The term “cloud CX” refers to any form of cloud-based technology designed to improve, manage, and enhance customer experience. From customer relationship management (CRM) to contact centre tools, there are a host of offerings available on the cloud for business leaders today. The question is, why are cloud or “remote” tools so valuable to your business?
Since 2010, the global cloud services industry has risen in size year after year, to the point of a 380% increase by 2020. Specifically, the market for cloud-based contact centers is growing at a rate of 25.8% CAGR, with an estimated approaching value of $45.5 billion by 2026.
If you’re not investing in cloud-based CX solutions yet, now could be the perfect time to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. Here are X reasons to buy cloud CX in 2022.
1. Hybrid Work is the New Norm
The first and perhaps most compelling reason to switch to cloud-based CX solutions in 2022 is the rise of hybrid and remote working opportunities. Today, the employees on the front end of the conversations you have with your customers are working from a multitude of different environments. Some are in the field, others working from home, and some are still in the office.
The cloud is the only way to ensure all of the employees in your team have access to the same aligned tools and resources, regardless of where they are. With cloud CX technologies, your staff members can access the same CRM insights, contact centre functionality, or service desk tools as their peers. This allows for a more consistent level of customer service.
2. Global Scale is Crucial
As the world of technology continues to evolve, it’s becoming much easier for businesses to scale across geographical borders. Part of the reason global scale is now so accessible is cloud functionality. With CCaaS solutions, companies can easily spread their contact centres into new environments as they discover new potential customers and target markets.
CX tools built on the cloud can even give you control over your data, providing sovereignty options that allow you to choose exactly where you want information to be stored. Even if you’re not growing on a global scale now, having your CX environment in the cloud will allow you to grow and evolve seamlessly in future.
3. Business Continuity
During the pandemic, many companies discovered a lack of cloud technology meant a lack of business continuity. Without access to functionality in the cloud, your employees can only continue to offer excellent customer service and amazing sales opportunities when they’re in the office. With cloud CX, on the other hand, it’s possible to leverage technology remotely, so teams can remain productive whatever happens.
The cloud environment will even allow companies to scale or adapt their business performance according to their needs. For instance, when disaster happens and customer queries increase, it’s possible to immediately access additional CCaaS tools and provision new members of staff remotely, without any complex installation requirements.
4. You’ll Innovate Faster
Speaking of being able to adapt your technology and provision new tools quickly, cloud-based CX solutions mean you can also innovate at an incredible rate. If you discover AI technology like chatbots and smart assistants will be able to strengthen your brand image, you’ll be able to implement these tools just by clicking a couple of buttons in the cloud. Deploying new features and solutions takes a matter of seconds, with no engineers or technicians required in-house.
The flexible cloud environment even allows companies to experiment with different tools and innovations risk-free. Many of the leading service desk and helpdesk technologies, for instance, provide free demo accounts where you can explore the functionality before you decide to invest.
5. You can Customise According to your Needs
The flexibility of the cloud environment isn’t just great for scale; it’s fantastic for customisation and personalisation requirements too. Many of the leading solutions in cloud CX today can integrate together to bring more of your teams into the same environment. For instance, you can link your helpdesk, CRM, and contact centre technology in the same cloud-based platform. Some tools even allow you to establish your own connections with APIs.
The cloud’s customisable elements allow companies to build all-in-one environments where team members in a hybrid world can collect customer information and use that data to drive better business outcomes.
6. You’ll Have Room for Automation
Because cloud environments are so flexible, well-connected, and intelligent these days, they’re also ideal if you’re looking to build effective workflows for automation. For instance, you can work with a CCaaS solution provider to build a contact centre which integrates with your CRM technology. Using automation, you can then automatically update the information you have on your target audience whenever you solve a query in the contact centre.
Modern CX solutions come with several tools to help with automating essential workflows and keeping your teams as efficient as possible. Because these tools are so easy to use, they’re also excellent for companies looking to transform without significant technical knowledge digitally.
7. You Can Improve Security
Although cloud-based technology used to be a source of concern for many companies in terms of security management, well-executed tools are now more secure than ever. Today’s cloud-based innovations can include everything from multi-factor authentication to complete access controls, so your business leaders have more peace of mind.
A cloud environment for CX also means you can store business and customer information in the cloud for backup and disaster recovery purposes. McKinsey believes by 2030 companies will lose around $650 billion due to security breaches and downtime. However, resilient architecture in the cloud could reduce downtime by 57%.
8. Cloud Maturity is the Future
Ultimately, failing to invest in cloud-based CX today could mean falling behind the competition when it comes to offering an excellent level of service and support. According to McKinsey, there’s around $1 trillion in efficiency and productivity enhancements available on the table for companies willing to adopt the cloud.
Investing in cloud CX is the cost-effective way to build out new capabilities and opportunities in customer experience at a fraction of the cost required to do the same thing on-premises.
