Google, Microsoft, Sprinklr, Verint, Zoom… the contact center technology market is awash with high-profile entrants.
Many of these new-age providers have generated fresh perspectives on managing customer conversations, favoring cloud-first approaches.
They’ve also emphasized digital interactions, which – in many respects – has helped to push the market forward.
But, as these entrants scale, they will likely encounter blockers beyond their core platforms. Delivering customized solutions in highly regulated sectors, developing regional partnerships, and establishing global carrier relationships… all of this takes time.
The latter is especially significant, as a robust voice proposition is critical to almost all CCaaS buyers.
As such, buyers should scrutinize a vendor’s voice services, ensuring they go above and beyond to work with the optimal carriers across mission-critical regions.
However, there’s much more to consider in the new, competitive CCaaS market.
Given these dynamics, here are three mission-critical questions to ask prospective CCaaS providers.
1. Which Company Can We Talk to That Has Successfully Done This?
Several CCaaS providers will make outlandish promises to fend off the competition and secure a signature on the dotted line.
For this reason, referenceability is crucial. Contact centers need assurances that these promises are genuine and that the prospective platform will safely transition them to the cloud, which is a daunting proposition.
Moreover, once there, they want to know it will consistently perform.
Making this point, Nerys Corfield, Director of Injection Consulting, previously told CX Today:
“What we’re seeing more and more is buyers asking for case studies and requesting to speak with existing customers early in the process. They want to hear the real “warts and all” stories from those who’ve experienced the product. I think it’s a very sensible approach.”
Additionally, by engaging with fellow customers, contact centers learn vital process and people lessons that may assist their roll-out.
2. Are You Going to Use This Data to Train Your AI?
Many AI-based customer experience platforms are popping up, using third-party technologies that are easy to white-label.
As such, contact centers should become increasingly cautious about where that AI comes from, how it’s trained, and what data it’s using.
Simon Adnett, VP of Sales UK&I / EMEA at Enghouse Interactive, makes this point and warns:
“Many vendors use customer data to train their AI, often without proper consent, which is a shortcut that can have legal and ethical ramifications.
“I think it’s safe to say that there will be more awareness and controls as the use of AI in contact centers continues to evolve,” he continued.
Recent lawsuits against Patagonia and LegalShield for sharing their customer data with their CCaaS vendor – which then use it to train its AI models – embolden Adnett’s take.
“All providers in this space must take a careful approach to how they train their AI solutions, by building models and learning systems without relying on customer data,” Adnett concluded.
For example, Enghouse focuses on methods that don’t require processing entire datasets to train its AI. “Even anonymizing customer data has proven to not be sufficient in masking the identity of an individual,” added Adnett. “Customers really want control over what is happening to their personal data.”
With this approach, the contact center stalwart is able to build trust with its customers by ensuring that their data and privacy will be protected.
3. Are You Open to Establishing a Review Cycle?
The value of a CCaaS platform is in its potential to continually unlock new value. Indeed, without engaging in continuous server maintenance, IT can spend more time innovating. That’s the promise, at least.
However, that innovation cycle can stutter as IT resources spread thin across the business. As such, the added value of CCaaS stalls while the costs sustain.
Recognizing this, customers are demanding more flexibility in their contracts, and some providers have responded to this by offering monthly rolling contracts.
That’s not possible for complex contact center solutions. Still, enterprises should be able to establish a regular review cycle with their chosen vendor to ensure alignment between CCaaS costs and the speed of innovation.
In those reviews, customers should also scour the roadmap and offer feedback, ensuring the vendor considers updates and integrations that matter most to them.
The Tip of the Iceberg
The CCaaS market is not only more competitive, but the platforms have become much deeper.
Indeed, vendors have expanded into offering workforce engagement management (WEM), customer journey orchestration, and knowledge management solutions – as just some examples.
That’s a significant shift from the original plug-and-play promise of CCaaS.
The driver of this trend is that CCaaS providers have realized that every customer has specific requirements, and – in the enterprise – they would generally rather pick and choose features from a broad suite. It offers a degree of safety.
Yet, it’s not only in-house features. Brands should also consider whether a prospective provider has close relationships with the vendors of their other critical CX systems, not just close integrations. With systems like CRM and UCaaS platforms, that’s crucial.
Integration support for their chosen workforce engagement (WEM), business intelligence (BI), IT service management (ITSM), and conversational AI providers also require scoping.
Then, there are lots of other criteria to consider, from deployment models (public, private, and hybrid), cloud hosting options and regional support services – to system scalability and the opportunity for customization.
Considering all this, buyers can whittle down their shortlists, and one name that may still be on there is Enghouse Interactive.
Indeed, given the industry-wide switch to suite, Enghouse believes it’s ahead of the curve with its deep portfolio that focuses on giving practical choices to every CCaaS buyer – regardless of size, geography, security needs or any other preferences that help dictate what they must look for in the CCaaS market.
To learn more about Enghouse’s rich contact center portfolio and longstanding industry expertise, visit: www.enghouseinteractive.com
