Top 10 Cloud Contact Center Solutions in 2021
Cloud contact center or cloud telephony is a unified solution that empowers businesses with the capability to centralize their customer communication across multiple channels.
A cloud contact center or cloud telephony refers to a set of applications that support intelligent call routing management, multi-channel communications, data analytics, missed call alerts, and more. This article lists the top 10 cloud contact center solutions in 2021, along with the key features to look for when choosing one.
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Key Must-Have Features of a Cloud Contact Center
The adoption of cloud contact centers has become a key differentiator today to address the challenges within legacy systems. Businesses that look forward to embracing cloud telephony should focus on integrating some key features mentioned below for driving automation, reliability, and responsiveness in their data centers.
Key Must-Have Features of a Cloud Contact Center
1. Interactive voice response (IVR)
Interactive voice response is the first line of communication with the customer in any contact center that helps agents pick up calls instantly, anytime and anywhere. It acts as a virtual receptionist that interacts with the customers through personalized greetings, local language optimizations, and more. Cloud contact center solutions of this age go the extra mile by featuring AI and ML integrations in their IVR engine to better understand customer issues based on past order history and deliver quicker resolutions to those problems. Additionally, some of these solutions even employ automated speech recognition and sentiment analysis to predict the customers’ emotional state, thereby transforming IVR into a more personalized service rather than a mere robotic interface.
2. In-app support
Imagine if the users can get the assistance they need right from the company’s app or website, instantly and painlessly? In today’s mobile world, offering in-app customer support is a key takeaway for driving positive customer experiences and can go a long way in breaking down the age-old silos in the entire customer support process. Moreover, when users realize that quality customer service is just a click away, it naturally boosts customer retention and, in turn, business profits.
3. Automatic call distribution (ACD)
An automatic call distributor (ACD) is a modern call center software system that answers incoming calls and automatically routes them to the relevant agents or departments in the company based on performance, location, idleness, and more. This ensures a minimal wait time for the customers and systematic management of customer calls. ACDs are crucial elements of any cloud telephony architecture and work synchronously with computer telephony integration (CTI) systems or IVR to intelligently route incoming calls to the right agent, thereby streamlining the customer-agent communication process.
4. Skill-based routing
Embracing skill-based routing is critical to help callers connect with the right agent that best fits their needs, rather than being piped through a complicated phone tree and landing on the first available agent, who may often fail to resolve the issues. Intelligent routing of calls allows agents to take on a range of call types that fits them and to route the call without delay to the next qualified agent based on their skill set. Consequently, contact centers can minimize call handling time, drive efficiency, and beef up customer satisfaction through active engagement.
5. Call Recording, tracking, and monitoring
Recording, tracking, and monitoring all the inbound and outbound communications is the lifeblood on which contact centers thrive. With a robust call recording and tracking feature integrated into their cloud contact center, organizations can ensure that every customer call is answered, apart from enhancing the performance of their agents through close monitoring. When agents are fostered in a productive, engaged, and tactical working atmosphere, they are motivated to perform better and therefore deliver quality support to customers.
6. Chatbots
Chatbots have emerged to the forefront as the contact center’s best ally in resolving routine support requests. They take care of the routine support requests from customers, thereby saving valuable time for the agents to focus on more complex issues that require a human touch. Contact centers are increasingly embedding armies of chatbots with AI integrations in their architecture to respond intelligently to customer queries. They are also helpful in assisting the agent to better understand the customer by collecting and qualifying customer information from CRM servers, resulting in reduced handle time and boosted customer satisfaction.
7. Queue Callback
Queue Callback is a flexible feature that lets managers handle the volume of calls during seasonal rushes, days with heavy traffic, or when short-staffed. It serves as a valuable tool for cloud contact centers to keep customers happy and agents efficient during periods of high call volume. As callers grow impatient when they are put on hold, queue callbacks offer to call customers back when an agent is available, thereby saving both the time and energy of customers. Additionally, it also allows agents to study the user’s relevant account information from the CRM server before dialing back, leading to a more personalized experience and quicker resolution to the issues.
8. Real-time and analytical reporting
Real-time reporting provides a comprehensive view of the agents’ call duration, quality, performance, and more, along with meaningful insights into the patterns, trends, or average downtime in the call center. Moreover, it offers a 360-degree view of everything happening in the call center, enabling managers to prioritize and react to any issues that arise efficiently. In conjunction with this, analytical reporting can showcase details such as call volumes on different days, peak hours, missed calls, location traffic, new and returning callers, et Cetra. Detailed reporting is critical to enhancing team efficiency during periods of heavy traffic and plays a crucial role in analyzing the performance of various agents, teams, and departments in the contact center.
