Study Notes Contact Centers Are Increasingly Moving to the Cloud

In case there was ever any doubt, a new study indicates that cloud-based contact center technologies are gaining momentum and that companies of all sizes are embracing this new model.

The report is called Cloud Contact Centers Gaining Share, and it is based on a September/October survey of 154 respondents in the U.K. and the U.S. 8x8 Inc. and CCNG Contact Center & Customer Care Industry Professional Network collaborated on the study.

A quarter of respondents said they have cloud-based contact centers today. Twenty-eight percent have transitioned their contact centers to the cloud in part, and 21 percent plan to move to the cloud within the year. Meanwhile, about 75 percent of those surveyed say they understand the value of the cloud.

The study also pushed the message that analytics and omnichannel are important in the contact center. Of those surveyed, 52 percent of respondents said they use quality management software, 47 percent said they use survey tools, and 25 percent said they leverage customer journey metrics. As far as non-voice channels, 85 percent said email is the most widely adopted channel and 50 percent said website-based communication is their top channel outside of voice. Next came chat at 46 percent, and social media at 37 percent.

“The adoption of cloud-based communications and contact centers are key to the future of work, especially with an increasingly mobile, global and remote workforce,” said Enzo Signore, CMO, 8x8. “However, to usher in today’s new era of business communications and collaboration, organizations must also be willing to fully integrate powerful new technologies like quality management and analytics. This will enable companies to enhance agent performance, staffing efficiency and customer service while also controlling costs.”

According to MarketsandMarket, the cloud-based contact center market will grow from $5.43 billion this year to $15.67 billion by 2021.