There are a lot of acronyms in telecom—SMS, MMS, PRI, SIP; the list goes on. Now we’re adding another one: BYOC.
BYOC, or Bring Your Own Carrier (also known as Direct Routing by Microsoft), is when businesses bring the carrier of their choice with them, plugging the carrier into their existing or preferred contact center platform.
Now, I know that all sounds great, but why would you want to do that?
WHY IMPLEMENT BYOC
So why should your business go through the process of researching and picking its own carrier instead of simply using the carrier recommended or standard with your contact center solution? There’s three big reasons why:
INCREASED AGILITY
Your telephony needs can change in an instant. You may need to get new numbers, port some of your existing numbers, provision a number to a new location, and add or drop services. That can be a lot, especially if you’re trying to manage it through your contact center solution. It may even result in your contact center vendor working as a middleman with the carrier for you, a setup that is not very agile. Working directly with the carrier allows you to make changes quickly, which is especially useful when you need to pivot quickly.
Leveraging BYOC gives you agility not only in how you manage your telephony, but in how you use your telephony. Some carriers may be better suited for toll-free, while others can give you better rates on different routes. With BYOC, you have the flexibility to choose the carrier (or carriers) that suits your needs and bring them with you, ensuring you have the telephony stack that you need, not the one you’re limited to.
REDUCED COST STRUCTURES
Contact center platform providers are in the software business, not the telecom business. The phone plans embedded within many contact center solutions are great for short term convenience at the cost of having to pay a premium for that convenience. Moving to a BYOC solution can reduce what you’re paying for in regards to your telephony by letting a carrier of your choice take care of the telecom piece, while your contact center vendor handles all the facilitation and software bits.
GREATER CONTROL & VISIBILITY
You want to be in control of your telephony. You also want greater insight into your telephony—how many phone numbers do you have? How many minutes are being used? What numbers are being used and which ones are just sitting there?
Powering your telephony through your contact center solution can mean putting in a ticket every time you need to port a phone number or make a change to your voice services. Using a BYOC solution, however, lets you control your telephony directly, making changes as you need them and giving you insight into how your services are being used.
PICKING YOUR BYOC PROVIDER
So you know why you should implement a BYOC solution, but what should you look for in your carrier?
THE NETWORK
A network that can support your setup is crucial. Whether you’re on-prem, in the cloud, or in a hybrid solution, picking a carrier with a network that gives you reliability and the connections you want is important.
THE FEATURES YOU NEED
Make sure you’re getting the features you need from your carrier without paying for unnecessary features. Need toll-free? Make sure your carrier can provide it. Don’t need messaging? Be sure you’re not paying for a service you don’t need.
A FEATURE-RICH DASHBOARD + SUPPORT
Finding a carrier with the right support and a feature-rich dashboard for onboarding and day-to-day upkeep puts you in control. Not only does it give you a better experience, it ensures you’re getting the most out of your BYOC solution.
ABOUT BANDWIDTH
Bandwidth is an enterprise-grade CPaaS provider, combining powerful APIs with an owned and operated tier 1 nationwide all-IP voice network. Bandwidth partners with companies like Bright Pattern to provide powerful communications to customers across the country, powering voice, messaging, and 911 access. Learn more about Bandwidth at https://www.bandwidth.com .
