As Calabrio deploys its true cloud Workforce Optimisation (WFO) offering via AWS in South Africa, Olle Düring at Calabrio outlines five reasons why this latest news matters to customers in the region.

When it comes to digital transformation, the huge potential of South Africa is fast becoming a reality thanks to the arrival of new Amazon Web Service (AWS) Region in Cape Town in 2021, comprising three availability zones. Utilising more than 60 AWS services, the Calabrio ONE WFO suite brings the cloud advantages of performance, security, agility, scalability, reliability, and ease of use to organisations in South Africa from start-ups to enterprises & Business Process Outsourcers (BPOs). This will allow our customers in the region to provide superior customer service and reduce costs, quickly and with ease. Customers like Standard Bank, the continent’s largest bank, that recently implemented Calabrio Workforce Management (WFM) for 4,000 agents alongside its Amazon Connect Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) platform.

The race to accelerate South Africa’s cloud journey

Cloud adoption has been a growing trend in the region for most of the last decade. However, a shortage of local data centres has hampered the ability to transition to the cloud as quickly as in other parts of the world. For example, data centres being located outside the African continent can result in latency delays, while many organisations have been reluctant to embrace cloud-based services over growing concerns around data sovereignty.

Fortunately, these barriers to effective cloud adoption are fast disappearing as international companies develop data centres on the African continent and AWS has recently expanded the number of AWS services deployed within the AWS Cape Town Region, such as Amazon Connect launching in Q1 2022. Today, companies such as banks that traditionally operated in-house servers and data storage facilities are increasingly switching to cloud services.

Five reasons why Calabrio ONE and the cloud matter

At Calabrio, we have a proven track record in establishing local cloud presence to build customer trust, through lower network latency, superior performance, data privacy and local support. In 2021, we announced our roadmap for data sovereignty across Southeast Asia with a local data centre in Singapore after successfully on-boarding many new cloud customers in the APAC region. That launch effectively introduced a blueprint for data sovereignty that could be replicated in other parts of the globe.
So, what impact will the introduction of Calabrio ONE’s full cloud suite via the AWS Cape Town Region have on customers in South Africa? Here are five reasons to lead the move to the cloud:

1. Accelerate digital transformation – Fully cloud-based contact centres are proven to be further advanced in their digital transformations, while two in three on-premises and half of partial-cloud contact centres feel limited by their current solutions. True-cloud solutions automatically serve all customers simultaneously across a shared, integrated platform for fast, efficient service. New features are added continuously meaning the most advanced functionality is always powering your contact centre behind the scenes – you don’t even have to think about it. Offering superior levels of scalability to meet the rapidly changing needs of your business while guaranteeing high availability and uptime, true-cloud solutions also provide enhanced security to make changes and updates in real-time while protecting customer and end-user data.
2. Enhanced employee engagement – According to employment giant Michael Page, only 26% of South African employees worked from home before the pandemic but this figure skyrocketed to 79% once lockdowns hit – without diminishing motivation or job satisfaction levels. In fact, 50% of employees felt even more motivated and 46% of job applicants were more satisfied with their work. Technology has a valuable role to play in supporting work-from-home staff. With cloud-based solutions, South African contact centres have the flexibility for remote and hybrid working models to nurture and harness this employee motivation. They also instantly get access to the latest, modern employee engagement technology such as agent self-scheduling automation, a real bonus whilst the trend towards flexible working continues to rise. As mentioned above, cloud-native software supports faster innovation of digital tools to revolutionise the employee experience, including agent-facing virtual assistants that can support them in their schedule planning and changes.
3. You can rely on cloud in a crisis – The entire reputation of communications service providers like AWS depends on protecting customer data. AWS employs leading experts in the security field as well as continually making deep investments in its infrastructure to stay one step ahead of the latest cloud technology and data security protocols. Moving to the cloud means this level of security for your data is instantly available to you. Add this to Calabrio’s real-world experience in transitioning hundreds of companies to the cloud during a challenging global pandemic and you have a winning combination. Our customer-centric approach blends high levels of technical security with comprehensive training, proactive support and the opportunity to have a real say in future product development – everything organisations need to accelerate their cloud journey, wherever they are and whatever challenges they face.
4. Increased speed and agility – With AWS data centres and Calabrio ONE’s true-cloud WFO capabilities now within direct reach of organisations in South Africa, local companies can spend less time managing their cloud infrastructure and worrying about the integrity of their customer data and instead focus 100% on running a successful business. According to Brett Bossenger, Head of Voice Capability at Standard Bank, in addition to supporting 4,000 contact centre agents in South Africa, “Calabrio WFM is an intrinsic part of our digital transformation, the key to accelerating growth whilst delivering exceptional experiences for our staff and our customers across the African continent.”
5. Greater data sovereignty – In the past, one of the main reasons organisations in South Africa were reluctant to move to the cloud was they were concerned critical customer data might be compromised if it didn’t reside within the country. This was especially true for financial and government institutions. With on-the-ground support via local partners and in-region data centres, South African customers will have more trust in the cloud to protect their data and comply with local privacy laws. Calabrio customers such as Standard Bank appreciate the tangible steps we are taking to address data sovereignty. As Africa’s largest bank, it has chosen to engage with us primarily for our reputation as a cloud-first organisation with localised data centres in South Africa.

Cloud is fully on the horizon and Calabrio is proud to play an active part in that journey. AWS in Cape Town brings countless opportunities to developers, start-ups, enterprises and governmental organisations. Since the pandemic, some 82% of South African businesses have increased their cloud spend, underlining a growing awareness of the benefits of cloud computing for various-sized companies. With Calabrio, you can now migrate to CCaaS and cloud WFO.

Are you leading the charge or falling behind? For more information, contact us.