The Onset Of Online Communication Platforms Have Broken The Red Tape Around Entering The Contact  center market

Five years ago, who would have thought that businesses could purchase their communication software platforms online, the same way you would electricity or airtime? Times have changed since entering the contact center arena required a heavy budget. The development of consumption-based communication technology enables entrepreneurs to ease into the market, simplifying everything from setup and paying for services to effective management of their contact center environment. Imagine how easy setting up a business would be for every startup operating on a tight budget?

The latest trend in the contact center industry is that you can purchase and set up your call center online and be fully operational in fifteen minutes, without any contractual documents binding you. This means you only pay for the features your business uses. As one of the few SaaS companies operating in the contact center sphere, ZaiLab’s communication software is capitalizing on this model, and is tailored and designed for convenience and the customer of today – the digital citizen operating in a cashless society.

What are the trends that I should be gearing my business towards?

Current contact center payment systems usually comprise the traditional face-to-face transaction and contractual agreement, as has always been practiced. Currently, there are very few SaaS companies that give you the opportunity to buy software online or set up a fully-functional contact center in minutes. Although buying contact center solutions online might seem an overwhelming and scary concept, the market is slowly warming up to the change to digitized transactions, which are proving to be more seamless and convenient.

In the contact center and BPO industries, packages, reseller models, and long-term contracts are very popular. This requires a company to sign a contract with their service provider, use the services and on a monthly basis pay as per invoice or quotation supplied by the supplier through EFT payment or debit order. This is what has been the norm for the past ten years. This is slowly shifting with some SaaS companies understanding that adapting to online business operations is more important than sticking to tradition.

Also Read: Why Contact Centers Are Critical to Omnichannel Marketing Strategies

Hence, the consumption-based or pay-as-you-use model has entered the market.

The simplicity in topping up credits and using software brings a sense of control and comfort to businesses and how they run their operations. In the next 12-24 months, we should expect to see a rise in SaaS companies moving from complex contracts into cloud-based systems that enable them to offer pay-as-you-use pricing models to their clients.

The key areas that we can expect changes in are the following:

– Pricing models; some contact center software providers are already considering changing the way they do business in relation to client contract terms, the way their clients can save and improve payment systems.

– Relocation from on-premise to cloud solutions

– Online purchasing of software

– Changing from post-paid payment methods into prepaid top-ups for software usage, buying of usage credits.

Are SaaS companies offering this already?

ZaiLab allows you to purchase your software credits online through a safe payment gateway system. You use your credit based on the software features that you use. Think of an electricity meter – when you use less electricity, you save your credit. When you use more, you might use up all your credits and need to top up. With ZaiLab, you can top up anywhere, anytime on your phone, laptop or desktop computer. We have used this model in the telecommunications industry time and time again, and are proud to roll it out as a SaaS company that sells communication software.

Also Read: The Great Bot Battle: Chatbots Vs Live Chat

Is it safe for me to make a major business purchase online?

Safety and security are key to achieving effective cashless solutions, which means that the protection of business information in a decentralized setup is a mission-critical factor affecting adoption. The software infrastructure is hosted and secured by Amazon Web Services, and data such as call recordings and payment information is encrypted.

Nevertheless, in conditions of guaranteeing the safety of the consumer’s information, ZaiLab uses a third party payment gateway that acts as a safety net between the consumer and the merchant. This means the merchant does not keep any confidential payment information from customers.

Traditional service providers are collaborating and partnering with the innovation drivers in the sector. This is a sink or swim industry, but only if you don’t keep up with what’s happening in the world.

Also Read: ZaiLab ‘Trucks’ Into Enterprise Connect