Will Your Contact Centre Vendor Leave You Stranded?

Bruce Eidsvik asks if it is time for you to move away from a legacy hardware-based platform and to switch to a new contact centre platform.

Many of us take our cars for granted. As long as our tried and true investment gets us to work and back, we keep driving it without much thought. It’s easy enough to overlook a minor malfunction. Or the accumulating miles on the odometer when you can still get where you want to go. But, you know you can’t keep driving that car forever. The time will come to invest in a new set of wheels.

You may be tempted to kick the can down the road and continue to make minor repairs. Yet, this can be a costly and time-consuming decision. Ignoring the problem and hoping there won’t be a major breakdown is even riskier. It’s amazing how car trouble always seems to happen at the worst possible time. So, the wisest move is to start your research before you find yourself stranded on the roadside.

The same advice applies to an aging contact centre platform. However, in this case you’re not only likely to incur costly maintenance or breakdowns, you’re also asking your customers to pay the price with diminishing service levels.
So, there are two clear choices. Continue to invest time and money in a legacy, hardware-based solution that can’t evolve to support today’s omnichannel customer journeys. Or, recognize that your infrastructure is becoming obsolete, and your current contact centre vendor doesn’t have the financial strength.

Moving Away from a Legacy Hardware-Based Platform

Today’s contact centres support engagement on an average of nine communication channels, according to the 2016 Dimension Data Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report, and customer journeys are more likely than ever to begin on chat, social media, a messaging app, or a website.

However, there is a big difference between offering multiple, siloed channels that hinder customer engagement, and delivering seamless experiences across all self-service and assisted-service channels, while maintaining context throughout the customer’s entire journey.

An aging, PBX/ACD system doesn’t have the capabilities to deliver omnichannel customer experiences. The result is customer frustration, inconsistent reporting, and increased spending on maintenance, integrations, and upgrades.

Like car owners who continue to replace tires and brakes with the hopes of extending the lifespan of their aging vehicles, organisations struggling to maintain and upgrade a contact centre platform architected for voice face substantial challenges.
Customer experience is the most powerful business differentiator available today. But, that competitive advantage remains out of reach when there is too much complexity, system instability, or a lack of scalability to meet your future business needs.

Is It Time to Kick the Tires?
It’s never a simple decision to switch to a new contact centre platform. There are many considerations for this substantial and long-term investment. First and foremost, evaluate solutions that deliver the functionality you need today and can evolve with your future needs.

A future-proof customer experience solution is purpose-built to deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences across all channels, throughout the entire customer journey. It should be accompanied by visionary experts and partnerships you can count on to guide you in a fast-changing world, especially with mission-critical systems. These experts, along with your partners, can help you plan changes that fit your growth and integrate with other infrastructures.

Whether your contact centre platform is nearing its end of life or you’re considering a move from multi-channel to omnichannel as part of a digital transformation initiative, carefully evaluate solution providers, even if you feel a sense of loyalty to your current vendor. Any vendor currently focused on financial uncertainties or bankruptcy can’t invest in the innovation required to keep pace with your customers’ rapidly evolving expectations.

Like buying a car, it’s important to research your options and ask plenty of tough questions before choosing any contact centre vendor. Get a detailed review of the roadmap for their future and a viable solution for yours. If they are struggling with serious financial challenges, clarity in direction, or a lack of innovation, you’re wise to continue your search.

This is particularly the case with more and more contact centre solution providers facing an uncertain future. So, it could be useful to look for brands such as Genesys, who continue to strengthen their position as the leader in customer experience technology. This is through investments in R&D and an ongoing dedication to deliver advanced solutions that provide next-generation customer experiences today.

Make the Contact Centre Platform Comparison

Insights from others can help you determine who is best positioned to provide a solution to sustain your long-term competitive advantage.

For example, The Forrester Wave&copy Contact Center Interaction Management for Large Contact Centers can help you identify your specific requirements and compare solution providers