Hosted Vicidial vs. Local Servers ?

[boiken]

Hello !

I have heard that some call centers use Hosted Vicidial instead of Local Servers Installation.

Which are the benefits of the hosted vicidial against the local one?

Thanks

[mflorell]

With Hosted Vicidial you need less bandwidth, and you don't have to buys and maintain hardware. With an on-site system you have complete control over the system and full access to the back-end database.

[boiken]

So with hosted Vicidial i have to pay a monthly fee for the servers ?
And i have to register a carrier from the outside ?

[mflorell]

With hosted Vicidial you have to pay monthly for the service.

With some hosted vicidial services, like http://www.vicihost.com you can use our carrier services so you don't have to get your own carrier.

[proper]

Hello !

I have heard that some call centers use Hosted Vicidial instead of Local Servers Installation.

Which are the benefits of the hosted vicidial against the local one?

Thanks

Hosted solutions come with support, you offload technical issues, hardware maintenance and always have someone to call if your server is doing something wild.
Downsides are - access to the server is usually limited, customization expensive and overtime hosted solutions cost more.

Self hosted solutions cost less in the long term, allow for easier customization, you have full access to the server.
Downsides - technical issues, bugs or hardware failures can lead to downtime in hours or even days. Most call-centers keep experienced IT onsite or on retainer, to quickly address technical issues if they arise.

You need to look at what your needs and priorities are in order to decide what will fit you.

[williamconley]

Hosted solutions come with support, you offload technical issues, hardware maintenance and always have someone to call if your server is doing something wild.
Downsides are - access to the server is usually limited, customization expensive and overtime hosted solutions cost more.

Self hosted solutions cost less in the long term, allow for easier customization, you have full access to the server.
Downsides - technical issues, bugs or hardware failures can lead to downtime in hours or even days. Most call-centers keep experienced IT onsite or on retainer, to quickly address technical issues if they arise.

You need to look at what your needs and priorities are in order to decide what will fit you.

If you have enough bandwidth to cover all your calls, and a person who is (or can pass for) a technician locally, AND no likelihood of moving around, AND no need for remote access (ie: other locations hitting the server), you have no need of a hosted service.

Usually it comes down to an "essential": Not enough bandwidth is the "biggie". Even if you have great IT staff, that is a deal killer.

If your location has NO fiber available, for instance ... you can't fake that. LOL This also applies if you have a poor quality ISP. Usually even a poor quality ISP can provide enough bandwidth for a few (even 20!) phone calls, which is enough to get 20 agents access to a remotely hosted Vicidial server. However: Vicidial will often dial anywhere from 60 to 150 lines for those 20 agents, and a bad ISP will NOT be able to handle that load. Then there's the need for expansion ... a colocation facility resolves everything except that initial 20 calls requirement, the agents must be able to reach the server (to date, we've never had that fail, but we HAVE had a few clients who needed two internet connections to get enough bandwidth for all their agents to get lines).

We've had a great many clients who started out with "don't want to deal with this at all" and leased a server from us. Some have moved their server (after purchasing it from us at launch) into their own facility a few months down the road when they are more comfortable with the technology (we help with this process, and try to make the server "plug-n-play" upon arrival). Vicidial will run smoothly if you keep the smartypants fingers out of it and keep it "whitelisted" so no one attacks it.

We've also had our fair share of "our IT guy keeps screwing up the Vicidial server! Help!" LOL That being said: Usually there is an overriding "we can not deal with this" for a specific reason, other than technical support. Usually it's bandwidth, often it's "No qualitified IT person", and sometimes it is a matter of security and portability. If the client has agents in four states (or two countries) and/or wants to be sure no one can do anything to the server, having it in our colo means No One can physically touch it and cause a problem. The owner doesn't have to worry about a locked room, or remote access equipment, or any of that.

[kwab]

With Hosted Vicidial you need less bandwidth, and you don't have to buys and maintain hardware. With an on-site system you have complete control over the system and full access to the back-end database.

i think hosted vicidial offers much better performance maintain hardware is the big plus point it saves a lots of technical issues.

[williamconley]

With Hosted Vicidial you need less bandwidth, and you don't have to buys and maintain hardware. With an on-site system you have complete control over the system and full access to the back-end database.

i think hosted vicidial offers much better performance maintain hardware is the big plus point it saves a lots of technical issues.

It saves pretty much ALL the technical issues. If you do not have a staff person capable of dealing with a Vicidial/Linux server, hosted is perfect.

It's only NECESSARY if you don't have enough bandwidth at your office location, but it's often the Best Solution if you want to be able to concentrate on making money with your call center and avoid technical entanglements. Let the hosting company (The Vicidial Group, PoundTeam ... whoever ) do their job, and you concentrate on yours!

[rrb555]

i can help you install and manage your server.

[leandro]

How much bandwidth is recommended for each user attendant if I choose to put the servers in a data center, for example?

[williamconley]

100k per call