If the past year of unified communications news has made you feel like you're watching a tennis match, you're not alone. With 8X8 buying FUZE, and the partnership of RingCentral and Mitel, the past few months alone have brought changes that will affect your cloud communication options moving forward.
And this proves especially true with Contact Center as a Service, or CCaaS.
Gone are the days of the old customer service center. Instead, companies of all types realize the modern contact center is not a physical location but a way to manage customer conversations that foster valuable interactions that build brand loyalty and optimize employee productivity and engagement.
As such, it's right to expect evolution.
What exactly do all these acquisitions and partnerships mean for the future of CCaaS?
1: Better Technology Means More Standardized Functionality
All this activity opens up improved capabilities as big companies buy out smaller ones for their technology, then repurpose it for their audience, creating innovative features they didn't offer before.
One example of this is workforce engagement management (WEM), geared toward improving agent engagement which ultimately helps boost job satisfaction and solidifies employee commitment.
WEM is generally an add-on to contact center, but several providers now include workforce management (WFM) apps as standard with their contact center platforms.
2: A Wider Playing Field Brings More Opportunity for Customization
CCaaS began with a handful of providers who offered a wide range of dedicated services for contact centers that included standard built-in features.
While there's nothing wrong with that, the many recent partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions certainly add another element.
As companies expand their technology holdings and competitors try to keep pace, the answer usually comes in the form of 3rd party integrations added through API’s. Instead of a cookie-cutter, out-of-the-box contact center solution, you'll be more able to customize your agent and user experiences through interconnected tools on a single platform.
3: XCaas Combines Contact Center and Business Functionality into One
Another exciting development is Experience Communications as a Service or XCaaS. Instead of adding contact center to your business communications system, the standard solution of the past, both business and contact center come in one.
There are many advantages to this type of communications tool. Here are some of them:
Connect from Anywhere
Employees have the freedom to access the same communication tools no matter where they work. Home, office, on the go, they can perform their job duties or talk to their teammates as easily as if they were face-to-face on any device with an internet connection.
Customers interact with your brand the way they choose from anywhere, on any device with an internet connection. Whether chat, video, text, fax, or phone. The choice is theirs.
No Siloes
Your business and contact center team communications exist on one integrated platform. Team members have access to the information and the ability to interact in both, making for a better experience for themselves and their customers.
Boosted Productivity and Higher Engagement
Since they no longer must access two systems, XCaaS gives your staff a more consistent, more effortless work experience since all communications reside on the same system.
Exceptional Data
You get the data you need all in one place. Want to know where your agents perform best? Where do they need more training?
Maybe you're interested in first call resolution stats, or which channels your customers are using most. Get all the information you need to make better business decisions all from one platform.
Ready to learn more about contact center functionality and how it can help your business? Contact us here.
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