Workforce Management Featured Article
Don't Trust Your Workforce Management to the Fake Cloud
Have you ever encountered a fake cloud solution? In a world of countless hosted offerings, two solutions offered by two different providers can look absolutely the same, yet one is a fake cloud offering. It may not seem like a big deal if everything appears equal, but when it comes time for updates, configuration changes or scaling, the fake solution tends to take on all the characteristics of the on-premise solution.
In the contact center environment, turning toward hosted solutions is often the product of a desire to streamline operations, move on-premise challenges to the hosted provider and reduce cost. Workforce management solutions offered by companies like Monet Software are positioned to do just that, but it can be difficult to differentiate the solution if it appears to be the same thing as the competition.
As such, Monet Software set out to offer some guidelines on how to set the valid, hosted workforce management solution apart from the fakes. In a recent blog, the company outlined the fact that a true cloud solution is built from the ground up with the software coded as a fully hosted solution, not an in-house solution that is modified to provide access through the cloud. One way you can tell the difference is in new product enhancements – these should be automatic. If they’re not – the solution may be a fake.
Why does it matter? It’s possible that the promises associated with the fake solution give you the confidence that you don’t need to worry about the backend, as long as you have access to the features and pricing you need. The problem is the fake cloud solution is going to come with all of the problems and costs associated with the on-premise solution. It won’t be as efficient or as scalable, product updates are delayed and difficult, and downtime is likely to increase.
Security may also be an issue, especially in a scenario where the workforce management solution is available to all staff via a Web browser. Without the right certifications, compliance and audit completions, your data could be very much at risk. Keep in mind that if the hosted provider is actually offering a fake cloud solution, they aren’t likely to stay in business for the long-haul and may just leave you and your contact center high and dry.
To know for sure that you’re gaining access to a true cloud solution, look for automatic upgrades to new software versions, close to 100 percent guaranteed uptime, secure and fast system access to anywhere with Web access, advanced data privacy protection, easy integration with other applications and no significant upfront investment. Anything that doesn’t meet these criteria is a fake cloud solution and you should quickly run the other way.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi