Some things to consider when choosing a provider include your budget and the provider’s pricing plans, accessibility (can your agents use this no matter where they’re located?), specific contact center features that are important to you (like analytics and dashboards), security, and ease of use and deployment.

There are other things too, like third-party integrations, but these are more “nice-to-haves” than “must-haves.” Our tip? Have a list of both so you don’t get sucked into fancy-sounding features that aren't actually very useful.

Unlike a traditional call center, virtual contact centers don’t have any one set location—your customer service agents can work from anywhere in the world. Probably one of the biggest differences, then, is the need for office space. Virtual contact centers eliminate the need for an office and server rooms, so you’ll be able to save money on rent and infrastructure.

A virtual contact center or call center typically needs a team (however big or small) of full-time or part-time agents to handle a large volume of communications with a group of people, whether it's customers, prospects, clients, or employees. Call centers can do a range of different things and can be omnichannel or just handle one or two main channels.

There are call centers that are helpdesks, telemarketing teams, and so on. The other key piece is that these teams need some kind of virtual contact center software that allows them to have these phone calls and conversations with those customers or prospects.

Beyond any sort of specific feature, the main benefit of having a virtual contact center is that it makes your agents’ and your supervisors’ lives easier. Whether it’s through real-time coaching or better insights into call volumes, the primary benefit of going virtual is for the business and contact center team.

A better customer experience is the result of that. Because your software has a CRM integration with tools you’re already using, your agents don’t have to spend as much time logging every call’s details and can focus more on the customer conversation. Because you can be flexible and constantly test or adjust your call routing strategy, you’re allowing callers to route themselves to the best person—and save your agents valuable time that they can spend on other more important tasks.

The customer experience is important, but never lose sight of the fact that a good virtual contact center software should make your team’s jobs easier first. Everything else will flow from that.

A stable Internet connection is the key to a virtual call center that works. So, before you migrate to the cloud, make sure all employees have stable high-speed connections. Second, plan for potential downtime when you’re switching from on-premises to virtual. This will help you minimize interruptions to call center service.

As a plan B, try to move to a cloud contact center in gradual stages—this will make sure you have a fallback option or a few agents on call to support customers if needed. Finally, equip your team with the right tools. This could be anything from a good Internet connection to a headset, to an office chair. Whatever you would supply them with in an office, you’d probably need to provide that for them to work from home (or allow them to expense it).