Raising customer awareness on cloud migration strategies and ability to offer diverse implementation options vital for growth
Although the Latin American hosted and cloud solutions market for contact centers is still in its nascent phase, the market is picking up pace as early adopters emerge. The deployment of a mix of on-premises and off-site tools is paving the way for hosted and cloud models to gain acceptance in the region, especially in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Analysis of the Hosted and Cloud Solutions for Contact Centers Market in Latin America, finds that large enterprises prefer the dedicated cloud model because it delivers essential security and reliability. On the other hand, small and middle-sized businesses are drawn to the multi-tenant cloud model, which offers advanced technology at a low cost.
While there are few out-and-out replacements of premises-based systems, the potential growth curve for hosted solutions will become steeper as some existing premises infrastructure is nearing the end of its product life cycle.
"The lower total cost of operation of hosted and cloud solutions in comparison to on-premises systems is a key driver for the Latin American contact center hosted and cloud solutions market," said Frost & Sullivan Information and Communication Technologies Research Analyst Maiara Paula Munhoz. "Further, cloud cost savings increase as the contact center organization expands and more applications are moved to the cloud."
However, many companies remain skeptical about the security, reliability and privacy of these new solutions. With the recent revelations that the US National Security Agency broke privacy rules, enterprises may find even more reason to hold back from US-based cloud providers. Many contact centers are also delaying adoption waiting for their legacy infrastructure to run its course.
Educating customers on the cloud migration strategies available will be vital to overcome the current inhibitors for hosted and cloud uptake. Providing diverse implementation options too will mitigate much of the factors restraining the shift to the cloud. For instance, allowing hybrid models, where customers can move only part of their on-premises applications to the cloud, will encourage consumers to employ cloud solutions.
"Companies lacking a clear roadmap for new technology platforms will struggle to contend with the affordable, easy-to-operate applications from competitors," advised Munhoz. "For new vendors, forming partnerships with service providers or system integrators will aid their entry into this budding Latin American market."
