on-premises-vs-cloud-hosted-contact-centers

On-Premises Vs. Cloud-Hosted Contact Centers

Cloud services have been constantly growing since their appearance in the market. However, the COVID-19 outbreak caused a considerable boost in the growth of these services. 

According to Allied Market Research: 

‘’The global cloud services market was valued at $325,689 million in 2019, and is projected to reach $1,620,597 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 15.8%’’ 

Due to this unexpected situation, people started quickly adopting cloud solutions for their companies. However, even before this change, cloud versions of on-premises platforms started taking over the market, and contact centers are not the exception. 

Today we want to make a brief comparison between the cloud-hosted and on-premises versions of a contact center. But first… 

What is Cloud-Hosted Contact Centers? 

This type of contact center is hosted in the cloud. It makes interacting with customers accessible from anywhere. Cloud-hosted contact centers require internet access to a network that supports the platform.  

What are On-premises Contact Centers? 

On-premises contact centers are the traditional version of these, as they are hardware-based.  With this type of contact center, your communications hardware, software, and overall infrastructure remain on-site. An IT team is required for installation and maintenance. 

Now, here are a few characteristics and features one must take into consideration when comparing cloud and on-premises contact centers. 

Set up 

  • On-Premises: Companies must purchase hardware and licenses, additionally, find compatible software, and set up the infrastructure. 
  • Cloud: To set up cloud-based contact centers one must install an application on a computer. 

Cost 

  • On-Premises: These typically require upfront costs for hardware, on-site housing for servers, and licenses. Hardware upgrade installation is required every 5 to 10 years. 
  • Cloud: Payments for an internet connection with enough bandwidth and monthly cost subscriptions. 

Features 

  • On-Premises: Transfers, hold, wait sounds/music, conferences, and call logging. 
  • Cloud: On-premises traditional features, plus call monitoring, call recording, smart IVR, click-to-call, VoIP, and more. 

Integrations 

  • On-Premises: Integrating other services with on-premises call centers are possible, but it is difficult, due to licensing and installation. Organizations with IT teams can make this happen. 
  • Cloud: With Coud-Hosted Contact Centers you can seamlessly integrate other apps and services. 

Reliability 

  • On-Premises: On-premises contact centers can have more stability to eliminate call lag, however, it goes as far as its hardware technology allows it. 
  • Cloud: These centers have call quality proportional to the strength of their internet connections. 

 

While there will always be pros and cons to each option, cloud solutions are taking over the market, and you should know the benefits it brings to your organization. 

If you want to know more about the operational benefits deploying a Multi-Channel Contact Center can bring to your company, read this. 

For further information about our Contact Center for Microsoft Teams, please contact us.