Give me back my VCR!
I like to watch old movies. Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Shirley Jones and Judy Garland—you can’t get much better! And I had enjoyed watching several old movies on VHS. That is, until my husband scoffed at my collection of video tapes and convinced me to toss my “outdated” VCR. He reasoned we could just replace anything I wanted with DVDs.
It’s now been a number of years, and we have yet to replace my precious videos. I frequently remind my husband of the loss.
Now, I’m not suggesting videotapes are better than DVDs (or now Blu-ray), but the point is, I would like the option to watch them. (Of course, there IS another option—a dual DVD/VCR—which I couldn’t convince my husband was the answer, either.)
Don’t limit your dialing technology options. In the dialing technology world there are two options, site-premised systems and hosted dialing services. Just because you select a site-premised dialer as your primary dialing solution, doesn’t mean you can’t also use hosted services. There’s a combo option for dialing solutions, too!
Site-premised systems are fabulous for meeting your every day dialing needs. Occasionally you might need an extra boost in your dialing capability, and that’s where hosted dialing services come in handy. The way I see it, there are two main reasons to use a hybrid dialing solution:
- To instantly increase your dialing technology capability. Use your hosted solution for overflow, spikes, unexpected needs or trying out a new campaign strategy. If you have an IAT site-premised dialer (CT Center), you can run all your hosted campaigns through CT Center. It will keep track of your call results and monitor your agents as if they are regular CT Center calls.
- To include in your disaster recovery plan. Local disasters and emergencies could cripple an unprepared agency. Keep the momentum in your dialing campaigns, even during times of emergency, with hosted dialing. Use your site-premised solution all the time, but know that in times of disaster or unexpected issues, there are hosted dialing resources set aside for you if needed.
With a hybrid solution, you have the benefits of a site-premised solution, while always having a plan for extra dialing resources—just in case!
I wish I’d thought ahead…and stashed a back up VCR in the closet!
This article was written by Kendra