There are many cloud solutions today that let you build a complete Call Center in the cloud. This makes for agile systems that can be rolled out in a short time.

At Analyze we have spent the past few weeks implementing a system with the AWS (Connect) service.

How did it go?

The system has a lot of very good features. The main one, and obviously the most basic thing any Call Center must do, is that it takes every incoming call and routes it to the available operators. What is interesting for non-specialized companies is that any employee can take calls by connecting online. In other words, there is no need to install hardware or special devices. A computer with an internet connection and a headset with a microphone is enough.

On the AWS Connect platform itself you can "claim" a phone number on which calls will be received. This means, on the one hand, that there is no need to deal with telephone carriers, and on the other, that you can run a Proof of Concept in a short time without having to make large investments.

You can design and implement an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. This is done through a graphical interface where you lay out the user's "route". For each step you can upload the corresponding audio (in English, you can simply type the text and AWS itself turns it into the message using Text To Speech).

The system logs every event, so you can keep all kinds of statistics on calls, waiting times, and so on. It is also possible to record all calls (or only a random sample of them) for later review.

One downside of the AWS system, from a Chilean perspective, is that at the moment there are no Chilean numbers available. However, this can be solved technically by asking the local telephone carrier to forward calls to the assigned number. In our case, the design of what we built treated this as a support system, so when users face long waiting times, some calls are forwarded to the IVR we developed.

Opportunities

We believe this kind of system (we plan to run tests with nexmo.com in the coming weeks) is a very good alternative for companies that need something flexible and want to run a call center in-house, without going through complex processes with the companies that offer Call Center services.

In our case, this system was meant to back up the traditional Call Center at times of high demand, or for certain very specific procedures that made more sense to be handled by the company's own staff rather than by the call center operators, who would have been very expensive to train.

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Update, March 16, 2020

Implementing these systems can be very useful for companies that need to keep serving the public during these weeks of Coronavirus quarantine. It lets employees take calls from home.

There are countless tutorials online, but we can also help you with the implementation, design and initial development. For any questions, contact us at contacto@analyze.cl or directly at +56 9 62479019

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