Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

November 08, 2007

BenchmarkPorta: Better Value for Contact Centers in 'All-in-one' Communications Solutions than Multi-point

By Prabhala Ranga Sai

All-in-one communications solutions provide more cost advantage to contact centers compared with multi-point solutions, according to a report published by BenchmarkPortal.
 
BenchmarkPortal is a custodian for Purdue Research Foundation’s database of contact center performance metrics, which it said is the largest such database in the world. This latest report, “A Cost Comparison of All-in-One versus Multi-Point Solutions in the Contact Center Sector,” is based on that information.
 
The report indicated that the total annualized per-agent cost for all-in-one solutions averages less than half that of multi-point solutions. This conclusion was based on a survey sponsored by communications solutions provider Interactive Intelligence (News - Alert).
 
Even in terms of initial set up costs, all-in-one solutions scored better than multi-point solutions. Installation and integration of all-in-one solutions costs 15 percent less. In addition, the average annualized system administration cost per agent for all-in-one solutions is 60 percent lower compared to multi-point solutions, according to the report.  
 
“Our study shows that, when taking into account contact center costs associated with selecting, installing, integrating, administering and upgrading communications technology, all-in-one solutions are measurably less expensive than multi-point solutions,” said Jon Anton, one of the report authors and adjunct professor at Purdue University, in a statement.
 
Anton continued: “Contributing to the all-in-one solution’s lower cost model was the need for fewer servers to install, integrate, administer and maintain, and the provision of a single platform for simplified management and upgrades.”
 
The BenchmarkPortal report analyzed serious implications for contact center managers who don’t employ best practices when evaluating technology costs.
 
“An important point uncovered by our study is that many contact center managers do not have visibility into their technology costs,” said Bruce Belfiore, senior research executive at the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University, and co-author of the report with Anton, in a statement. “Perhaps not surprisingly those managers who had the greatest visibility into costs also showed a much lower total cost of ownership for all-in-one versus multi-point solutions. Clearly, employing multiple metrics beyond sticker price – including the cost of integrating, administering and upgrading systems – is an essential budgetary component of contact center management best practices.”
 
BenchmarkPortal report found that cost is one of the important factors responsible for the growing popularity of all-in-one solutions. It also shows that the controversy over sacrificing “best-of-breed” features may no longer be relevant in the minds of managers surveyed. Many respondents to the survey confirmed that they have not missed out on the best-of –breed functionalities when going for all-in-one services.
 
Want to learn more about the topic covered in this article? Check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, a collection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP communications industry. This information is free to registered users.
 
P.R. Sai  is a contributing editor for TMCnet.


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