As a contact center leader, you have a lot to worry about on a daily basis, but over the long term, you also have to look at operating costs as well as managing scalability and seasonal fluctuations. To address those needs, many contact centers are turning to software-as-a-service (SaaS) or cloud technology. In this May 2016 report from Forrester, The ROI of SaaS, you’ll get details for a SaaS business case to help you plan for ways to improve ROI in your operations. Forrester outlines four areas to consider:
Here are some of the main takeaways.
According to the report, “The biggest driver for AD&D execs to adopt SaaS is not cost — it’s business agility. Several key benefits listed by SaaS buyers relate to speed and innovation.” Other benefits outlined include empowering business users, driving revenue and having a positive effect on the bottom line.
High upfront costs are basically a thing of the past with SaaS. However, it isn’t going to be a no-cost solution to on-premises platforms with new costs such as ongoing subscription fees and governance costs. In this report, Forrester suggests the specific costs to consider when you are working on your cost analysis.
Of course with anything new, there is a risk evaluation, but knowing the right questions to ask can put a more accurate face on cloud services. You’ll want to consider control, vendor viability and vendor lock-in. Any time you make a big change, there can be woes, but as Forrester states, “SaaS does a better job than traditional licensing to align vendor and customer goals in a true partnership model.”
Last but not least, let’s talk about flexibility. SaaS allows companies to scale up or down as needs change, which is especially helpful within contact centers who may change the number of agents throughout the year. It also provides an easy way for business users to control the features and workflow for their organization. Compared to older technology, SaaS enables business users to take a more active role.
Finally, this report provides results of Forrester Total Economic Impact (TEI) models for SaaS which will give you a starting point for building your business case. NICE CXone has commissioned Forrester Consulting for a cloud contact center TEI Model that will be released soon. In the meantime, read the Forrester research report, The ROI of SaaS, to get you started with your own analysis.
