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The Complete Guide to Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)

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What is Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)?

CCaaS is an acronym for Contact Center as a Service, and it is cloud-based contact center software that provides customer communication functionality on both traditional and digital communication channels without the need for on-premise technology. 

CCaaS streamlines a business’s CX operations by combining all traditional and digital customer communication channels on one accessible platform based on the cloud. This means agents can access powerful customer interaction tools with just an internet download. 

So, what does that mean for your business? This means:

  • Less Money Spent on Upgrades
  • Better Access to Powerful CX Technology
  • Easy Implementation of Channels like Web Chat, Text Messaging, and Messenger Apps
  • A Better Customer Experience.
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What is the Function of a CCaaS Platform?

A CCaaS platform provides much functionality for your business if you’re looking to provide seamless customer interactions. CCaaS is the primary software used to power contact centers, often the first touchpoint of a customer’s journey.  

CCaaS platforms help businesses deliver customer support and service over various channels. Being a communications platform, CCaaS contact centers improve customer contact and help make the customer journey seamless and frictionless. 

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What are the Differences Between UCaaS and CCaaS?

A UCaaS Platform is a cloud-based communication platform designed for interactions within a company on communication channels. At the same time, a CCaaS Platform is a cloud-based platform that supports communication channels designed to interact with customers outside the company. 

UCaaS stands for unified communications as a service. UCaaS platforms are based on the cloud and support communications and collaboration within a company through cloud calling, video conferencing, and messaging. A famous example of a UCaaS that promotes business communications is Microsoft Teams. 

CCaaS stands for contact center as a service. CCaaS solutions are also cloud-based and support communication channels with contact center tools. Some contact center tools include advanced analytics, automatic call distribution (ACD), and interactive voice response (IVR). 

CCaaS is designed to improve CX, boost sales performance, and deliver incredible customer experiences on many communication channels. The question of UCaaS vs. CCaaS depends solely on what your business seeks. 

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How are UCaaS and CCaaS Similar?

UCaaS and CCaaS are similar in that they are both based on the cloud, making both pieces of technology easily accessible to businesses that don’t have the resources to spend on on-premise hardware and software. They both provide communication methods on a subscription-based model. 

UCaaS and CCaaS are both focused on how businesses communicate internally between employees or externally with customers. They should both be able to support different channels and forms of communication.

What is the Difference Between CCaaS and CPaaS?

The difference between a CCaaS platform and a CPaaS platform is that CCaaS is a fully developed software that is ready to be used as is, while a CPaaS platform provides the toolkits and codes for you to either build out your communication platform or add features to an existing one. 

While a CCaaS platform is a ready-made product that can be used immediately, a CPaaS platform merely provides the ingredients to create your solution.

Key CCaaS Features for Better Customer Experiences

Cloud-based contact center software is the best option for call centers looking to boost customer satisfaction on every interaction. With these critical features on Bright Pattern’s cloud-based call center software, your business can streamline workflows while winning customers’ hearts at every touchpoint of their journey.

Omnichannel Communications

An omnichannel contact center is one of the best ways to deliver customer service, maintain customer contact, and beat customer expectations. With Bright Pattern’s channel contact center solutions, you can connect with customers on channels like: 

  • Voice Calls
  • Email
  • SMS and Text Messaging
  • Messenger Apps
  • Chatbot
  • Live ChatMobile App
  • Video Chat
  • Social Media

Omnichannel customer service is personalized, seamless, frictionless, and advanced. Bright Pattern contact centers software was built from day one to be omnichannel, allowing your business to perform easy journey orchestration and delivering all channels to support your business needs. 

Cloud-Based for Scalability

Bright Pattern is based on the cloud, meaning all data that powers Bright Pattern’s software is stored in secure data centers that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Simplify workforce management, implement endless scalability, and hire a global team of talented call center agents through cloud CX.  

By being based on the cloud, Bright Pattern can save your business by lowering upfront costs. Being based on the cloud means no professional IT installation, maintenance, or upgrade costs. Gain access to powerful contact center software with reasonable pricing. 

CRM Integrations

CRM integrations are a necessity for your contact center. Integrating a customer relationship management system helps you track every touchpoint in the customer journey and is necessary for omnichannel contact centers that support many different communication channels. 

Integrating a CRM system into your contact centers software allows your business to store customer information and activity history, allowing contact center agents to access information and context during an interaction. Knowledge management is a critical aspect of providing the best possible customer service.

Automatic Call Distribution

Automatic call distribution, or ACD, is a technology that helps route calls to the correct agent and resource using advanced algorithms and workflow settings. ACD within software solutions improves the efficiency of contact center operations and contact center agents, leading to better performance, less downtime, and cost savings. 