Learn More: What Is Unified Communications? Definition, System, Cloud Service, Best Practices and Examples
Top 10 Cloud Contact Center Solutions in 2021
Interestingly, despite its myriad benefits, cloud contact centers are not an enterprise staple. Deloitte’s recent survey titled “2021 Global Contact Center Survey” found that at the end of 2020, only 32% of organizations were running contact center technologies in the cloud. However, this is beginning to change – 75% said they plan to move to cloud contact centers in the next two years. Indeed, the market is expected to be worth over $36 billion by 2025, up from $11.5 billion in 2020, due to growing demands, according to research by MarketsandMarkets.
Here are the top ten cloud contact center solutions to consider in the next few years, arranged alphabetically.
Disclaimer: This list is based on publicly available information and includes vendor websites that sell to mid-to-large enterprises. Readers are advised to conduct their final research to ensure the best fit for their unique organizational needs.
1. 8×8
Overview: 8×8 is a cloud-based communications service provider offering telephony, video meeting, application programming interface (API), and contact center solutions. It gives you an end-to-end unified communications (UC) solution, including a cloud-based contact center.
Key features: The key features of 8×8 include:
- Communication platform as a service (CPaaS)
- Internal employee communication and external employee experience (inbound and outbound)
- Organization-wide collaboration capabilities
- Advanced contact center analytics and artificial intelligence (AI)
- Enterprise telephony and domestic and international calling
Pricing: 8×8 Contact Center starts at $95 per contact center agent per month.
2. CloudTalk
Overview: CloudTalk is a business phone and call center software solution specializing in call-based support. It is entirely cloud-based and does not have an on-premise option. Importantly, CloudTalk lacks omnichannel capabilities such as chat or video call-based customer support.
Key features: The key features of CloudTalk include:
- Powerful call management, including queueing, recording, voicemail, etc.
- Features like real-time customer cards to assist service agents
- Intelligent call routing (inbound)
- Special focus on an outbound call center for sales
- Advanced call monitoring and analytics using AI
Pricing: CloudTalk starts at $20 per agent per month.
3. Content Guru storm
Overview: Content Guru storm has a number of solutions for customer engagement, including a CRM, CPaaS, virtual agents, and a cloud-based contact center. It offers omnichannel capabilities and integrates with any and every third-party system.
Key features: The key features of Content Guru storm include:
- CPaaS capabilities and true omnichannel with a blended queue
- Content Guru brain, an intelligent automation toolkit for integrating AI
- Dedicated service for outbound contact centers
- Real-time and historical reporting with advanced analytics
- Machine Agents with natural language processing (NLP) for self-service
Pricing: Content Guru storm is custom priced based on the services and features you choose.
4. Five9
Overview: Five9’s flagship product, Five9 Intelligent Contact Center, gives you a cloud-based solution for customer communication, workforce engagement management, and customer engagement analytics. Like most cloud contact centers, it uses AI for advanced functionalities.
Key features: The key features of Five9 include:
- Cloud-based inbound and outbound telephony
- True omnichannel support across email, chat, social, SMS, and video
- Intelligent virtual agent and agent assist features
- Workforce engagement management through analytics and gamification
- Integration with UC systems
Pricing: Five9 is available in four versions – Core, Premium, Optimum, and Ultimate, all custom priced as per the size of implementation.
5. Genesys Cloud CX
Overview: While Genesys offers both cloud-based and on-premise solutions, Genesys Cloud CX is the company’s omnichannel contact center solution for cloud deployments. The company also provides an AI-driven customer experience service called Genesys VX.
Key features: The key features of Genesys Cloud include:
- True omnichannel support across phone, email, chat, text, and social media
- Workforce engagement management to boost agent productivity
- A voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service called Genesys Cloud Voice
- Historical and real-time reports and analytics
- Integration with UC systems for agent collaboration
Pricing: Genesys Cloud CX is available in three versions – CX1, 2, and 3, starting at $75 per agent per month. You can add on UC capabilities for £10 per user.
6. Lifesize
Overview: Lifesize offers meeting and contact center solutions built on the cloud. Lifesize Video Meetings is its flagship product for internal communication, while contact centers can leverage Lifesize CxEngage. It makes it easier to introduce video capabilities for customer support.
Key features: The key features of Lifesize include:
- True omnichannel support across voice, video, and digital channels
- A prebuilt workforce engagement module with predictive capabilities
- AI features including chatbots and agent assistants
- Best in class video calling for contact centers
- Real-time and historical insights through advanced analytics
Pricing: Lifesize cloud contact center is custom priced according to the scale of implementation and degree of customization.
