Hosted Call Center: What It Is, How It Works & Why You Want One

Research suggests that any business switching to a cloud-based phone system will save 49-69% on monthly communication costs*. 

A cloud-based hosted phone system gets rid of expensive infrastructure costs, limited features, and rigidity in favor of flexibility, utility, and scalability. It also comes with advanced functionality designed to boost productivity, personalize communication, and transform the customer experience. What’s more, the system only needs a solid internet connection and basic hardware to work from anywhere in the world.

In this article, you’ll learn how a hosted contact center actually works, key features, and tools you can use to boost efficiency across the board.

Key Takeaways

• A hosted call center is housed and managed by a third-party provider, whereas an on-premises solution is housed on your business’s physical premises.
  
• Hosted contact centers are cost-effective, scalable, easy to integrate, and have advanced features.
  
• CloudTalk is a cost-effective hosted phone system that offers an advanced feature set designed to boost productivity and transform the customer experience.

What Is a Hosted Call Center?

A hosted call center is a phone system that’s based entirely off-site. Since it’s accessed through the internet, it allows call center agents to be based in a physical office or anywhere in the world.

By hosting functionality in the cloud, hosted contact centers cut down on the expensive installation and maintenance costs of complex traditional business phone systems.They can also integrate with a wide range of other software, such as CRM systems or data platforms to allow for personalised communication and advanced analytics. They are made more effective by  efficiency-boosting features like Power Dialers, Workflow Automation, or Interactive Voice Response to cut wait times, improve customer service, and drive growth.

How a Hosted Call Center Works

Con una solución de centro de contacto alojado, pagas una cuota de suscripción a un proveedor externo, que luego te da acceso al hardware y software que necesitas. El proveedor se encarga de actualizar y mantener la solución, quitándote esas preocupaciones de encima.

On-Premises vs Hosted Call Centers: The Fundamental Differences

Un centro de contacto local es el que está ubicado en tus instalaciones físicas y gestionado por tu empresa. Un centro de contacto alojado se aloja (hardware, software e infraestructura) fuera de las instalaciones.

Here’s a table that sums up the main differences:

Benefits of a Hosted Call Center

Profundicemos en las ventajas de utilizar una solución de centro de contacto alojado.

Cut Operational Costs

Affordable hosted phone system pricing enables much lower upfront investment since there’s no need for expensive hardware or IT specialists for setup and maintenance. With a third-party provider handling infrastructure, you can also avoid ongoing costs like utility bills, server room expenses, and expensive hardware upgrades.

Plus, hosted contact centers support remote working. It’s cheaper to onboard remote employees and you don’t incur additional overheads. For example, extra office space, equipment, and utilities.

Scale Up and Down as You Need

Ampliar o reducir un sistema heredado es arriesgado. Si quieres dar cabida a más empleados, añadir nuevas funciones o expandirte a mercados globales, tienes que hacer cambios de infraestructura costosos y complejos. Y si quieres reducir la escala, puede que te quedes con recursos ociosos.

Con un sistema alojado, puedes añadir y eliminar nuevos usuarios y funciones para satisfacer demandas inmediatas e impulsar un crecimiento sostenible, incluso global.

PlanRadar’s partnership with CloudTalk is a great example of how a hosted solution can help achieve this. PlanRadar quickly realized that they were “in dire need of a reliable and flexible VoIP solution that could handle [their] international communication requirements”. 

So, they traded their legacy VoIP system for CloudTalk and leveraged the 160+ International Numbers on offer along with speedy Number Porting and streamlined number acquisition.

The result was a 70% increase in call handling efficiency and, in 2023, the handling of 144,652 calls using 585 international numbers. That’s a growth of 122.14%.

Integrate More Easily With Existing Tools

Intentar integrar sistemas heredados con otras herramientas puede provocar pérdidas de datos, corrupción, vulnerabilidades de seguridad, tiempos de inactividad y otros muchos riesgos.

On the other hand, cloud-hosted phone systems are built for integration. Many providers—CloudTalk included—offer native integrations with business tools, including your CRM. 

Así, puedes conectar los datos de tus clientes a tu sistema telefónico para que los agentes puedan ofrecer experiencias personalizadas.

Access a Wider Range of Features

Los sistemas locales normalmente sólo pueden ofrecer funcionalidades básicas de llamada. En cambio, las soluciones de centros de contacto alojados están repletas de funciones sofisticadas que impulsan la velocidad, la eficacia y la calidad de las interacciones con los clientes.

Estas funciones incluyen cosas como IVR inteligente, enrutamiento personalizable y análisis incorporados. ¿Te interesa? Hablemos de estas funciones con más detalle.

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Must-Have Hosted Call Center Features

¿Qué características esenciales debes tener en cuenta cuando busques una solución de centro de contacto alojado?

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

La Respuesta de Voz Interactiva es un sistema automatizado que interactúa con tus clientes y les ayuda a dirigirse al departamento adecuado.

IVRs improve call routing, reduce average call duration by 40%, and boost customer satisfaction. Callers can input their reason for calling into the system, and be directed to the right department in seconds—no frustrating call transfers or repeated explanations.

Callers are automatically guided through branching options to connect them with the right agent every time. This cuts down on transfers and boosting first-call resolution rates.

Call Flow Designer

 Call Flow Designer is an interactive contact center tool that lets you build custom call flows. Using what you know about your customers, you can create an inbound calling journey that’s optimized for them—and your business. 

El Diseñador de Flujo de Llamadas de CloudTalk tiene 20 opciones de enrutamiento diferentes. Así, puedes crear experiencias coherentes y fiables que impulsen resoluciones más rápidas y una mayor satisfacción.

