Build vs. Buy CTI: Future-Proofing Your InvestmentBuild vs. Buy CTI: Future-Proofing Your Investment

When you’re thinking about buying software, the question “should we make this ourselves?” often arises. If you're looking at a simple project, the risks and costs of a homegrown solution are minimal. What’s the worst that could happen? However, when it comes to an enterprise software purchase like computer telephony integration (CTI), the decision isn't as easy.

A CTI connector brings voice into the customer relationship management (CRM) application. With features like screen pop, CRM screen transfer, and automated call logging, CTI makes it simple for agents in a call center, service desk, or sales department to find caller information, easily transfer calls between departments and save data -- all at lightning speed. Implementing a CTI solution adds up to increased productivity for employees and reduced costs for the center.

One of the biggest attractions of building your own solution is the ability to customize. After all, who could understand your company's needs better than your own employees? With team members who have the skills to develop a product with no external costs already on the payroll, staying in-house is an attractive option.

So Why Does Anyone Buy CTI?

For starters, CTI isn’t a simple application, it’s one that needs to be asynchronous and real-time -- both of which contribute to subtle nuances in its development. As a connector, the software needs to be compatible with a phone system while working within a CRM. This adds levels of complexity that are far beyond normal Web programming.

Even if your own teams can build you a solution that does everything you currently need it to, they’ll also need the bandwidth to maintain and develop it as time goes on.

It’s no secret that the pace of technological change is rapidly increasing. It’s a serious, ongoing commitment of resources to keep your in-house solution from becoming outdated. A rule of thumb is that 70% of software costs occur after implementation because of ongoing investment of resources -- resources that could be better devoted to the products you sell. Purchasing a CTI solution can ensure that you receive ongoing feature and compatibility updates, and have 24/7 support. This is where an established CTI provider really shines.

Moving Forward with the Right Solution

With standard CTI features, organizations can often reduce their call times by an average of one minute or more, so build or buy, CTI can achieve some big results.

If buying is starting to make sense but you want the customization benefits of what typically comes from building your own, look for solution providers that can anticipate what you’ll need with flexible configuration options right out of the box, plus optional workflows to meet your unique needs.

InGenius is 100% focused on CTI, so you don't have to be. Watch how InGenius can improve the productivity of your phone representatives. Click here to view.