Customers share valuable data with your business every day, including names, phone numbers, addresses, payment information and other personal details that offer rich context and add value. And those customers expect you to have the contact center security solutions necessary to protect their information. A data breach or security emergency of any kind causes irreparable harm to your brand.

Contact center security involves protecting data within your center’s platform in a way that builds consumer loyalty and trust. To do this, every system, form of software and cloud environment supporting your customer experience must meet strict security standards. To protect your customers and safeguard your business, that means finding the right vendor that is as dedicated to security as you are.

When evaluating vendors, ask how they build best security practices into their contact center solutions and then be on the lookout for these 7 promises that every vendor you partner with should keep.

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

Vendors need to prove that they prioritize your contact center security by having strong internal and external security teams. They should also offer independent third-party certifications 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 likely offer the platform 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 places data security at the forefront of its contact center software strategy. Determine their compliance with personal data regulations, such as GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), where encryption practices for data in transit and data at rest ensures the vendor is ready to protect your data. Ask if several layers of encryption are in place — and what those layers consist of — to protect your data from brute-force attacks that try to breach your security.

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

Some businesses and industries have extra regulations you are required to meet, so don’t overlook specific regional or international laws and regulations. From the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) policies, your vendor should be familiar with all ordinances that go into making your contact center security as comprehensive as possible.

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 even better. Look at how a vendor built its contact center software, ask about security tools and processes and see if they 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, ensuring the rigor and safety of contact center security solutions before any software is released to customers.

5. “We automate security support.”

Automating security scanning and threat elimination processes protects data from evolving threats to your contact center security. Even better, automated processes improve via machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI); systems learn the difference between actual security threats and false positives and only act on situations and vulnerabilities that pose a risk.

6. “Our patching processes are a feature.”

As technology evolves, it is inevitable that security flaws emerge that test your contact center infrastructure. Ask potential vendors how they address security flaws and determine how they manage evolving threats. Do they avoid patching servers altogether?

Innovative vendors have a range of contact center security solutions including deploying new machine images with the latest fixes and patches. This avoids unnecessary downtime and is more reliable and repeatable than patching existing servers, further ensuring the security of your data.

7. “We anonymize your data.”

Data used for service improvements must be anonymized. When data scientists experiment with data to improve AI models, for example, they should handle only anonymized data. This further reduces the scope for data breaches. It’s important that even anonymized data access is controlled and audited as if it were production data.

Your Customers and Brand Deserve the Best

When it comes to protecting data and building trust with customers, the ongoing integrity of your contact center security is what matters most. Make sure the vendor that promises to protect your business is able to keep that promise. Ask the questions you need to feel confident in your selection process. And if a vendor doesn’t give you a definitive answer, it might not be the right solution for your business.

As you fortify your contact center operations, the right vendor will have the security practices, tools and capabilities to meet your unique business needs. And don’t forget to ask for relevant use cases and testimonials that support their security claims. When it comes to the security of your customer data and business, no amount of caution is too much.