On-Premise Call Center Software: Right for Your Business?

Despite the recent popularity of cloud-based Communications as a Service (CaaS), there is still a large part of the call center industry dedicated to on-premise solutions. Whether you are setting up your first call center or planning to add new call center locations, you need to know the facts about both cloud-based call management software and on-premise call center systems.

Cloud-based call center software has become increasingly popular over recent years. It's flexible, cost-effective, and easy to set up. But, many businesses, especially large corporations, are hesitant to move away from on-premise solutions.

Whether you're launching your first contact center or trying to make the best decision for the future, it's important to truly understand your options. In this post, we'll take review the top pros and cons of on-premise call center software to help you make the right decision for your business.

Pros and Cons of On-Premise Call Center Software

On-premise call center software still makes up a large part of the contact center industry. Here are a few of the reasons why some businesses opt for legacy solutions:

Pros

Maintenance and Control

Businesses that choose premise-based call center software are solely responsible for maintenance and updates. This means that you have complete control over when and how upgrades occur. But, it also means that your business relies heavily on in-house or outsourced IT staff. Plus, you're stuck with the costs associated with ongoing maintenance and repairs. For some companies, the ability to maintain and control an on-premise solution is an advantage; but others would rather not deal with the hassle of hiring IT staff and performing all maintenance without the help of a provider.

Reliability

Proponents of on-premise software often focus on the question of reliability, especially when it comes to hard phones and VoIP phones. These companies insist that a direct connection is the only reliable connection.

And this isn't entirely untrue. Virtual call center software runs over the Internet. If your Internet connection is not reliable, your call quality may suffer. If your business plans to use a cloud-based solution instead of a premise-based one, it is important to ensure that you have a reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Cons

Although premise-based software works for some companies, it does have its drawbacks. Here are a few reasons why some businesses choose to use cloud-based solutions:

Flexibility

On-premise call center software requires the installation and maintenance of on-site hardware, including a PBX, phones, and direct lines. While this may afford a sense of added reliability, it's not a flexible solution. Cloud-based software offers all of the same functionality of on-premise solutions but is far more scalable. If you need to add or remove agents based on seasonality, you simply contact your provider. The provider will provision or remove seats and lines as necessary without the need for on-site installation.

Mobility

If your business uses on-premise call center software, your agents need to be on-site in order to be logged into the system. And as a call center manager, you need to be physically present to monitor calls, check reports, and keep an eye on daily activities.

Cloud-based call center software allows call center managers and agents to work from anywhere. It runs on the Internet, so you can log into the system (and your softphone) anywhere that you have a reliable Internet connection. This means that your company can recruit remote agents and save money on equipment and property costs.

Disaster Recovery

Premise-based call center software may seem to offer higher levels of reliability. But, what happens when disaster strikes? If a flood, fire, or any other natural disaster affects your direct phone lines, your call center may experience outages.

Cloud-based call center software has built-in disaster recovery mechanism. Because it is hosted via the Internet, you don't have to worry about unforeseen events affecting your phone service. Plus, most virtual call center providers offer multiple layers of backup and redundancy, so no single point of failure will affect your call center.

On-Premise vs Cloud-Based Call Center Software

Still not sure whether your business should choose on-premise or cloud-based call center software? Learn more about inbound call center software.