From CRM solutions to office productivity suites, every day more and more businesses are casting aside traditional software solutions for more convenient and affordable cloud-based services.  It should come as no surprise, really, when you consider everything cloud computing has to offer:

Simplicity - cloud-based services are faster and easier to implement than conventional software applications.  With the cloud you can hit the ground running and let the service provider take care of all the heavy lifting.

Affordability -   with a cloud-based solution there’s no hardware to purchase, no spares to inventory, and no equipment to maintain.  Best of all, since licenses are sold on a subscription basis you only pay for what you need.

Flexibility – with a cloud-based service you can turn-up users, features and capacity on-the-fly so you can respond quickly to rapidly-changing requirements and better support the needs of the business.

Reliability – cloud-based services are inherently reliable so you don’t have to worry about implementing costly backup servers or complex redundancy schemes.

Extensibility – with a cloud-based solution you can say goodbye to disruptive software updates and let the service provider take care of upgrades and technology refreshes for you automatically.

With all these benefits it is no wonder forward-looking businesses are seeking new and creative ways to exploit cloud computing.  Many are now considering cloud computing for the call center.  After all, the cloud is ideal for reaching home-based agents, branch office workers, offshore or outsourced personnel, and mobile sales and service professionals.  When it comes to reach and economics nothing beats the Internet.

But there’s a hitch.  Most SaaS call centers are pure cloud services which won’t work with your existing PBX or call center apps.  To move to the cloud you have to retire your Nortel / Avaya, Cisco or other assets.  And in today’s economy, many businesses simply aren’t interested in ripping out perfectly-working equipment.

At OnState we’ve taken a more flexible and pragmatic approach.  Our cloud-based service runs independently or in conjunction with incumbent solutions.  If you are starting a new business or opening up a new office we can provide all the PBX and call center features you need right in the cloud - all your employees need is a mobile phone or a Google, Skype or SIP endpoint.

On the other hand, if you already have a phone system or call center solution in place, there is no need to throw away the baby with the bathwater.  Our Virtual Call Center service was specifically designed to protect and extend your IT investments, so you can continue to utilize your installed equipment and your users can continue to use their existing PBX phones – on an interim or permanent basis.  We’ll layer on new features and functions right in the cloud.  With OnState you can:

• Internet-enable your workforce – extend call center and corporate voice services to mobile users, teleworkers and home-based agents.

• Introduce intelligent call routing - OnState’s cloud-based business presence tracks users independently of network, PBX or location and connects callers to the right employee on the first attempt using your business rules.

• Integrate with other cloud services – such as salesforce or Google docs.

• Add customer-facing multi-modal communications – text chat, video, screen sharing.

• Bridge together all your separate communications islands – branch offices, offshore sites, outsourced hosting providers.

• Implement affordable disaster recovery and business continuity solutions

Let OnState transform your legacy phone system into a state-of-the-art customer-facing business communications solution.  We’ll help you breathe new life into your incumbent equipment and use the power of the cloud to boost worker productivity and improve customer satisfaction.  You’ll enjoy all the operational and cost advantages of a SaaS solution without retiring your performing IT assets.  Reach for the clouds but keep your feet on the ground with OnState! Learn more about this cloud call center strategy at our webinar, "Going Cloud With Your Call Center While Keeping Your Feet on the Ground."