A Simple Guide to Customer Contact Center Software

Choosing the right customer contact center software isn’t just a technology decision. It’s a strategic move that directly affects buyer satisfaction and agent performance.

So many vendors promise to transform your support operations. How do you cut through the noise to find contact-center-as-a-service (CCaaS) solutions that truly work for your business?

Rather than add to your selection headache with a bunch of overlapping tools, we’ve picked the best from three key categories: communication, workforce management, and customer relationship management. 

Read on to learn more and see our software matchmaking guide at the bottom.

Why Investing in the Right Contact Center Software Matters

Contact centers have come a long way from just handling phone calls, with modern customers demanding rapid responses through various channels. One Zoom survey found that 88% of consumers want fast resolutions and 85% value omnichannel support.

The right call center solution helps brands meet these expectations by delivering trust-building customer experiences (CX) efficiently and within budget. 

Such products increasingly fall under the CCaaS umbrella: flexible cloud-based solutions that help companies manage, measure, and inform sales and support interactions without huge investment. 

These are also known as cloud contact center software. They contrast with on-premises (or on-site) software solutions, which require companies to manage their own infrastructure, updates, and maintenance.

For example, well-integrated, intuitive tech lets agents seamlessly switch between web chat, email, and phone system support while keeping full visibility of customer history. It means they can make every interaction feel smooth and personal, and enjoy smooth workflows.

The wrong tech choices have the opposite effect. They slow call center processes to frustrate customers, lengthen call queues, and ultimately reduce profitability.

Imagine a contact center using a stack of unintuitive, unintegrated solutions. Resolutions take longer. Customers must repeat details. Agents give inaccurate information because they can’t find data fast enough. All classic reasons for buyers to ditch brands.

Poor tech choices cause attrition in high-volume roles, too. In a Ricoh survey of European workers, 24% identified software and technology quality as one of the main reasons they considered leaving their jobs.

The more solutions your contact center needs, the bigger the investment and the greater the pressure to make good choices for your team and customers.

Key Types of Customer Contact Center Software

While there’s no real end to the list of software you could add, the three most important categories to nail from day one are as follows:

• Call and communication management platforms that organize and facilitate customer interactions across voice, chat, email, and social channels. They make it easier to deliver seamless, efficient support experiences.
• Workforce management and hiring solutions that help companies build and develop skilled, adaptable agent workforces. They reduce attrition and improve service quality over time.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) tools that centralize contact data, giving agents the context they need to personalize support interactions and fix issues faster. Some CRMs also support sales teams and marketers.

In high-performing contact centers, these tools don’t work in isolation. They work as one to help agents grow customer engagement.

CRMs surface customer history during a call. Hiring tools ensure agents can handle tough conversations. Communication platforms route those inbound calls effectively. 

So, choose systems that integrate—or at least exchange data—to unlock true CX gains. 

Here’s how to pick the best cloud-based call center solutions (i.e., SaaS products) across the key categories, with some recommendations to get you started.

Best Call and Communication Management Solutions

At the heart of any help desk operation is the contact center platform that manages customer communications.

These centralized solutions handle everything from routing incoming calls to the most suitable agents to scheduling outbound calls and providing real-time analytics on call volumes. 

That means they directly affect the experience of every manager, agent, and customer.

Key features of call and communication management software include:

• Interactive voice response (IVR) systems that efficiently direct customers to the appropriate department or self-service option
• Automatic call distribution (ACD) to intelligently route calls based on agent skills, availability, and customer needs
• Omnichannel routing that unifies management of voice, email, chat, SMS, and social media interactions
• Call recording and quality assurance tools for training and compliance (also known as call monitoring)
• Real-time dashboards and reporting to monitor metrics like average wait time and customer satisfaction
• Integration capabilities with CRM systems and other business tools

Two solutions that reliably deliver all this and more are NICE and Talkdesk.

Best for Enterprise Contact Management: NICE CXone Mpower

NICE CXone Mpower is a cloud-based platform for managing customer interactions at scale, supported by artificial intelligence (AI).

It combines all the best call center software provider features in an all-in-one system, including call routing, omnichannel engagement, and performance analytics. Add-ons are also available for self-service AI (e.g., intelligent chatbots) and summarizing interactions.

The platform is especially strong for contact centers that need tight control over customer journeys and agent performance. It’s highly customizable, so you can design routing flows and reporting dashboards to match precise business needs.