When searching for a cloud contact center solution, picking a vendor with advanced ACD capabilities is essential. Bright Pattern, for example, supports the ability to separate agents based on skill level and ability, which can be used to influence the routing of calls. Phone calls can be routed efficiently and effectively, improving customer interactions.

Interactive Voice Response

Interactive voice response, or IVR, is an automated phone system that allows incoming calls to access information and self-service via a menu with pre-recorded messages. IVR systems improve customer experiences by delivering personalized self-service and enhance employee experiences by streamlining the workflow. 

For this reason, an IVR is required for any cloud contact center. Direct inbound calls to self-service options to streamline call routing, improve call handle time, and make employee experiences smoother. 

Integrate natural language processing, or NLP, to transform your IVR into a conversational IVR. Customer calls can be personalized by allowing callers to utilize their natural voice to navigate the menu. Personalize the interaction with conversational IVR while improving the efficiency of your call center. 

Predictive Dialer

Having advanced dialer capabilities is crucial for businesses focused on outbound calls and automatic calls for business outreach, sales campaigns, and marketing campaigns. Outbound contact centers need advanced dialing to maximize efficiency and improve outbound contact with a broader customer base. 

Bright Pattern supports all dialing modes, including: 

  • Predictive Dialers
  • Power Dialers
  • Progressive Dialers
  • Preview Dialers

Place efficient yet personalized outbound calls quickly in real-time through your phone system utilizing advanced algorithms and analytics on Bright Pattern’s software solutions. Improve performance on key metrics like average handle time, agent downtime, and more with advanced dialing technology. 

AI Integrations

Artificial intelligence can quickly improve the performance of your CX through tasks like automation of repetitive tasks, deliverance of self-service options to customers, agent assistance, and automatic quality management. Bright Pattern integrates with any significant AI provider, including Microsoft AI, IBM Watson, and Google AI. 

Quality Management

Quality management is an essential aspect of a company’s contact center solutions. Integrating a quality management system within your contact center software is necessary to improve KPIs, lower contact center agents’ downtime, improve customer satisfaction metrics, improve customer retention, and conduct easy performance management optimization. 

The Bright Pattern platform provides omnichannel quality management, which allows your business to monitor 100% of all interactions on all channels. This means being able to track customer satisfaction and customer engagement on channels like web chat, voice, email, text messaging, messenger apps, and more. 

Data from omnichannel quality management can be utilized for call center agent retraining and empowerment, leading to better employee experiences, better performance, better workforce optimization, and higher workforce engagement in the customer experience. 

Why Use CCaaS?

The reason your business should use CCaaS is because of the ability to deliver a better customer experience while saving money and costs. The main strength of utilizing a CCaaS solution is gaining access to powerful contact center software over the cloud. This means your business will get access to a fully-fledged contact center platform without the need for high upfront costs, professional IT teams, and maintenance costs. 

Being a CCaaS, Bright Pattern is fast to implement, cost-effective to run and maintain, and accessible. Bright Pattern uses plug-and-play APIs to easily integrate with any software you currently use, allowing you to integrate your technology and interfaces within Bright Pattern and vice versa. 

CCaaS vendors provide huge flexibility for a cost-effective price and are great for future-proofing your contact center. 

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Key Benefits of CCaaS for Call Center Solution

There are many key benefits to utilizing a CCaaS platform for your call center solution. 

  1. Cost Effective: Being based on the cloud means that with only a pay-per-use price, you can access powerful call center software with only an internet connection. There is no need for installation costs, hardware and software costs, staffing of professional IT teams, and expensive hardware upgrades.

  2. Powerful Technology: With the right CCaaS vendor, you can access limitless, powerful technology. With Bright Pattern, for example, you can access CRM integrations, powerful ACD and IVR capabilities, omnichannel quality management, AI integrations, and Bright Pattern Mobile App.

  3. Scalable: Based on the cloud, a CCaaS solution can be accessed with a simple internet browser. Since it is stored in a data center, you can add or subtract agents easily. Meet seasonal demands with scalable cloud-based contact center technology for your cloud contact center.

  4. Better Agent Experience: Provide a better experience for your agents with advanced technology that a CCaaS vendor can provide. This includes agent assistance, omnichannel quality management, CRM integrations, and more.

  5. Speed and Convenience: A CCaaS platform provides both the customer and your business with speed and convenience. With the right technology and channel support, customers can resolve their issues quickly. On the business side, you can save money and time with cloud-based technology.

Cloud Contact Centers vs. On-Premise Contact Centers

The main two types of contact centers in the market today are cloud-based contact center and on-premise contact centers. A cloud-based contact center is a contact center whose technology is based in data centers and can be accessed with an internet connection. This means the phone system technology, CRM and customer records, integrated technologies, and more are stored in a secure data center and accessed remotely. 

