Cloud to lead digitization of shared services centers

In-house helpdesks or shared services centers have been popular over the last few years across enterprises. Several departments in organizations including finance, customer services, human resources, IT, procurement and supply chain, have set up support centers to centralize operations and bring cost optimization while supporting internal customers efficiently. However, it’s important for centers to understand: 

• Is the current helpdesk model efficient and cost effective?
• Is it capital intensive?
• Are you able to provide 24X7 support internally?
• Have you been able to deploy industry best practices to your internal contact center?
• Is your center scalable, agile and flexible? 

How can you achieve the benefits of an outsourced third party contact center solution while retaining the internal shared services center operations ? 

The cloud-based helpdesk eliminates the need for on-site installation and brings in flexible staffing – presenting a big advantage for organizations with global operations. Just as third party contact centers are moving to the cloud for flexibility, ease of access and 24x7 always-on nature, in-house helpdesks can enjoy the same advantages with no additional cost. Consolidating in-house helpdesk operations on a global scale helps you enjoy lower costs and drive higher user satisfaction levels.

So why move your shared services center or internal helpdesk to cloud?

• From cost centers to cost savers - Cost savings,  while naturally attractive and compelling, only tell part of the story. It is true that in-house helpdesks have always been looked at as cost centers, with higher capex requirements for infrastructure build and running costs as well. Moving helpdesks into the cloud and consolidating them globally means shifting to an opex model that delivers much greater flexibility with minimal investments. It’s also an opportunity for companies to upgrade their infrastructure and support internal digitization.

• Easier IT Infrastructure provisioning - Cloud based center means easier provisioning of IT infrastructure, resources and fewer limitations. Consolidated helpdesk operations also benefit from standardized interfaces that give helpdesk agents a more structured way of working, letting them be more responsive and ensuring a consistent service level.

• Flexibility with multichannel contact center  - Cloud helpdesk means flexible helpdesk. The multichannel cloud solution gives customers more ways to engage with the organization and similarly multiple ways for helpdesk agents to respond to enquiries. However, cloud consolidated helpdesk can support customers anywhere, any time – your helpdesk can run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and your agents can enjoy all the benefits of a flexible working environment. 

• Skill management and happier employees - Being able to offer employees mobile or home-based helpdesk work is a powerful incentive in both recruitment and retention terms - there is a lot of motivation to be had from helpdesk teams able to work this flexibly. Not to mention that it means you can scale up or scale down your helpdesk operations in line with times of peak or off-peak demand.

• Scalability as business demands - Flexibility and scalability are inherent to cloud computing, and it is easy to see why. It simply fits with the way that companies operate today, in a more agile way, scaling up and down operations on demand rather than spending up-front and then being limited with physical assets you no longer need. 

We were able to deliver value for one of our MNC customers to shift on Orange cloud platform instead of a mere upgrade of existing premise-based infrastructure. The company consolidated their IT helpdesk in USA and Malaysia, a total of 60 agents, in order to support several languages and offer a follow the sun availability. Voice is the predominant interaction channel. From a globally distributed contact centre model which would require deployment of infrastructure and licenses in 2 sites, adding to the CAPEX, they were able to transition smoothly to a global cloud infrastructure with a simplified call management across centres and capability to expand in future if required.

Hence cloud based contact center, when deployed by your helpdesks can enhance customer support, drastically reduce costs, provide greater flexibility and empower your talented agents staff through mobility. 

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