NICE CXone’s key features:

• Smart IVR and ACD direct callers to the right agent based on real-time factors like availability, skills, and caller history
• Omnichannel routing unifies telephony, email, SMS, web chat, and social messaging inside one relatively simple interface
• Call and screen recording to support agent training and regulatory compliance
• Performance management dashboards show live and historical KPI data like wait times and CSAT scores
• Built-in quality management includes artificial intelligence (AI) tools that analyze tone, sentiment, and script adherence
• CRM integration options with platforms like Salesforce, Oracle, and SAP give agents full context during customer calls

Here’s a call center director’s take on NICE CXone:

“We’ve found the CXone platform to be a good choice for our business. The cloud-based infrastructure is reliable, and it has a plethora of powerful features that help us enhance customer, agent, and manager experiences. We appreciate the unified suite of tools, including integrated workforce management, omnichannel capabilities, capable IVR, easy access to call recordings, and fairly robust reporting.”

Pricing: NICE has seven pricing tiers, ranging from $71 to $249 per agent per month. Omnichannel support (i.e., digital and voice) comes with packages starting at $110.

Best for Contact Management in Growing Businesses: Talkdesk

Talkdesk is a modern contact center solution that balances a user-friendly interface with enterprise-level capabilities. It’s a good fit for growing teams that want to set up fast and keep tools easy to manage.

One of Talkdesk’s key strengths is its visual, no-code setup tools. Most configurations, from IVR system flows to routing rules and reporting dashboards, can be managed without a developer. That means less disruption and more uptime for your contact center. 

The platform also has strong omnichannel capabilities and real-time analytics, giving managers the visibility they need to support high-performing teams.

Talkdesk’s key features:

• Studio IVR offers drag-and-drop tools to build and test call flows quickly
• Skills-based routing uses agent capabilities and availability to handle calls more efficiently
• Outbound dialer with features for managing contact lists (e.g., phone numbers and customer information) and scheduling calls
• Quality Management helps managers review and score interactions, with options for AI-powered call summaries
• Talkdesk Live provides real-time dashboards showing call volume, wait times, agent status, and other key metrics
• Voicemail transcription to give agents full context before they call back
• Prebuilt CRM integrations connect with Salesforce, Pipedrive, and Verint, keeping customer records in sync automatically

Here’s what one enterprise user said about Talkdesk:

“Talkdesk is supremely customizable, both with native features and with APIs. Almost everything is built from the customer perspective with low or no code. Our agents and supervisors love having access to live dashboards. They can customize what information is relevant to them, and it helps them be more independent with their schedules.”

Pricing: Use of core features starts at around $75 per user/month, with custom pricing for enterprise packages.

Best Workforce Management and Talent Solutions for Contact Centers

Workforce management and hiring software helps contact centers navigate huge talent pools, combat high turnover rates, and accurately assess candidates’ soft skills.

For example, the right software doesn’t just improve hiring accuracy. It streamlines onboarding and strengthens long-term agent retention. That’s valuable when you consider the average cost of one bad hire can be $14,900. Over time, contact centers that invest in beneficial tools can build a more capable, resilient team of agents.

Features to prioritize in your workforce management and hiring solution are:

• Skills-based assessments that evaluate communication abilities, problem-solving, and empathy
• Language proficiency testing beyond basic comprehension
• Simulation capabilities to present realistic customer scenarios
• AI-powered evaluation to reduce bias and increase accuracy
• Integration with existing HR systems and applicant tracking software
• Data-driven insights to refine hiring criteria and predict performance
• Streamlined candidate experience to reduce application abandonment

Here’s our the top talent and workforce management tools you’ll also find valuable:

Best for Strengthening Your Workforce: HiringBranch

HiringBranch transforms how contact centers hire and train agents through AI-powered assessments that accurately predict on-the-job performance.

Unlike traditional assessment methods that rely on multiple-choice questions or standard language tests, HiringBranch evaluates real-world communication skills through job-specific scenarios. For instance, this open-ended chat simulation for an inbound call center role:

The results? Better quality of hire, smoother onboarding, and lower turnover rates. In other words, a more efficient and profitable contact center.

HiringBranch’s key features:

• Better hiring performance guaranteed
• An AI open-ended ‘job preview’ question format that is four times more reliable than multiple choice
• A full-service team to tailor AI algorithms and assessment content and analyse the resulting data
• Baked-in CEFR language scoring equivalency
• Skill-gap analysis and training for data-driven team development

Here’s how one HiringBranch user described their experience:

“It’s been a pleasure working with HiringBranch for our organization. Support is always available, and [they] are able to brainstorm and curate customized solutions. We have been able to add personalized features to serve our needs and ensure seamless integration despite geographical variability. The test itself is great and really tests the critical thinking of participants.”

