What Is a Hosted Predictive Dialer? Everything You Need to Know

These days, moving outbound dialer technology to the cloud is becoming more important. When you have remote or hybrid workers, maintaining sales or customer service momentum is paramount to your team’s success. A hosted predictive dialer — one stored and accessed via the cloud — has become the go-to solution versus on-premises dialers. With its accessibility, enhanced features, and increased compliance, it’s easy to see why.

Let’s take a look at why predictive dialer software is fast becoming the only solution worth considering if you need to implement an outbound dialer.

What Is a Hosted Predictive Dialer?

A hosted predictive dialer is outbound dialing software that automates outbound calls using algorithms that optimize dialing and connect available agents to live respondents.

It mimics the functionality and workflow of a traditional predictive dialer you might have installed on-site but adds extra features and cost efficiencies.

Key features

Auto-dialer software introduces the ability to make outbound calls without call center agents needing to dial numbers. This reduces the potential for misdials and makes the outbound calling process more efficient.

On top of basic dialing — using phone numbers from call lists or databases — expect a hosted predictive dialer to have the following:

• Predictive dialing algorithms that maximize agent talk time
• Integration with CRMs for seamless data access
• Built-in compliance features like Do Not Call (DNC) lists and DNC list management
• Reporting and analytics for campaign performance tracking
• Answering machine detection to stop calls from leaving blank messages
• Automatic caller ID for callbacks

How it works

A hosted dialer is hosted on your service provider’s cloud infrastructure. Your agents access the dialer technology by logging into their contact center solution with a username and password over an internet connection.

The dialer then looks up phone numbers to be called from your contact list and uses call metrics (e.g., average call duration, abandonment rates, and dialing rate) to predict agent availability. The most suitable agent for your chosen criteria then gets a new call placed for them.

In the background, predictive dialing places multiple calls simultaneously to maximize agent productivity and increase the chance of an answer. While the technology makes multiple calls at once, a call only gets connected to agents when a live person answers — so there’s no agent idle time waiting for a caller to answer.

Benefits of Hosted Predictive Dialers

Advantages over on-premises systems

Scalability

Unlike an on-premises dialer, where you need to buy equipment and install it each time, you can easily scale up or down with a hosted dialer to match campaign size or seasonality.

There’s no need for hardware upgrades or maintenance, as everything gets taken care of in the cloud. Your service provider has a large supply of servers and kits managed across distributed data centers, ready for consumption and upgrades at the click of a button.

Cost efficiency

Thanks to the lack of on-site equipment, there are no up-front infrastructure costs associated with hosted dialers. What’s more, you benefit from pay-as-you-go pricing rather than having to meet monthly commitments to earn calling discounts.

In addition to the cost savings of a hosted dialer, you no longer need in-house IT teams to manage or maintain hardware.

Flexibility

In a traditional on-site dialer setup, staff are only useful when they’re in the office making phone calls.

Hosted dialers allow your team to access the dialer and call center technology from anywhere with an internet connection. As a result, you can set up remote teams and hybrid work models without worrying about access to on-premises technology.

Regular updates

Arguably the biggest benefit of any cloud-based technology is the speed in accessing software updates, new features, and security patches. Removing the reliance on admins and IT to test, run, and troubleshoot updates, cloud technology is always talking to its host servers and updating with the latest versions.

There’s no expended effort from your IT teams, and everyone is always on the most recent version available.

Faster time-to-value

Getting started with predictive dialer software means deployment within days (or even hours for small implementations) compared to months for on-premises systems.

As there’s minimal training and no shipping of kit, getting up and running is as simple as buying licenses and configuring users.

Enhanced compliance

One of the biggest drawbacks to using on-premises dialers is the risk of nonadherence to various regulations.

Hosted dialer technology often comes with automated adherence to regulations like TCPA, GDPR, and other industry-specific guidelines, reducing legal risks.

General benefits

Improved productivity

Agents spend more time talking to prospects rather than dialing numbers or handling voicemail. There’s no downtime when upgrading for new features or adding new members of staff.