On-premises contact centers host all of this technology on-site. An on-premise contact center is often expensive to maintain, time-consuming, and difficult to upgrade and requires special expertise from a professional IT team to support. There is also the need for real estate to host the on-premise hardware and software. 

Virtual contact centers based on the cloud have a clear edge for cost-effectiveness, providing the same advanced capabilities and seamless CX as some of the world’s most advanced on-premise contact centers without the need for expensive maintenance and upgrade costs. In the race between cloud-based contact centers and on-premise contact centers, cloud-based is the clear winner and will become the dominant form of contact center very soon.

Save Money with CCaaS Contact Centers

One of the biggest key benefits of CCaaS is the ability for your business to save money and time. Being based on the cloud means there is no need to support expensive hardware and software, maintain the platform, or store the data. This is all done through the CCaaS vendor, freeing your business from unnecessary costs and keeping your agents focused on delivering great CX. 

How to Choose the Best CCaaS Provider

Choosing the right CCaaS vendor means selecting the provider that provides the best possible technology to suit your business needs. To choose the right provider, first, you must determine your main goal. For example, are you running a contact center that supports both inbound and outbound? Or do you specialize in only outbound? What technology does your business need to ensure the best possible customer experience? 

Once these questions are answered, search for the vendor that provides all of the capabilities you’re looking for. Ensure the vendor can guarantee fast ROI, excellent uptime, and customer support.

Bright Pattern has one of the fastest ROI times in the CCaaS industry, with no downtime and personalized customer support. Bright Pattern is considered one of the top CCaaS providers for those looking to provide a better customer experience. 

What is Omnichannel?

Omnichannel is a communication approach that allows customers to connect with your contact center and business on all channels and switch between these channels seamlessly. These channels include voice, email, text messaging, SMS, video chat, web chat, messenger apps, and more. 

On an omnichannel platform, conversations can seamlessly move between these channels without the agent losing the context of the conversation. For example, an interaction that starts on voice can be transferred to text messaging and then moved to messenger apps, all while the agent follows along with the conversation. 

An omnichannel approach delivers a much more personalized, frictionless experience. It makes the customer journey effortless yet advanced and modern. 

Using Omnichannel with Your CCaaS Solutions

Utilizing omnichannel in your CCaaS solution is a great way to boost customer engagement, improve customer satisfaction, and deliver a personalized customer experience in a cost-effective way. With Bright Pattern, omnichannel functionality is built into the CCaaS platform, allowing you to access omnichannel features with just an internet download. 

Without the need to install any hardware or software, Bright Pattern gives you access to any communication channel and the ability to switch between channels. 

On top of omnichannel capabilities, Bright Pattern gives your business access to powerful features like CRM integrations, AI integrations, powerful ACD and IVR technology, omnichannel quality management, and more through the cloud. 

What Industry Regulations Should CCaaS Comply With?

Because call center software can be deployed in a wide variety of industries, varying from financial institutions to retail stores to healthcare providers, it is important that the call center software is secure and able to comply with the different regulations that are present in these industries.For a contact center focused on the healthcare industry, call centers need to focus on HIPAA. For a contact center focused on processing payment information, call center software needs to be compliant with standards set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI DSS. For call centers focused on outbound dialing, call center software needs to be compliant with regulations set by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA.Finally, all call center software should be SOC 2 compliant.

What Are Some Good KPIs to Track in Your Call Center Software Solution?

Measuring key performance indicators, or KPIs, in a call center software solution is a requirement for call centers that want to optimize performance and improve workplace efficiency, all while improving customer satisfaction. The first KPI to track in the contact center is the average time to answer. Average time to answer is a metric that evaluates the amount of time that an inbound interaction needs until it is answered by an agent. Another KPI is the average abandonment rate, which measures the number of callers that are disconnected before they can reach an agent. First call resolution, or FCR, is an important measurement that determines a call center’s ability to resolve customer issues on the first interaction. Average idle time is the idle time that an agent spends. Finally, average hold time is the amount of time that a customer is put on hold during an interaction, which plays a role in contributing to overall call length. 

Improving KPIs in the call center means having an effective platform that can support omnichannel capabilities as well as advanced call center technology.

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Important Considerations when selecting a CCaaS Contact Center Solution

When selecting a CCaaS call center solution, it is important to consider many factors that may make one solution much more suitable for your organization than others. Some of the important considerations to make include:

  • Fully Capable Omnichannel Communication 
  • High Reliability and 100% Uptime
  • Highly-Rated Customer Support from Provider 
  • Low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
  • Flexible Pricing
  • Flexibility and Scalability Up and Down 
  • No Business Interruptions from Software Upgrades 
  • Integrations with Many Different Third-Party Technologies 
  • Adaptability to Any Use Case Through Scenario Builder

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Exceed Customer Expectations

A CCaaS platform will boost customer satisfaction and lead to a great customer experience.