Check out our case studies for more stories from real customer service teams.

HiringBranch pricing: Instead of listing rigid pricing options, HiringBranch tailors plans to each contact center’s needs. Get in touch to discuss your challenges and get an accurate quote.

Best for Optimizing Team Performance: Verint Workforce Management

Verint is a workforce management tool built for modern contact centers. The software combines forecasting, scheduling, quality assurance, and performance management in a single system, aiming to reduce context switching for faster, stress-free workflows.

Verint’s record proves it can handle workforce management in high-volume service environments. Users span the finance, tech, insurance, and retail sectors, with notable clients including Navy Federal Credit Union, Stanley Black & Decker, and Greenshield.

Verint’s key features:

• AI that uses historical data and trends to predict staffing needs and allocate resources
• A flexible scheduling tool (TimeFlex Bot) that lets agents adjust schedules without manager involvement
• Workforce Management Scorecards that give a view into employee efficiency and effectiveness
• Real-time adherence monitoring lets supervisors track whether agents are following their schedules
• Mobile accessibility through the WorkView app lets agents manage shifts, request time off, and swap schedules on the go

Here’s what one enterprise user said about Verint:

“[Verint’s] forecasting and scheduling, time-off request, and shift bidding are awesome and have enabled our contact center team leaders to focus on coaching and managing their associates instead of managing time off.” 

Verint pricing: Verint doesn’t publish pricing information. Contact the company’s representatives for more details on what the system can do for your contact center.

Best CRM and Analytics Solutions for Contact Centers

Customer relationship management (CRM) and analytics systems are the backbone of personalized service delivery. They give agents the context they need to resolve issues quickly while showing managers valuable insights into customer journeys and team performance.

The right CRM software will help you track customers’ entire histories, including marketing touchpoints (e.g., email opens), purchases, and support tickets.

This data helps agents reference previous conversations and tailor their service to achieve better outcomes. In fact, 75% of sales and marketing leaders told SugarCRM that a centralized customer view is essential for delivering great customer experiences.

Internally, a CRM will help with some performance analytics aspects.

While communication and workforce management tools typically cover contact center agents’ KPIs (e.g., time-to-resolution, calls handled), CRMs focus on sales performance. You can see how contact center software investments affect retention, upselling, and overall customer loyalty.

It’s vital to get the right CRM and performance analytics tool for your contact center. Three-quarters of SugarCRM’s survey respondents said their biggest CRM frustrations are complexity, a lack of user-friendliness, and the inability to customize. 

Here are two systems that won’t let you down.

Best for Enterprise Customer Support Teams: Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud is an enterprise-level CRM platform built for customer support teams. 

The software has robust tools for managing customer data and automating service workflows, making it well-suited to companies with complex support needs.

Service Cloud is highly customizable, like other parts of the Salesforce ecosystem. Its flexibility lets teams tailor the platform to specific call center operations.

Key features of Salesforce Service Cloud:

• 360-degree customer profiles that consolidate interaction history across all digital channels
• AI-powered Einstein recommendations for faster issue resolution
• Extensive customization capabilities through clicks or code
• Powerful automation tools for repetitive tasks and common workflows
• Robust reporting and analytics to identify service trends and opportunities
• Extensive integration marketplace with thousands of pre-built connectors

One reviewer said this about Salesforce Service Cloud:

“Salesforce Service Cloud empowers our contact center and customer success team members to centralize customer touchpoints and create a comprehensive customer profile.”

Pricing: Plans start at $25 per user per month for basic functionality, although most contact centers will need the Pro ($100), Enterprise ($160), or Unlimited ($330) tiers (prices for annual billing).

Best for Sales, Marketing, and Service Support: Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a more streamlined CRM solution that has won awards for being easy to use and implement. It delivers powerful sales, marketing, and customer support functionality through a simple, intuitive interface.

While there’s not as much customization on offer as with Salesforce, users can still create their own data fields and reports. CRM integrations are also available for sharing contact data through messaging, cloud storage, and project management apps.

Pipedrive is well-suited to contact centers with embedded sales functions and those requiring quick setup and minimal training. For example, salespeople can log interactions, deal statuses, and customer preferences, giving their support colleagues helpful context for handling inquiries.

