Eight Compelling Reasons For Choosing A Hosted Solution

By Bob Webb, Pipkins, Inc.

In today’s economy companies are looking to maximize investments and reduce wasted labor and operating expenses. In order to have an enterprise workforce management solution in the past, companies were required to install behemoth systems that may or may not match their business needs. Such systems required extensive IT support and ongoing maintenance. Fortunately for companies of all sizes, that requirement has been replaced with technology that saves money and reduces IT labor costs.

Industry experts assert the trend is moving toward hosted solutions with almost 70% of organizations currently using, or considering, Cloud-based hosted solutions (also known as software as a service, or SaaS) for contact centers. As the trend moves toward the Cloud, the argument for spending money and resources on a premise-based workforce management solution may be diminishing, especially in a challenging economy.  The benefits of a hosted solution are indisputable with changes being made quickly and easily, with full customization often being achieved faster than with in-house IT staff.

There are eight compelling reasons for choosing a hosted solution:

• No hardware or software to install.
  All hardware and software is installed and maintained by the vendor.
• Flexible subscription costs.
  Billing is based on the number of agents scheduled. If your business is seasonal where four months out of the year you need one hundred additional part-time agents, why should you pay for those agents year round?
• Operating expense only as opposed to a large capital expenditure.
  The cost of a premise-based solution doesn’t stop with installation. After initial purchase of an in-house installation, there are associated fees involving licensing, customization, development, deployment, maintenance, monitoring, support, and upgrades. These fees can add costs beyond budget limitations of small to mid-size companies.
• Access anytime, anywhere with no “VPN” requirement.
  Hosted solutions should eliminate the need for a virtual private network (VPN) which is designed to allow employees to securely access their company’s intranet while traveling outside the office. However, some of the smaller workforce management Hosted vendors do the hosting in their own data centers which offers very little in the way of cyber security. Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 and 3 Reports (formerly SAS70) are designed to provide comfort over the following principles: security, availability, confidentiality, processing integrity, and privacy of a system. This should be a major consideration when choosing a hosted vendor.
• Flexible contracts.
  The primary reason companies choose a hosted solution is cost. Part of the cost savings of hosted solutions is the ability to pay as you grow, not as you go. Most vendors provide month-to-month subscription options and the cost increases only when you decide to expand services.
• IT requirements managed by the vendor.
  One major advantage of a hosted solution is that it allows you to focus on managing your business and leave the IT infrastructure to your vendor. Critical projects can be deployed much faster without waiting on your IT department. Most SaaS applications address project requirements in less time than traditional custom software applications.
• Enterprise software capabilities at a much lower cost.
  With hosted solutions, most vendors offer a full suite of enterprise software capabilities without the associated cost. Upgrades are offered as part of the package. You only pay for what you need, but the full enterprise capability is available when and if you need it.
• Faster implementation process.
  Premise-based solutions require time and effort on your part. Hosted solutions can normally be implemented quickly and simply with limited need for IT support.

The hosted option is here to stay and with time, more and more vendors will get in the game.  Here are a few tips for ensuring your choice of vendors makes the most business sense and gives you flexibility for growth.

1. There are only a few companies in the workforce management space that have offered a hosted model for more than three years in this country. Choose a vendor with SaaS specific references that have used the hosted solution for more than three years.
2. Look for a vendor who offers a single-tenant architecture. Most vendors deploy a multi-tenant architecture. That means they put many customers on the system at a time by partitioning the database. From a support standpoint, it becomes a nightmare when one customer causes database issues then every one of the dozens of customers on that server must be moved to another cluster to resolve the issues. You will have a much higher degree of inherent security as the access of data from one company to another is eliminated when housed in a non-shared environment.  You will also benefit from significant configurability of the software and robust functionality without concern about the vendor’s other customers having an impact on your data.
3. Examine the billing options. Ensure you are not paying for services you may not need for years to come, or for ancillary agents that are only needed part of the year.

About Pipkins

Pipkins, Inc. is an American company and a leading supplier of workforce management software and services to the call center industry. For over thirty years, Pipkins has created and delivered superior workforce management products for call centers of all sizes with thirteen industry-first applications. WorkforceScheduling.com was created in 2002 and is powered by Pipkins’ premier product Vantage Point, the most accurate forecasting and scheduling tool on the market. WorkforceScheduling.com provides a hosted, low cost, subscription-based, single-tenanted solution for managing call center workforce with feature rich and expandable solutions.  Pipkins’ systems forecast and schedule more than 300,000 agents in over 500 locations across all industries worldwide. For more information, visit www.Pipkins.com.