Scalability

Scale your contact center easily to meet demand.

Any Channel

Reach customers on any channel, like SMS, text messaging, messaging apps, social media, voice call, and more.

Quality Management

Ensure consistently excellent quality in your call centers.

AI-Powered

Automate basic tasks and assist agents.

Additional Bright Pattern Features

  • Omnichannel Quality Management
  • Comprehensive CRM Integration
  • True omnichannel
  • Single Sign-on (SSO)
  • Advanced call center analytics
  • Rich Administrator and Supervisor Tools
  • Blended Call Center
  • Integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Built-in Knowledge Base
  • Screen Recording
  • Predictive, Progressive, Automatic, and Preview Dialing
  • Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
  • Omnichannel Agent Desktop
  • Built-in Workforce Management (WFO)
  • Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
  • Click-to-Call, Click-to-Chat
  • Inbound Call Center
  • Single Customer View
  • Intelligent Routing
  • Outbound Call Center
  • Call Recording
  • Screen-pop
  • Supports all digital channels (e.g., chat, email, SMS, messengers, etc.)
  • Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)
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Frequently Asked Questions

Omnichannel contact center as a services (CCaaS) is the next generation in how businesses communicate with customers and clients. In a traditional multichannel system, many channels of communication, like voice call, email, texting, and more, are bolted on to an older legacy system. This creates a disjointed experience for both the customer and agent, as the customer and agent have to jump through multiple hurdles to have communication across multiple channels.

On an omnichannel CCaaS, all of these channels are united and integrated into one seamless journey. Omnichannel communication allows your customers and agents to start a conversation on one channel, then seamlessly switch between any number of digital channels, making the customer and agent experience frictionless. Start a conversation on voice chat, email, SMS messaging, messenger apps, or texting, and seamlessly move the conversation to another channel. The context of the conversation is kept so that the agent can pick up where the interaction left off, creating an effortless journey for the customer.

An omnichannel CCaaS can increase customer satisfaction, increase customer engagement, and empower agents through seamless communication and a frictionless journey.

A CCaaS solution give you seamless, easy access to the latest technology through the cloud. However, certain pieces of technology will give your contact center an edge in providing excellent customer service.

One technology that is crucial for any CCaaS solution is AI integration. AI opens the doors for many different, innovative applications for contact centers. Innovative, practical applications like omnichannel quality management and sentiment/text analysis rely on powerful, best-of-breed AI. Bright Pattern’s CCaaS solutions integrates with Microsoft, Google, and IBM Watson AI, giving you access to powerful AI that can be used in practical, but innovative ways.

Another thing to look for in your CCaaS solution is seamless remote work capabilities. Being based on the cloud gives your contact center the opportunity to transfer to a remote workforce at a moment’s notice, with all the functionality of a traditional on-premise solution. Whether it’s due to emergencies, convenience, or flexibility, a seamless transition to a remote workforce is crucial for CCaaS solutions in the modern day.

Last, but not least, every CCaaS solution needs a comprehensive quality management system. With Bright Pattern’s Omni QM technology, your contact center is able to conduct quality assurance on 100% of interactions on all channels. This gives you and your supervisors a birds-eye view of your contact center, giving you a complete picture of what’s working and what’s not in the contact center. Omni QM also allows for real-time intervention. When a customer interaction is detect as going negative by AI analysis, the call can be automatically routed to a retention specialist, while the data from that interaction is saved for agent retraining.

CCaaS helps remote workforce through it’s cloud capabilities. Being based on the cloud means all the necessary hardware and software are stored in a cloud center. Bright Pattern’s CCaaS solution is stored with reputable, reliable cloud providers, like Google Cloud, Amazon AWS, and Microsoft. Being stored in the cloud means your agents can receive the same powerful call center functionality from anywhere in the world with just an internet connection.

Bright Pattern’s CCaaS solution enables AI-powered omnichannel quality management anywhere in the world. Even if your contact center workforce spans the globe, you can monitor all interactions on all channels easily, tying your remote workforce together into a unified team. Ensure efficiency and great customer service, no matter where the agent is located on the globe.

A CCaaS solution provides unparalleled flexibility and scalability to your contact center solution. By being based on the cloud, Bright Pattern’s CCaaS solution allows your organization to seamlessly transition to a remote workforce, hire remote agents from anywhere across the globe, and scale your operations for fluctuating seasonal demand.

Being a CCaaS solution also provides your organization access to the latest in call center technology with little to no installation or upfront costs. Get access to the latest digital channels, powerful AI technology, and AI-powered omnichannel quality management with no hardware or software upgrade costs.

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