Amar's Alley: The Battle Between Contact Centers and Answering Machines

Posted by Guillaume Seynhaeve on Feb 24, 2014 9:40:00 AM

“Hi! you have reached blah blah blah, please leave your name and number and I will get back to you." Familiar? It should be….these words likely echo in your ears at some point everyday! Correction…this probably happens to you on almost every call! 

Allow me to provide you with an outside perspective from a member of the “old guard” (let’s just leave my age at that), who always jumps to answer a call, regardless of what’s going on and even if the number is unknown.  In my younger days, we would run across the office floor, or down the flight of stairs at home to pick-up the phone, because we were taught that if a device rings, it's for a reason.  Today, I am intrigued by how often I come across that same old message, “Hi! You have reached (blah blah blah blah), please leave your name…"

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Topics: cloud based contact center, call center, crm integration, custom crm integration, 360 view, call center software features, contact center solution, call center software, cloud call center, customer support, best business practices, call blast, employee retention, scalability

Bye-Bye Hackers: Protect your cloud contact center against the bad guys.

Posted by Rachel Brink on Dec 18, 2013 11:00:00 AM

With the growing number of machine-to machine devices being used by people as well as an increase in the amount of information being shared through the web and cloud, some have grown concerned about the protection of this information. Everyday there are many people attempting to hack into different systems to access information, so companies need to make sure their bases are covered in order for their customers have faith in them.

The Cloud Security Alliance, also known as CSA, is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote best practices for security assurance within the cloud. They also exist to educate people on the uses of cloud computing. CSA recently announced its newest project, Software Defined Perimeter Initiative (SDP).  SDP will allow for the creation of networks that are extremely resistant to attacks by using end-to-end network IP addresses. According to Saroj Kar from Cloud Times, this is necessary due to the growing number of machine-to-machine devices, which increase risk at these endpoints. Kar explains that the most important way to decrease this risk is to require people to undergo strict authentication procedures before accessing any information through these devices. SDP will ensure that both the providers and the customers are secure against attacks at any point through the system.

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Topics: cloud security, VTAG, cloud based contact center, cloud based, call center, call center software, cloud based call center, redundant systems

SaaS Contact Center Software, the quick and dirty!

Posted by David Rastatter on Dec 9, 2013 12:00:00 PM

So what is software-as-a-service (SaaS)?

After being immersed in the contact center arena for quite some time, I have found that people are still having trouble grasping what software-as-a-service really is. Software-as-a-service, also known as SaaS, is an on demand software. The software is hosted in the cloud and a web browser acts as the medium for the customer to access it.

Think of it like renting an apartment, as opposed to owning one. Your landlord or property management company handles all of the maintenance headaches such as plumbing issues, broken air conditioning units, and changing light bulbs, while you enjoy the benefits of living in the apartment. SaaS can be seen as the same thing. It allows the customer to enjoy the product without worrying about the behind the scenes maintenance including updates and fixes. The customer uses the software, but its ‘skeleton’ remains unseen.

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Topics: cloud based solution, call center software features, call center software, customer support, software, SaaS

Cutting Costs, One Customer at a Time

Posted by Rachel Brink on Nov 1, 2013 10:00:00 AM

Cutting costs and increasing efficiency: it’s what every business has strived to do for decades. Because of the most recent economic downturn, it has become a priority for businesses to follow this business model. Companies have been forced to close factories, initiate massive layoffs, and file for bankruptcy in order to stay afloat. Take, for instance, the airline industry. For the past few years, airlines have been struggling to make profits with such high variable costs, especially because people began traveling less. Airlines such as Southwest, one of the few profitable ones in the industry, recently redesigned the seating in their planes so that the chairs are lighter and smaller, thus allowing them to add a couple of extra rows of seats on the aircrafts. They have even started to overbook flights, banking on the fact that there may be some no-shows. While it may seem to some that this is a bad thing, it's helping them to keep their costs and prices down, and remain on top in their industry.

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Topics: VTAG, cloud based contact center, cloud based, call center, cloud based solution, call center software, cloud based call center, cloud call center

Taking a Chance on Cloud Technology

Posted by Rachel Brink on Sep 30, 2013 12:43:00 PM

We as humans are all hesitant to adopt new things from time to time; we like to steer away from the unknown and stick with what we are used to. It is just human nature. While this may be a more comforting way for people to go about their day-to-day lives, there are so many missed opportunities that could arise. A couple examples come to mind of how this mind-set has led to disaster for different companies and individuals.

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Topics: cloud security, cloud based, call center, cloud based solution, call center scalability, call center software features, CRM, crm software, call center software, B2B marketing, technology, cloud call center, software

Virtual Currency and the Call Center

Posted by Madeleine Coe on Aug 22, 2013 2:00:00 PM

I’ve been interested with the concept of the bitcoin since it began surfacing in the media recently. I caught wind of this article about the Winklevoss twins (or Winklevii, if you prefer) getting involved with funding for bitcoins at the beginning of the summer.

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Topics: customer service, call center scalability, 360 view, multichannel contact center, call center software, technology, cloud call center, voip crm integrated contact center

Words that the Tech Industry Totally Stole, Part II

Posted by Madeleine Coe on Aug 13, 2013 2:00:00 PM

A while back, I wrote a post about four words that the tech industry totally stole. Now that I think about it, there are tons of words that different industries repurpose as industry jargon.

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Topics: call center software features, call center software, technology, redundant systems, cloud call center

How IVR Software is the Ultimate Nanny

Posted by Madeleine Coe on Aug 8, 2013 2:00:00 PM

When you go out for an evening with your spouse, you don’t just leave your kids at home. You find a babysitter. And if you really love your kids, you find them a fun babysitter who will make crafts, or play cars or dolls, or whatever fun games they want. Of course, the babysitter has to meet your standards as well as your kids.

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Topics: customer service, cloud based contact center, call center software, cloud based call center, auto-attendant for call center, IVR technology

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