For many, CCaaS is viewed as the golden ticket to customer experience modernization.
With enterprises under growing pressure to scale up their CX platforms, and legacy systems struggling to keep pace with the agility, insight, and innovation that today’s customers expect, CCaaS offers real hope.
However, when it comes to moving to CCaaS solutions, the path isn’t always obvious.
Should organizations go for a straight ‘lift-and-shift’, or adopt a more gradual, continuous approach?
For Joseph Kelly, Solutions Architect at Miratech, the first thing to look at when considering a CCaaS migration is “how an enterprise can consume its transformation.”
He emphasizes the importance of understanding the people who are going to be involved and how much work they can actually put into it: how much change can your agents handle at one time? How much can your customers consume?
Kelly likens sudden, large-scale migrations to visiting a familiar website one day and finding it completely redesigned.
“You spend most of the time trying to figure out where all the content you usually consume is,” he says.
You really would look back and think this has taken way more time than I would have liked. You never want to get into that situation when moving from an on-premise system to a CCaaS platform.
Lift & Shift or Lift & Shine
In a nutshell, lift-and-shift migrations move existing systems and processes largely as they are.
The appeal is clear: speed and simplicity. For enterprises seeking to consolidate operations quickly or retire on-premise infrastructure, this can seem practical.
But there is an alternative that more fully exploits the capabilities of cloud and avoids just moving existing problems into a new environment: lift-and-shine.
“Look at what you have today that works and what you can move over without being too disruptive,” Kelly advises. “And then modernize from there.”
“That’s really the core of what we can call lift-and-shine.”
The key is minimizing disruption for both agents and customers while maintaining continuity and improving over time.
Continuous Iteration
Continuous iteration – or “continuous enhancement,” as Kelly prefers – allows new capabilities to be rolled out gradually, and existing processes to be adjusted over time.
“One of the main benefits is that you can time changes around contracts and new feature releases,” he explains.
You want to make sure you’re getting the most out of that vendor contract, so you’re not leaving money on the table.
This approach reduces the risk of overwhelming teams or customers, smoothing the change journey towards a fully-modernized CX environment.
The main drawback of this approach is that it takes patience, something that is usually in fairly short demand in the CX tech space.
Gradual adoption demands strong change management and the discipline to resist a ‘one-and-done’ mindset.
Making the Choice
Like any major customer service and experience implementation decision, multiple factors are in play when it comes to thinking about CCaaS migrations.
Cost is certainly a big one: lift-and-shift may seem to be more cost-effective in the short-term, but it risks hidden expenses later.
Continuous iteration, on the other hand, spreads costs and risk, but requires sustained effort.
Business priorities matter too. Enterprises focused on speed to market or compliance deadlines may initially lean towards a lift-and-shift approach. But those prioritizing innovation, adaptability, and long-term CX improvements may prefer iteration.
Aligning Strategy with Outcomes
It is clear from Kelly’s insights that CCaaS migration is far more than a technical move; it’s a holistic choice affecting agents, customers, and business outcomes.
Success requires understanding the organization’s capacity for change, evaluating risk, and aligning strategy with broader CX goals.
Partnering with experienced CX experts can really help to get it right. “It’s about looking beyond platforms,” Kelly says.
It’s about how you can deliver a better customer experience while moving toward continuous enhancement.
At the end of the day, the right decision leads to an approach that will enable leaders to set up an organization for sustainable CX transformation, balancing efficiency with the evolving expectations of digital-first customers.
You can hear more from Joseph Kelly on the truth about CCaaS migrations by checking out this exclusive interview with CX Today.
You can also discover Miratech’s full suite of solutions and services by visiting the website today.