International Phone Numbers

International Numbers help you gain your customers’ trust and establish a local identity—even if you’re based on the other side of the world. Plus, they reduce international calling fees.

When you’re choosing a call center solution, opt for a provider that offers lots of international numbers. Make sure they cover the countries you currently serve, as well as any countries you’re looking to expand to. 

You can’t go wrong with CloudTalk and its best-in-market 160+ international numbers to propel your global growth.

Call Monitoring

Call Monitoring features give you the power to listen in on live calls and offer support to agents. The three main call monitoring features to look out for are:

• Call listening: Supervisors can listen in on agents’ calls to evaluate their performance and identify training opportunities.
• Call whisper: Supervisors can join the call and offer support to agents without the customer being able to hear it, driving faster resolutions.
• Call barging: Supervisors can jump in on live calls to talk to the customer themselves, preventing calls from heading south and improving satisfaction.

Customizable Call Routing

Effective Call Routing optimizes your resources. It ensures that calls reach the right destination as efficiently as possible while preventing bottlenecks and balancing call distributions. 

Los mejores servicios de centros de llamadas alojados ofrecen una serie de opciones de enrutamiento de llamadas, entre ellas:

• Skills-Based Routing
• Enrutamiento fijo de pedidos
• Enrutamiento por turnos
• Enrutamiento porcentual
• Caller-Based Routing

Intenta encontrar una solución que ofrezca la máxima personalización, permitiéndote trazar rutas según tus propias reglas personalizadas.

Call Recording and Transcription

Hosted contact center providers securely record and store your calls so that you can access them later for evaluation, training, and compliance purposes. 

Por supuesto, rebuscar en las grabaciones puede ser ineficaz si buscas algo concreto. Las soluciones VoIP con IA pueden transcribir tus llamadas a texto, permitiéndote simplemente escanear la transcripción para encontrar la información que necesitas. Además, pueden exportar automáticamente las transcripciones de las llamadas a tus herramientas integradas.

Power Dialer

Los marcadores automáticos son sistemas de marcación automática que los agentes pueden aprovechar para mejorar las campañas de llamadas de gran volumen.

They automatically dial numbers for you, eliminating manual dialing and giving agents more time to digest customer information and focus on their sales strategy.The best dialers for call centers can help your agents reach three times as many prospects each day.

Workflow Automation

Hosted contact center services provide functionalities that automate the time-consuming, repetitive tasks that can drain productivity and frustrate your agents. 

Por ejemplo, la introducción manual de datos. Además de ser tedioso y llevar mucho tiempo, los errores humanos cuando se hace manualmente empañan la calidad de tus datos y, a su vez, tus perspectivas.

Workflow Automation eliminates manual data entry to improve productivity, data quality, and employee satisfaction. Other possible automations include after-call work activities, transcriptions, follow-ups, and ticket creation.

Built-In Analytics

Las soluciones de centros de contacto alojados recopilan datos en tiempo real que puedes utilizar para tomar decisiones estratégicas basadas en datos.

Using CloudTalk, you can view a range of call center metrics, including:

• Tiempo medio de respuesta
• Total de llamadas
• Número total de llamadas contestadas
• Tiempo medio de conversación
• Número de llamadas perdidas
• Tasa de éxito de las llamadas salientes

CRM Integrations

An integrated CRM and phone system centralizes data and functionalities, streamlining workflows and empowering agents to deliver better customer experiences. So, look for a solution that offers one-click integrations with your existing CRM. The best providers offer integrations with popular CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho. But if you use a different CRM, such as Onpipeline or Kommo, double-check that the provider supports it.

Other Considerations When Choosing a Hosted Call Center Provider

Además de las características, ¿qué más deberías tener en cuenta durante tu búsqueda de software de centro de contacto alojado?

Pricing Plans

Hosted phone system pricing plans vary significantly, so you’ll want to establish a clear budget. It’s also wise to make a list of all the features you’ll need, as most providers have three or four different plans.

Security and Compliance

Triple-check the security measures put in place by your provider. For reference, CloudTalk secures your data with a range of strict cybersecurity measures: end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, global data centers, penetration testing, regular software patching/updates, and more. 

Tampoco te olvides del cumplimiento de la normativa. Comprueba si tu solución cumple las normativas del sector, como STIR/SHAKEN y MAN.

Reliable Help and Customer Support

Comprueba que el proveedor ofrece una asistencia accesible y receptiva respondiendo a las siguientes preguntas:

• Availability: Can you get support around the clock, or is it on a 24/5 basis?
• Accessibility: On what platforms can you access support? Are there self-service options?
• Timeliness: How quickly does it take for support to respond? For reference, CloudTalk’s average response time is less than one minute.

Cut Costs and Improve Productivity With a Hosted Call Center

85% of businesses are transitioning to a cloud-first model. And it makes sense—with a hosted call center solution, you can remove the unnecessary overheads of traditional on-site systems. Meanwhile, you can leverage advanced features to drive revenue.

Tools like International Numbers and Call Flow Designer let you scale easily and customize call flows to your needs. Moreover, features like CloudTalk’s Power Dialer gets your agents into more conversations, while integration with your CRM provides greater context for a tailored approach. 

CloudTalk also makes it easy to adjust your support strategy by analyzing customer sentiment. Once you know what customers want, you can improve decision-making and monitor success with powerful tracking and analytics.

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Sources

• VoIP Advantages & Disadvantages: All You Need to Know, 2023