Software as a service (SaaS) is exploding in popularity. Organisations of all types love the ability to treat software much as they do electricity – a utility that they plug into and pay for monthly. In recent years, the SaaS model has been applied to all sorts of software – CRM, HR applications, sales force automation, etc. With the advent of voice over IP, this same delivery model can be applied to various communication services including contact centre automation.
But rather than getting caught up in the hype around SaaS, we should examine the impact this new trend will have on different industries, and ask ourselves if it is, in fact, the revolution it has been promised to be.
For small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as for individual users, the advantages of SaaS are obvious. It requires little or no capital expenditure, has predictable monthly costs instead of a large upfront payment, and less IT overhead. Individuals and small business can, for the first time, acquire rich functionality without having to make hefty investments.
For many larger corporations too, SaaS offers many advantages. But the same is not true for all industries. For example, the very lifeblood of financial services companies is data security. It is doubtful that they would be comfortable putting their clients’ confidential and highly sensitive information into a data centre owned and managed by someone else. In addition, regulations make it very difficult for them to follow this model.
Other industries also need to consider the impact of SaaS. On the one hand, contact centre businesses stand to benefit significantly. Often they have fluctuating needs, and SaaS offers the opportunity to scale services as and when required.
For example, a contact centre may be approached by a new client looking for a campaign for three hours a day for two weeks. It would not make financial sense for the contact centre to buy more agent seats for this period of time, but by using the SaaS model, they would have the ability to increase their capacity at will, giving them greater flexibility as a business.
On the other hand, contact centres need to be aware that communications services have special considerations. Communications are often considered even more mission critical because they involve personal contact with customers. Temporary loss of access to CRM can be a major inconvenience, but inability to take calls from customers can threaten the very existence of a business. This is why many organisations have been hesitant to trust anyone with their critical communications.
The disadvantages of SaaS for communications services include extreme business disruption in the event of a service outage; variable call quality that can make customers think they are dealing with a shoddy offshore operation; loss of control over valuable data; and lack of security for both voice and data.
Perhaps what is needed is a hybrid model for communications services – one that combines the best of remote service delivery with local control. This would enable both contact centre businesses and regulated industries to harness the benefits of SaaS without the associated business risks.
Dave Paulding
Regional Sales Director for UK, Middle East and Africa
Tel: +44 1753 418823
SA mobile: 072 737 5216
Email: david.paulding@inin.com
Interactive Intelligence
