Seven security promises your contact centre vendor should keep

Every day, customers share valuable data with your business. Names, phone numbers, addresses, payment information and other personal details that offer rich context. And those customers expect you to protect that sensitive information. A data breach or security emergency of any kind can cause irreparable harm to your brand.

Protecting that data within your contact centre platform builds consumer loyalty and trust. To do so, every system, software and server that supports your customer experience must meet strict security standards. Work with the right people; find a vendor as dedicated to protecting your customers — and safeguarding your business — as you are.

When evaluating cloud contact centre vendors, start with their security practices. Here are seven promises every vendor you do business with should keep.

1. “We take security seriously — and have the certifications to prove it.”

Contact centre vendors should have strong internal and external security teams. Plus, they should offer vendor-neutral assurance that their cloud platform, in particular, is safe and secure. Be on the lookout for industry-leading security standards, such as SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. Vendors with these certifications can offer the robust platform security you need to keep your customers — and your brand — safe.

2. “We have the encryption capabilities to protect your customer and company data.”

Look for a vendor that puts data security at the forefront of its contact centre software strategy. Determine its compliance with personal data regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA. Encryption practices for data in transit and data at rest can ensure the vendor is ready to protect your data. Ask if several layers of encryption are in place to protect your data from brute-force attacks — and what those layers consist of.

3. “We understand and comply with privacy laws and ordinances.”

Some businesses and industries have extra regulations you must meet. Don’t drop the ball on specific regional or international laws and regulations. From the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to strict PCI standards, your contact centre vendor should be familiar with all ordinances.

4. “Our security is built from the ground up.”

Integrating security protocols or measures into existing software is good practice. But having cloud-native security built right into the software from Day One is better. Look at how a vendor built its contact centre software. Ask about security tools and processes. See if the vendor can adapt and react to evolving security threats.

A few best practices to look for include:

• Continual testing using commercial and in-house automated toolsets
• Static and dynamic code analysis
• Vulnerability assessments

Third-party penetration testing provides unbiased security feedback and ensures that software is safe before it’s released to customers.

5. “We automate security support.”

Automating security scanning and threat elimination processes protects data from evolving security threats. Even better, automated processes improve via machine learning and artificial intelligence. Systems learn the difference between actual security threats and false positives. Then they only act on situations and vulnerabilities that pose a risk to the business.

6. “Our patching processes are a feature.”

As technology evolves, security flaws are bound to emerge. Ask potential contact centre vendors how they address security flaws. Determine how they manage evolving threats. Do they avoid patching servers altogether? Innovative vendors will create and deploy new machine images with the latest fixes and patches. Deploying new machine images avoids unnecessary downtime. Plus, it’s more reliable and repeatable than patching existing servers. It enhances reliability and ensures the security of your data.

7. “We have a reliable disaster recovery plan.”

Disasters come in many forms. Whether it’s human error, a downed power line or a catastrophic weather event, you need to prepare. Having a plan in place to keep services up and running is imperative to your ability to serve your customers. Any vendor you do business with should be confident in its ability to load-balance data and processes across data centres.

Your customers and brand deserve the best

At the end of the day, the vendor that promises to protect your business should keep that promise. Ask the questions you need to feel confident in your selection process. If a vendor doesn’t give you a definitive answer, it might not be the right solution for your business.

The right vendor will have the security practices, tools and capabilities your unique business needs. Ask for relevant use cases and customer stories that support its security claims. When it comes to the security of your customer data and business, no amount of caution is too much.