Jacada Blog

Making a Case for Why Customer Information Systems Don’t Belong in the Cloud

By Gideon Hollander, CEO of Jacada Inc.


There is little doubt “cloud computing” is the buzzword du jour. One only needs to attend an industry trade show or read an IT publication or analyst report, and it will be evident that the world has “gone cloud,” or at a minimum, is rapidly moving to the cloud. Indeed, software vendors proudly boast of their cloud offerings, extolling the evils of “on-premise” software and systems.

We say, not so fast.

The reality faced by most CIOs is their need to be trusted guardians of their customers’ data. Those organizations at the lower end of data privacy and maturity naturally may feel less custodial responsibility. However, organizations that value customer data and privacy treat this information with what amounts to being akin to a fiduciary responsibility to their customer.
How can you ship your customer data off premise?

There is no doubt some cloud providers have impressive levels of security – yet, it doesn’t change the reality that customer information is taken off premise, beyond firewalls and exposed via a public channel on the internet. Not to mention there are internal threats within the cloud provider, such as a disgruntled (i.e.fired) employee.

We have already seen promises of “uptime” in the cloud compromised. Therefore, sadly, it is most likely a case of when, not if, we see a major data security breach in the cloud industry. Here are just a few examples:

• In April of this year, Amazon suffered an embarrassing multi-day service outage on some of its cloud services.
• On the security front, Dropbox, experienced a security lapse where, for a few hours, a user could log onto any other users account.
• Unfortunately, no company is immune. Other high-profile security breaches include Lockheed Martin, RSA, Citigroup and Sony.

Our intent is not to criticize these vendors as we recount these incidents. If anything, these companies have pioneered new industries in the cloud space and have been successful in what they do. Rather, we highlight this only to show how completely feasible outages and security breaches are. These outages remind us that behind the “cloud” buzzword, we are still dealing with fragile and complex technology, with multiple points of potential failure. From large cloud providers to the small ones, none of them are immune to coding errors, network failures, hacking or malicious internal behavior.

Do your customers know their personal information is technically accessible on the web?

In a poll of our customers, the majority emphatically stated theydo not plan to transition their call center data to cloud services in the next three years. Granted, these organizations have mature processes around handling customer data and  a leadership team that understands the responsibility bestowed upon them. However, most were absolute in their decisions.

The main reason? Consumer privacy. Many cloud solutions cannot guarantee customer security and privacy. In fact, one call center company that had moved customer information to the cloud moved everything back to an on-premise system to save costs, increase flexibility and protect consumer information.

This trend is not unique to our customers. In fact, research firm IDC conducted a survey of IT executives not only confirmed this trend, but found that availability and performance are major downsides for call centers’ dependence on cloud computing.

Should I abandon the cloud entirely?

Is the cloud completely bad? No, of course not. It is without a doubt the direction application delivery is moving. But when you assess your current cloud strategy, think about the potential for a security breach. What will you tell your customers when their social security numbers have been leaked onto the web? Do you believe they will understand that your organization deliberately and purposely opted to ship their data offsite and place it online on the internet? Our contention is the cloud should offer software as a service – the emphasis on software. The data on the other hand should never leave your premises. Think of software as a service, data as an asset.

Without a doubt, we will continue to see dramatic evolutions in cloud offerings. The cloud industry as a whole is still nascent. It will fundamentally change the way we are connected to the online world and become the invisible virtual fiber optic that links all our devices together, without regard to geographical boundaries. The possibilities are endless. In all the excitement however, let’s not forget who our customers are and what we owe them when it comes to data privacy.

About the Author

Gideon Hollander is the co-chief executive officer and founder of Jacada. Gideon is highly regarded for his strategic vision and innovation-centered leadership, and is focused on ensuring that Jacada delivers high quality, best-of-breed solutions. Prior to founding Jacada, Gideon was part of the research and development team at Comverse Technology. Prior to Comverse, he served in various technology and management positions in an elite unit of the Israeli Defense Forces, where he specialized in expert systems and user interface design. Two of the projects that Gideon managed won the most prominent Israeli award for technological innovations. Gideon also has a passion for rock and mountain climbing.

 

This article originally appeared on callcentreclinic.com Nov. 3, 2011.

Don’t complain about complaining customers – they are good for your business

Good blog post by Colin Shaw on Beyond Philosophy: Building Great Customer Experiences, explaining why you should value and learn from a complaining customer. Not only resolutions to help improve your customer retention, but new insights that can lead to a better service offering or the tiniest change to a customer experience that moves it from good to great. 

Jacada's products and solutions can help you take your customer's experience from good to great. Check us out here for more information. 

New Contact Center Technology Needs Traditional Rollout

Industry analysts and management consultants agree there are plenty of new tools on the market that could boost a contact center’s performance. But they caution companies from jumping into a new social contact center technology initiative without tried-and-true change management strategies.

With a business plan, agents are more likely to understand why changes must take place and are therefore more willing to adapt to new processes. Many contact centers are successful when they present new technology to small groups of agents and then gather initial feedback, some of which will find its way into the final product or process. Read the entire Contact Center World article here. 

Check out Jacada's implementation process customized for each client. From critical analysis of existing business processes to the delivery of robust unified desktop solutions, Jacada's experienced and certified business analysts, pre-sales consultants and systems engineers provide a full range of application delivery services.

