* Spanlink exec responds to newsletter
After reading our newsletter on hosted vs. premises-based IP contact centers, Tim Kraskey, VP of marketing and business development at Spanlink, wrote in. He oversees product management, marketing communications and business development for unified communications and contact center products.
Tim’s take is that the sweet spot for a hosted contact center is for enterprise customers that can afford between $175 and $300 per seat per month. He points out that for that price range, most customers could expect to get only basic contact center features like automated call distribution (ACD) with some routing, voice mail, a minimally interactive voice response system, and “screen” pops based on the incoming caller ID. As for the ideal “size” of a hosted system, Tim believes that the small or very large contact center is best for many of the same reasons small and very large businesses turn to traditional Centrex or IP Centrex.
Tim agreed with us that the premises-based solution is best for contact centers that need a more custom solution. He pointed out that a custom solution is paramount for those businesses that need:
* A highly integrated CRM system.
* Transaction recording and high levels of security (such as financial institutions).
* Advanced data applications or high-end speech applications like data mining from speech patterns or intonation.
He also agreed with us that a managed premises-based solution offered by a service provider may be a great alternative to a strictly premises or hosted solution.
Tim expects in the next 12 to 18 months every business will begin to encrypt and archive every instant message much like they archive e-mails today and that, over time every voice call will be archived and “mined” for employee training and corporate security.
If you’ve got some ideas about or your own experience with an IP contact centers, we welcome your feedback.
