, the ability to scale up and down the number of users as required with updates and new features added automatically.

Here are five very good reasons to make the switch to cloud-based WFM without delay:

Simplify IT – someone else implements the technology and takes care of all the hardware, software and upgrades saving infinite amounts of time and money. Deployment is rapid, new functionality can be turned on as needed while automatic system changes reduce bug fix cycles.

Add agility – real-time data feeds, updated in seconds, enables faster, more proactive decision-making. Integration in the cloud means that connecting with other cloud systems such as customer relationship management (CRM) and contact center technology is made easier.

Faster Return on Investment (RoI) – cloud-based WFM outperforms in terms of ROI. While no two contact centers are the same, zero capital investment, faster deployment and easier integration means RoI is typically achieved quickly. Illustrating this to purchasing and finance departments to support a move to cloud can be made easier by using online savings calculators to estimate the potential savings from a given start point.

Cost – as cloud WFM is delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS) it removes up-front costs. All new functionality (within the bought package), maintenance and innovation are included in the user fee, paying simply for an agreed number of agents. Cloud WFM also allows for a streamlined IT team without the unnecessary hiring of additional staff to manage the software.

Integration with current contact center infrastructure - Teleopti WFM Cloud is easily integrated with existing infrastructures. Statistical logging from a contact center platform is through the Teleopti CloudLink, which collects the contact center data and sends it to the Teleopti WFM Cloud. The contact center platform can be either premise-based or cloud-based.

Before you get started – ask the right questions of your cloud service provider.

Look for a WFM cloud service provider you can trust which is well-established with a proven track record in the industry. Ensure the vendor provides its services over the web to organizations around the world but stores data in an appropriate territory. Finally, make sure the solution runs on a platform that has received approval from EU data protection authorities, has implemented internationally recognized information security controls and is certified to quality standards such as ISO-27001.