Key strengths:

• Intuitive, visual interface that agents can adapt to quickly
• Customizable sales pipelines, adaptable to unique workflows
• Automated data capture to minimize admin and ensure accuracy
• Activity tracking and reminders to ensure consistent follow-up
• Email integration with templates and engagement tracking
• Advanced reporting and forecasting capabilities (including sales performance predictions)
• Competitive pricing for small to mid-sized customer service operations

One user in the financial services sector said this about Pipedrive:

“I love the customization and the integration options. Having our phone and text system integrate as well as our booking system through Calendly log all interactions with clients has been so helpful. Ensuring the capture of certain data points during new client meetings with important fields and data field customization has also been very helpful to us. Customer support has also been top notch.”

Pricing: Starts at $14 per user per month (billed annually), although the Power ($64) and Enterprise ($99) plans are much better suited to large teams and contact center use.

Contact Center Software Finder: Which Tools Do You Need?

Not sure which contact center technologies would best address your challenges? 

Answer the following questions to build a clearer picture of your priorities, then match them to the recommendations that follow.

What are your biggest operational pain points? (Select up to two)

• High agent turnover and hiring challenges
• Poor customer satisfaction scores
• Inefficient call routing and long wait times
• Lack of insight into performance metrics
• Difficulty managing multiple communication channels
• Inconsistent service quality across agents

Software Matchmaking Guide: See What Your Answers Reveal

Use your above responses to guide your software priorities.

Start with the areas that match your biggest pain points, then layer in tools that fit your size, budget, and integration needs. Consider questions like:

• How would you describe your current contact center size?
• Which communication channels do you currently support? 
• What are your top priorities for improvement (operational costs, CX, hiring etc.)
• What level of integration do you need with other business systems?
• What is your approximate technology budget per agent per month?

Below are your customer contact center software matches!

1. If hiring, workforce management, or agent quality is your top challenge: Start with better people management software.

🛠 HiringBranch helps high-volume teams assess communication skills, predict success, and reduce bad hires by up to 400%.

🛠 Verint Workforce Management is ideal if you’re focused on scheduling, forecasting, and adherence—especially in larger or complex operations.

✅ Why it matters: Better hiring and scheduling improve team performance, retention, and customer satisfaction.

2. If customer experience or communication is your pain point: Focus on communication platforms that scale.

🛠 Talkdesk is a user-friendly, fast-to-deploy option for smaller teams.

🛠 NICE CXone offers enterprise-grade call routing, analytics, and omnichannel engagement.

✅ Why it matters: The right platform reduces friction across channels and makes every customer interaction smoother and faster.

3. If your hiring process is still manual or outdated: You’ll benefit from structured, predictive hiring tools.

🛠 HiringBranch replaces guesswork with job simulations and AI scoring, helping you hire faster and smarter.

✅ Why it matters: Structured hiring saves time and reduces costly onboarding issues.

4. If scalability, productivity, or integration is your next hurdle: Invest in tools that work well together.

🛠 Salesforce Service Cloud is highly customizable and integrates across enterprise systems.

🛠 Verint offers smart forecasting, agent self-scheduling, and KPIs to manage growing teams.

🛠 NICE CXone also integrates with CRMs and WFM tools to support complex environments.

✅ Why it matters: Seamless workflows and shared data unlock growth and boost performance.

5. If you’re on a tight budget: Start with essentials that deliver impact.

🛠 Talkdesk covers key communication features without high complexity or cost.

🛠 Pipedrive is a lightweight CRM with sales and support tools that are easy to use and scale.

🛠 HiringBranch can pay for itself quickly by reducing mis-hires and streamlining onboarding.

✅ Why it matters: You don’t need a huge budget to build an efficient, customer-focused operation.

If your answers span multiple areas, consider building a full-stack solution that combines solutions. Above all, look for platforms that integrate easily and scale with your needs.

And remember: the right tech combination depends on your unique situation. Request demos from the solutions that match your profile to see how they align with your needs.

It’s Time to Optimize Your Contact Center Tech Stack

There’s no hiding it: your choice of contact center software can make or break customers’ brand experience. It’ll even help determine your agents’ enthusiasm and job satisfaction.

The good news? You can make an informed decision with long-term benefits as long as you focus on outcomes, not features.

With happier customers and a team of super-productive agents, you’ll soon find your competitors are scrambling to keep up.

Image Credits

Feature Image: Unsplash/Anastassia Anufrieva

Image 1: Via Zoom

Image 2: Via G2

Image 3: Via Talkdesk

Image 4–5: Property of HiringBranch. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Image 6: Via Verint

Image 7: Via SugarCRM

Image 8: Via Salesforce

Image 9: Via Pipedrive

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