Outsourcing your technology means forming a much closer partnership with your provider than in a typical vendor/supplier relationship. Choosing the right partner is critically important to your success. At WS iNet, we understand what it takes to make that partnership work. We use our technology to support our own world-class customer contact center operation, and we know exactly how to deploy a service that will exceed your expectations.

Is their solution complete?

If the supplier does not offer all the services you need for your customer contact center, you may be faced with a complicated integration project. Try to get all of your solutions from one vendor in order to avoid complex integrations and expensive network connections. Make sure the SaaS vendor’s system is able to support custom integration between a hosted solution and your existing premise-based contact centers.

Does the partner have experience hosting solutions and not just supplying technology?

Supplying customer support equipment and software is a completely different model than supplying a hosted solution. Technology is only one element to consider when setting up a virtual contact center; expertise is equally important.

Some companies that started out only selling equipment and software are now moving into hosting; however, they may only have one solution to sell, and it may not be the best solution for your specific needs. Be sure to choose a partner that has technology flexibility and understands your specific goals. If the company uses their own technology, make sure it can deliver the solution you need.

Does the partner have experience with home agents?

Having the experience and advanced processes to manage home-based agents is far different than the experience and processes required to operate a facility-based center. If you are planning to create a virtual contact center with home-based agents or geographically distributed centers, make sure your partner has experience in doing this. Customer service managers must employ a new operational model based on empowerment, communication and monitoring rather than the command-and-control model deployed in most facility-based centers. Selecting a partner with the right expertise is the best way to ensure success. We can help you ask the right questions.

Is the partner financially sound, and how are they financed?

Partnering with a financially sound business is essential. Since you must trust your hosted supplier with your customer service infrastructure, it is critical to make sure they are committed to their business for the long-term. How long have they been in the contact center business as a vendor? Is this their core business? Even if the vendor is large and profitable, this may not be a business they are actually committed to in the future.

Is the partner compelled to innovate in the future?

The vendor’s ability and drive to innovate is easy to overlook, but it could make a big difference in your future success. Choosing a partner who is committed to innovation is extremely important. The best partner is one who also designs, implements, operates and supports their own customer contact solutions, as they are most inclined to understand changing requirements. Have you thought about the future for your customer contact center? How will social networking play a role? Can you really support chat? How can you stimulate customer collaboration to build loyalty? How do you get input from your customers? What if your customer never calls? Choose a provider who can discuss these questions.