After the pandemic hit, the demand for cloud and CCaaS solutions skyrocketed as businesses of all sizes scrambled to adapt to the new environment.
Since the shift happened so abruptly, many organisations did not have time to think through the entire migration process, leading to numerous challenges and delays in deployment.
Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst, ZK Research, hosts Brian Atkinson, VP and GM EMEA, Five9, and Fernando Egea, Global VP of AI, Talkdesk, for a discussion on what bumps in the road companies should watch out for when migrating their contact centre.
Before the pandemic, the reason for migration from on-prem to CCaaS was cost and speed. Over the last few years, the innovation in this space accelerated the move. But what are the essential motives for moving to CCaaS?
Brian Atkinson, VP and GM EMEA, Five9, says: “I think there are three key points for migration, the first one being nimbleness. The second one is around boundaryless access to data. And lastly, there is the opportunity to leverage AI.”
“Companies are now embracing that shift to be able to take advantage of those key points.”
Building on Atkinson’s point, Fernando Egea, Global VP of AI, Talkdesk, cites the pandemic as the primary catalyst for innovation.
“In pre-pandemic time, companies were experimenting will a lot of innovation. All of a sudden, we’ve seen a move from piloting and testing the water to full-blown production deployments of AI in a very short time frame.
“When the pandemic hit, the world became digital overnight.”
The reasons for migration can be multifold, says Egea. From software that identifies the reasons behind customer calls to various tools that empower agents, contact centre migration aims to cut down costs and increase effectiveness.
Risky Business
Two years into ‘the new normal’, there are still organisations hesitant about migration due to the unpredictable challenges that endeavour brings. Egea thinks not utilising innovations that contact centre migration carries is essentially putting your company at risk.
“Your competitors might be doing it and leapfrogging you.”
In an attempt to migrate, organisations often overlook the people involved with the technology of the contact centre, that is the agents.
Egea continues: “Historically, call centres used to do the same thing a million times, but nowadays, what’s left over after that digital automation and AI are the more complex questions.”
“Agents are now dealing with a million complex things at the same time.”
Egea believes artificial intelligence and humans will always deliver the right experience. Companies should use technology to upskill people, rather than replace them altogether.
When it comes to late bloomers, Atkinson often sees companies that are satisfied with what on-prem offers and usually go for like-for-like solutions.
“I think organisations should reconsider what CCaaS platforms really have to offer. Voice of the Customer can also help organisations gain insights from customers’ perspective.”