Real-time insights

Campaign dashboards help managers monitor and optimize performance on the fly. You can make tweaks based on in-flight data as well as historical reporting and trends.

Multichannel capabilities

With best-in-class dialers, you can extend functionality to include inbound voice, SMS, email, and chat for more holistic outreach.

Drawbacks of a Hosted Predictive Dialer

Reliance on internet connectivity

When choosing a hosted dialer, performance is dependent on stable internet access. If your internet goes down, disruptions can halt operations. In the age of redundant internet connectivity and backups, this is rarely a problem.

Subscription costs

Long-term subscription fees may exceed the cost of owning on-premises hardware for some businesses. If you only make a small number of calls and already own an on-site dialer, it may be more beneficial to wait to replace it when it reaches end of life.

Customization limits

Some hosted solutions may not offer the level of customization possible with on-prem systems. If you’re used to a Cisco dialer, for example, you may have complex workflows that depend on Cisco-specific settings.

Data security concerns

Businesses must trust third-party providers with sensitive customer and business data. In some industries, this may violate data storage policies. Always check with your legal team before implementing a new dialer system.

Let’s Compare Dialers

Here are the types of dialers available on the market. When comparing auto dialers vs. predictive dialers, you’ll see each has its best use case and specific advantages and disadvantages.

Find the right dialer for your call center using the table below.

Type of Dialer	Description	Best For	Advantages	Disadvantages
Predictive Dialer	Predicts agent availability to minimize downtime and maximize talk time	High-volume campaigns	High efficiency and call volume	Dialing modes that may drop live calls if not tuned properly
Power Dialer	Calls one number at a time for each agent	Personalized outreach	High call quality and no dropped calls	Slower than predictive dialers
Preview Dialer	Allows agents to view customer details before dialing	High-value or complex leads	Improved personalization and preparation	Slower dialing speed
Progressive Dialer	Waits for agent availability before dialing	Balanced outreach strategies	Reliable call connection	Moderate dialing speed

Use Cases for Hosted Predictive Dialer Solutions

Sales campaigns

The most popular use case for any dialer is increasing outbound sales reach. Opting for a hosted predictive dialer boosts agent productivity during cold calling and lead nurturing.

Debt collection

When you rely on auto dialing for bill payment, you can automate follow-ups and even send messages to overdue payers. All the while, you’re ensuring compliance with legal regulations without the need for manual intervention.

Customer retention

When a customer makes a purchase or uses your support team, they benefit from automated customer satisfaction surveys to monitor agent performance and customer experience.

Event promotions

If you’ve planned a large event, use your dialer to increase outreach to drive event registration. Once registered, automate follow-ups to remind attendees closer to the time of the event.

Political campaigns

A predictive dialer optimizes voter outreach and fundraising efforts by streamlining calls for canvassing, voter registration, and event promotion. Automate reminders to voters about key dates, like election day or fundraising deadlines, to ensure maximum engagement and compliance with regulations.

Nextiva: Moving Away From On-Prem

Hosted predictive dialers offer unmatched scalability, flexibility, and cost savings when compared to on-premises systems. They are particularly suited for businesses focused on improving efficiency and modernizing their operations.

When it comes to outbound call center software, Nextiva’s intelligent auto-dialer software is the top pick for businesses looking to scale outbound calling without incurring unnecessary expenses.

The software is included in our VoIP call center, meaning you also get a rich suite of tools to help you manage agent-customer interactions efficiently, all at a cost-effective price.

Top features include:

• Smart call routing
• Call recording and analytics
• CRM integration with Salesforce
• Enhanced call tracking
• Interactive voice response

Pricing starts at $129 per user per month (billed annually), and you can combine outbound calling with email, SMS, and chat in one platform.

Getting started is simple thanks to quick onboarding and an easy-to-use interface. There’s minimal training needed, and our award-winning 24/7 customer support team is on hand when you need them.

Once set up, you get real-time insights into call performance, agent productivity, and campaign ROI, ensuring you always perform to the best of your ability.

Ready to optimize your outbound calling? You need Nextiva Call Center.