7. NICE CXone
Overview: NICE CXone is a comprehensive contact center software by enterprise UC company, NICE. Like most of the solutions on this list. It is built on an open cloud foundation, which means that you can integrate it with third-party enterprise systems. NICE also has its voice services in 130+ countries.
Key features: The key features of NICE CXone include:
- True omnichannel support across voice, chat, text, and digital channels
- Powerful AI for automation, call routing, analytics, and knowledge management
- Real-time and historical analytics, including customer surveys
- Workforce engagement management and agent performance optimization
- A wide range of CXsuccess services for enterprise implementations
Pricing: NICE CXone cloud contact center is custom priced based on your industry, scale, and degree of customization.
8. Odigo
Overview: Odigo is a cloud-based contact center provider that offers bespoke solutions for enterprises. You can leverage its capabilities across omnichannel, automation, routing, AI, workforce engagement, and user experience design to create state-of-the-art contact center technologies.
Key features: The key features of Odigo include:
- True omnichannel support across voice, email, video, and chat
- Intelligent call routing for inbound support
- Workforce engagement management and performance optimization
- A wide range of services for CX strategies, integration, customer success, and agent skill development
- AI connectors to integrate Odigo with your existing AI capabilities
Pricing: Odigo is custom priced, and you’ll have to contact the company for a quote.
9. Talkdesk
Overview: Talkdesk is a globally recognized cloud contact center provider with solutions for customer engagement, workforce engagement, analytics, and AI. Talkdesk CX Cloud is the company’s flagship product, and it brings together all these capabilities into one platform.
Key features: The key features of Talkdesk include:
- True omnichannel support as well as outbound capabilities
- Workforce engagement through a dedicated agent workspace
- AI-based knowledge management and agent assist
- Real-time and historical analytics, sophisticated business intelligence (BI), and surveys
- Built-in employee collaboration through phone and messaging
Pricing: Talkdesk CX Cloud is available in three editions – Professional, Professional Plus, and Enterprise, starting at $65 per agent per month.
10. Vonage
Overview: Vonage’s portfolio includes UC systems, CPaaS APIs, and cloud contact center solutions. Vonage contact center has a natively integrated CRM that helps in call routing and intelligent dialing for outbound calls. It also offers gamification to encourage agent performance.
Key features: The key features of Vonage include:
- Dedicated Vonage AI service for intelligent interactions
- Workforce engagement management and performance optimization
- Historical and real-time analytics and customizable dashboards
- Screen recording features, in addition to the usual call recording
- True omnichannel support across voice, email, chat, SMS, and video
Pricing: Vonage is available in four editions – Express, Essentials, Select, and Premium – all custom priced, with several add-on features for an additional fee.
Product Comparison: Top Cloud Contact Center Solutions in 2021
| Omnichannel | AI | USP | Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8×8 | Yes, omnichannel routing | Yes | Full-featured internal collaboration and customer support system | $95 per agent per month onwards |
| CloudTalk | Limited – only calling | Yes | Special focus on outbound, sales analytics, and lead conversion | $20 per agent per month onwards |
| Content Guru | Yes, omnichannel routing and universal queues | Yes | storm Machine Agent for automated self-service and image recognition (e.g., extracting data from screenshots) | Custom |
| Five9 | Yes | Yes | Excellent employee engagement features powered by analytics | Custom |
| Genesys | Yes, omnichannel customer journeys and routing | Yes | Support for multi-cloud environments, including yr private cloud or even on-premise servers | $75 per agent per month onwards |
| Lifesize | Yes, omnichannel routing and universal queues | No | One of the industry’s leading video meeting capabilities, ideal for video-based contact center use cases | Custom |
| NICE CXone | Yes, omnichannel routing | Yes | Voice as a Service (VaaS) that can be used with your existing systems | Custom |
| Odigo | Yes, omnichannel routing | No | Bespoke solution that is integrated with Odigo’s native features, contact center services, and third-party technologies | Custom |
| Talkdesk | Omnichannel routing and a unified interface | Yes | AI-powered knowledge base that offers timely recommendations and information to agents | $65 per agent per month onwards |
| Vonage | Yes, omnichannel routing and customer experiences designed for Salesforce | Yes | Natively built-in CRM for data-driven customer interactions | Custom |
Apart from this, large cloud-based UC solution providers like Microsoft and Cisco have their contact center offerings. For instance, you could leverage Microsoft Teams to deploy a customer support solution, aided by Microsoft’s massive partner network and integration marketplace. Similarly, Cisco uses its Webex portfolio of tools to deliver contact center solutions for enterprise clients. Keep these alternatives in mind when exploring your options.
Do you think cloud contact centers solutions play an important role in customer relationship management? Let us know on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. We’d love to hear from you.
