Convenience is a major factor in cloud computing these days, and that goes for IVR systems as well. For hassle-free access to apps like IVR systems, there’s nothing better than the cloud.

In fact, there’s no doubt that the cloud has opened up a whole range of new applications for organizations that couldn’t have otherwise gained access to those applications.

In IVR, the traditional approach was for organizations to purchase an IVR system from a vendor, and then maybe have the vendor install the system and possibly be around for consulting, but that’s it. The job of maintaining the system came down to the IT folks at the organization. (Some still do it this way.)

Cloud computing has changed things, though. Today, organizations can access apps in the cloud similarly to how they get their mobile devices. Vendors offer access to the app via software as a service (SaaS), and the customers simply choose a monthly usage plan and pay that. The maintenance is all done by the vendor.

One potential problem with this approach is that the customer is giving up control over what kinds of hardware their IVR system uses. The customer hopes they’ll be using the most efficient hardware available to lessen overall costs, but sometimes that’s not the case.

According to the BBC, research performed by Deutsch Telekom Laboratories in Germany and Aalto University in Finland on Amazon’s EC2 cloud service show that the choice the vendor makes for the hardware is important. Most notably, the processors.

In a nutshell, it’s important that the vendor is using the latest, fastest processors. The research found that older processors could slow servers down by as much as 40 percent, according to the BBC.