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Industry Analyst Gartner explains why contact centres are naturally suited to "bimodal IT".

Global industry analyst Gartner [i] has a model to help organisations respond to the proliferating demands of IT, a model it termed "bimodal IT" ([i] Definition of bimodal IT in Gartner’s IT glossary: "the practice of managing two separate, coherent modes of IT delivery, one focused on stability and the other on agility. Mode 1 is traditional and sequential, emphasizing safety and accuracy. Mode 2 is exploratory and nonlinear, emphasizing agility and speed."). This effectively is the combination of old-style and modern IT practices whereby mode one is technology driven and mode two is business driven, it is an approach that is appreciated by today’s return-on-investment focused and tech-savvy CIOs.

The successful application of bimodal IT appears to be fuelled by the exponential growth of cloud-computing. According to the Cloud Industry Forum, [ii] latest research indicates that "69% of organisations (in the UK) have formally adopted at least one cloud-based service within their business, and satisfaction with the use of cloud solutions remains high".

The adoption of cloud-based contact centres is a classic example. They combine the proven benefits of a traditional on-premise solution with the increased flexibility, scalability and reliability of the latest cloud-based solutions. Add to this true multichannel capability in a single application and a cost-effective pay-as-you-go pricing model and it’s clear that deploying a cloud-based contact centre really is the way to go.

Cloud contact centres are the epitomy of bimodal IT

By their very nature, cloud contact centres epitomise bimodal IT. They combine stability and agility all in one step by offering:

• Flexibility, scalability and business agility - will your business grow or will it suffer from an economic downturn? Are there plans to expand overseas? Will seasonal peaks and troughs like the summer holidays or Christmas affect call volumes with a knock-on effect on staffing levels? The latest cloud-based solutions help contact centre managers tackle the challenges of fluctuating business requirements and call volumes head on.
  
  
• Control over administration and customisation – the days of a large IT department on call 24 hours a day are over. Using a simple Internet connection and web browser, ongoing maintenance, upgrades and software roll-outs can be administered in the cloud. Furthermore, the inherent flexibility of the cloud makes it easy for organisations to configure and customise their contact centre solution themselves.
  
  
• Absolute independency for resilience and service - organisations need no longer worry about bad weather affecting telephone lines or machinery accidentally ploughing through cables because everything is virtual, data is stored centrally, in the cloud. Location independent, agents can log onto the system at any time and from any location using their own devices.
  
  
• Integration for improved business processes - cloud capabilities and web services automate business processes and integrate them seamlessly with chosen business applications to save time and manual effort. Extracting pertinent customer information in real-time from the company’s CRM system empowers agents to hold meaningful interactions that boost customer confidence and promote next generation customer service.

• Stepping up to social support - social media is big business and getting it right enhances brand awareness, protects corporate reputation and ultimately leads to commercial success. With the latest cloud-based solutions, social media capability is built in rather than bolted on. They can detect the exact source of an enquiry meaning agents can confidently respond to telephone, email, Chat, social media and SMS enquiries all within the same application.

• Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) - the majority of users choose to retain their original handsets and equipment making the evolution to a cloud infrastructure an effortless affair. They simply turn the old system off and commence the new cloud service on the very same day using the same legacy hardware, thereby retaining any original investment in equipment.

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