Whether it’s your first time looking for a CCaaS provider or you’re ready to make the switch, Convergent's extensive experience is here to lend you a hand in leading those CCaaS conversations. Let's explore some of the features that you should consider before picking a vendor.
Contact Center as a Service (CCaas) expanded rapidly during a time when the pandemic was emerging and companies were forced to work from home. Move forward a few years later, we are now seeing a CCaaS boom with more options available for providers. With the ever-growing hybrid workforce, CCaaS is taking center stage for a lot of companies. While this means good news for you, knowing what to look for is necessary when sifting to find the right provider. By developing a better understanding of the differentiators of various CCaaS providers, Convergent can help guide you to the best solution.
1. Domestic vs. International
Like UCaaS platforms, your new CCaaS platform should be able to support your agents wherever they may be around the world. Consider the CCaaS provider’s points of presence (POPs), or where their platform is hosted. Significant distance between contact center agents and CCaaS POPs often means poor call quality and end-customer support.
📝 Helpful Tip: you should aim to find a provider with POPs near agents to deliver a high-quality experience.
2. Including UCaaS vs. Keeping Current PBX
When deploying CCaaS with voice, there are two options available:
1. Deploy UCaaS in conjunction with CCaaS
2. Deploy CCaaS over the top of an existing on-prem PBX platform
So how do you pick which option is best for you? When moving to the cloud for CCaaS, our experts suggest moving to the back office voice to the cloud (i.e., UCaaS) as well. By doing this allows organizations to cut down on usage charges and a more seamless experience. However, we understand that that is not always financially viable to our customers. In these cases, deploying CCaaS over the top of an existing on-prem PBX is likely the best option.
📝 Helpful Tip: If your company plans to deploy UCaaS in conjunction with CCaaS it is essential to look at platforms that integrate with each other. While exploring these options, consider existing infrastructures and future plans, as well as what financially makes sense for your organization.
3. Types of Communication
Many platforms on the market look very similar to one another, but communication is one way providers differentiate themselves.
We tend to see three classes of contact center platforms:
- Basic: Voice-only CCaaS platform (technically call center, not contact center). Sometimes, an SMS or email channel is included.
- Advanced: Includes all the available communication channels, including inbound voice, outbound dialers, web chat, email, and social media.
- Next-gen: Includes all the communication channels listed above, plus artificial intelligence. (This could mean chatbots, virtual agents, and more)
📝 Helpful Tip: When evaluating platforms, it is important to consider what your contact center is doing today and what might help improve it in the future. Often, CCaaS providers will offer a mix of the classes above to cater to different contact centers.
4. Application Integration
If your organization uses a specific application, consider how it might integrate with the new CCaaS platform. Identifying a provider that integrates with these applications can significantly help contact center agents while also giving callers a better experience. Plus, they might assist with logging call notes and transcriptions into a CRM, syncing contact lists, and more. Even if a CCaaS platform doesn’t have a pre-built integration, as long as the APIs are open and available, an integration can oftentimes be built out.
📝 Helpful Tip: If your contact center uses a specific platform to house customer information, make sure to review the many integrations each potential CCaaS providers may have.
5. Compliance Requirements
A major requirement to consider when looking at CCaaS platforms is compliance requirements. If an organization adheres to certain compliances, make sure the chosen CCaaS platform supports those. The two compliance requirements we see most often are 1) HIPAA for healthcare organizations, and 2) PCI for anyone that takes credit cards over the phone. Most CCaaS platforms have extensive knowledge around these compliances and Convergent can help you determine which CCaaS provider will help you stay HIPAA or PCI compliant.
📝 Helpful Tip: Identifying the features in a CCaaS provider is crucial to finding the right fit. Our Trusted Adivsors can provide the best service and help guide effective conversations by knowing the details of these features.
Convergent has developed a deep knowledge of the providers in our wide portfolio and is ready to examine your unique needs. If you’d like to talk to someone who can help narrow down the CCaaS market with providers who are going to be the best fit for your organization, please fill out one of our quick interactive assessments and an Convergent expert will reach out to you shortly.
