3CLogic's Contact Center Blog

Over the weekend, the weather finally changed, with temperatures in the high 60’s on Saturday.  It’s not something I generally get excited about, but after this year’s brutal winter I took advantage of the break from the cold to go on a long run with friends.  It was on this run that someone asked me, “How is it that my home phone never goes down but that a number for one of Ashburn’s biggest data centers can, and recently did, with only a busy tone for those trying to get through?” 

Knowing what I do for a living, he went on to explain that one of the employees at the data center had been fired and chosen to turn off the switches before walking out, which brought the whole center to a standstill.  In fact, not only was he able to bring down all of the managed hosted services, but the VOIP-based PBX system was also shutoff, which prevented the entire support staff from making or receiving calls.   To make matters worse, every client who tried to call customer support heard nothing but a busy tone.  Doesn’t help when one of those clients is the state government.

I am working with a mortgage broker to refinance my home. The mortgage broker uses a number of tools to communicate with his clients and seems to be pretty tech savvy. I found out that he uses Salesforce.com because he invited me to communicate with him using Chatter.

“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…"

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.