Customer feedback that makes you go hmmm

Just when you think you’ve heard it all you come into work the next day and it happens all over again. Everything from, “my kitchen is on fire what do you think I should do” to, “do you think your battery powered screwdriver is strong enough to be used as a motor on my homemade airplane?” (I would hate to be that guy's insurance agent!) From the ridulous to the sublime, the things we hear in the call center often times make you laugh out loud.

One that I have to share is the guy that called in to tell us our cordless battery powered broom did not deliver air at 60mph as indicated on the box. When the agent asked him how he knew our facts to be wrong the caller gave us the following explanation:

"When I drive down the interstate with my window open and hang my head out, the breeze takes my breath away and I can’t breathe. I took the cordless broom and pointed it directly at my face, turned it on, and I could still breathe, therefore, the broom is not delivering air at 60mph!"

Help a customer service agent out - give them a unified desktop from Jacada so that at least when they log these calls, they can be efficient. 

Shameless promotion

Yes, folks its come to this.  

My latest post is a shameless promotion for Jacada.  No more. No less.  Enjoy this 2-minute explainer video to find out more about Jacada solutions!

Or visit Jacada.com for information on all our award-winning solutions and find out how your company can rapidly implement a desktop solution guaranteed to save you 30 seconds on Average Handle Time. 

Improving Customer Satisfaction: Would Miss Manners Approve?

Regardless of the reasons, it’s interesting that it’s often noteworthy when people aren’t rude. Have you ever had an experience with a customer service representative who stood out—or who made you want to give the company repeat business—because the representative was incredibly helpful and courteous? If such encounters happen frequently, they probably don’t stand out in your mind, but chances are, you notice it when you receive really polite service.

The good news is that people do take note when they’re treated exceptionally well when dealing with companies.  In fact, these customers often write about their customer satisfaction online. Public endorsements for your company? Not a bad goal.

Along with the right customer service desktop solution, a well-placed "please" and "thank you" can go a long way toward increasing customer satisfaction. 

What does commercial awareness mean to CSRs?

It’s widely acknowledged that equipping a Customer Service Representative (CSR) with a 360 degree view of the customer is fundamental to customer satisfaction and retention. This can mean the CSR having fast and easy access to a customer profile, contact history, billing, payments, subscription package, tariffs and their complaints. 

Armed with a solid understanding of the customer, the CSR is in a much better position to make recommendations and improve the customer's relationship with the organisation. But is that enough? 

Call scripting for sales-oriented CSRs is generally not a good idea as it stunts conversational selling and customers can feel they're talking to an automaton rather than a person. However, scripts are more effective when the CSR is processing an order, e.g. setting up a Direct Debit where care is required to meet financial regulatory and corporate guidelines. 

No doubt a 360 degree view adds value, but with the pressure to cross-sell and up-sell, CSR’s need commercial awareness more than ever. There’s tremendous value in knowing the net value of the customer to the organisation. Do they spend very little or a lot? What's the sales conversion rate? Sales-oriented CSRs tell us they found it helps to have statistics on their daily performance, team performance and targets on their desktop, and it also makes more competitive with other teams.

It shouldn’t stop there. There’s value in alerting the CSR to nuggets of information such as outstanding or overdue bills, customers that are close to the end of their contract, abnormally high bills, and in one case I saw, a CSR was auto alerted to the fact that the customer could benefit by being on a better contract.

There are ways to effectively bring pertinent pieces of information to the CSRs attention, rather than have them sift through many sources. Check out Jacada JumpStart for more information. 

Karnail Jita - Pre-Sales Consultant, Jacada Inc.

Sprint podcast - Journey to customer service

Interesting podcast detailing Sprint’s 3-year journey to improving customer experience.  Agent metrics, FCR, procedures and training discussed in this Customer Management IQ podcast, “Behind Sprint’s Overhauled Customer Experience Program.” 

For more information on Jacada’s products and services that address agent metrics, FCR and training, click here. 

Keeping Pace with Changing Expectations -The ingredient for a positive customer experience

The right way to communicate with customers is constantly evolving as communications options and consumer expectations change.Having a complete 360-degree view of your customer is more important than ever. Knowing your customers’ preferences gives you the tools to develop very targeted and personalized communications.  Read more of this article by Mary Cook here. 

Click here to read how Jacada helped E.ON with their own 360-degree view of the customer.  

Great Service = More Sales...Winning! (couldn't resist)

That's according to a new American Express Global Customer Service Barometer. Seven in ten Americans (70%) are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. 

According to an article by Brendan Read on TMCnet.com, many companies are not getting the math. The study said that 60% of Americans believe businesses have not increased their customer service focus, up from 55% in 2010.  Among this group, 26% think companies are actually paying less attention to service. 

Other stats include: Some 59% of Americans would try a new brand or company for a better service experience. Customers who have a fantastic service experience say friendly representatives (65%) who are ultimately able to solve their concerns (66%) are the most influential. 

Needless to say, good customer service makes a difference! Jacada can help improve your bottom line by streamlining and unifying the agent's desktop.  Automated sign-on and notes, knowledgebase integration, broadcast messaging, quick links, single view of the customer and a unification of multiple applications are just a few of the ways Jacada WorkSpace Unified Desktop can help your company. Contact us for a demo today or click here for more information.