Picture this modern-day scenario: a longtime retail company has run its own call center since inception, but recently because of the escalating costs and the need to create a better customer experience, management is planning to upgrade the tools that agents use in their day-to-day jobs. And nothing is more critical for a call-center, whether owned or outsourced, than the software platform used to communicate with customers and keeping track of those interactions. As a result, the company decides to shop for a suitable contact center software solution.

But what should management look for in any call center software provider? Scalability, flexibility, and customer relationship management (CRM) integration should be at the top of the check list.

Let’s take a look at these three characteristics in greater detail so that you know exactly what to seek in your next vendor:

Increased Scalability

Your contact center should have the same fluidity as your business. By migrating to a sophisticated call center software provider, your company will be well positioned to handle sudden spikes in volume if traffic increases, as it can add users at any time. In addition, you’ll be able to seamlessly scale as your business grows. You will no longer worry about outgrowing the system’s capacity. Hand in hand with scalability goes the benefit of only paying for active users. In periods of high traffic, you pay for more users, while lowering the bill accordingly if traffic is lower. And all these changes take only minutes to process by average-skilled IT staff.

Enhanced Flexibility

A significant benefit of a cutting-edge contact center solution is that businesses are able to employ a remote agent workforce, leading to lower employment costs and higher employee satisfaction. For example, 4PSA’s VoipNow cloud platform provides more flexibility by freeing up employees from their desk phones, enabling them to take calls at anytime and from anywhere. Agents could very well work from home on a part-time basis or on their own personalized schedule. By accessing tools from everywhere with the right hosted contact center solution, agents can always respond to customers, which results in improved customer service and retention.

Moreover, an advanced contact center solution allows companies to retain the best employees, regardless of geographic disparity. For instance, an employee moving from New York to London can still be kept on board in flexible environments.

CRM Integration

State-of-the-art contact center providers grant their customers access to advanced reporting and statistics, which enables companies to make better business decisions. Look for a call center software provider that has the ability to seamlessly integrate with your existing CRM platform, which will give your agents access to a 360-degree view of customers and their interactions with your company. As a result of CRM integration, your agents will be able to deliver a personalized customer experience. Seek out a provider that can leverage your existing systems to make the agents more informed and productive.

As your company begins its search for these three capabilities, check out 4PSA that was recently named one of the best call center software providers for businesses with high call volumes, according to Voxilla.com. To quote the judges, “4PSA is a desirable call center company because it offers its customers flexibility. The company offers pay-as-you-go plans so that clients will not be tied down to any service contracts. The 4PSA company offers a VoIPNow service that tens of thousands of businesses use. It provides a long line of innovative features such as video, instant messaging, PBX, conferencing, faxing and more.”

Is your business ready to migrate to a call center software provider? Share your thoughts about a potential future move in the comments section below.