Considerations for consolidating call centre technology

A Genesys ebook

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Many chief information officers and IT managers who maintain a contact centre know that they could get significantly more value from their call centre infrastructure. Having mismatched IT assets—too many tools that do the same job or no tool at all—forces employees to rely on manual processes. There are untapped savings in IT consolidation and in implementing a consolidated call centre technology stack. But even if your organisation has initiated these technology consolidation efforts, you might not be sure how to proceed.

In the past, call centre IT managers built new infrastructure to meet specific needs. But as technology evolved, those DIY infrastructures created technology silos—making it difficult, or even impossible, to streamline the asset base. The “stack-and-patch” approach became the norm, and that, ultimately, created a host of other issues.

Call centre technology consolidation can capture value, increase efficiency and reduce demands on IT teams. It also has a host of end-customer benefits. And, it enables you to reduce overall IT spend by reducing infrastructure, the number of applications you maintain and the training needs across it all (and do so with minimal disruption to the organisation or customers).

Considerations for a successful technology consolidation in the mid-sized call centre

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Opportunities for IT consolidation—in IT infrastructure, agent support, application development and maintenance, or in management and administration—are abundant in contact centres.

A typical call centre can take advantage of various consolidation opportunities, including reducing applications, better utilisaing capacity, reducing dependency on hardware and better managing demand. Some of these initiatives can be implemented quickly, while others require dedicated, longer-term efforts to restructure the way call centre services are delivered.

Benefits of IT consolidation in the call centre

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On-premises call centres often suffer from underutilisation issues with most servers only partially utilised. Their use ramps up during peak calling times or seasonal swings in demand and they are underutilised the rest of the time, taking up space and requiring maintenance.

By migrating the server environment to the cloud, you can reduce the number of physical servers you own and maintain. Then you can consolidate the remaining on-premises servers into fewer data centres to reduce overall maintenance costs.

Server consolidation represents clear, short-term opportunities to reduce costs. But you can gain benefits beyond servers; there are also advantages to consolidating other technology assets, such as legacy call centre hardware.

Downsizing your reliance on servers

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Call centres of all sizes are rife with antiquated hardware—desktops, phone systems and servers often are cobbled together over the years to accommodate growth and business changes. While PBX systems still exist, they carry with them additional costs—cabinets to house the systems and IT teams’ time to support them. In addition, these systems have a limited number of phone lines, so adding more lines becomes a costly endeavour. Finally, and most importantly in today’s competitive call centre landscape, PBX systems offer no omnichannel capabilities.

Sorting through the hardware mess

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Internet-based phone systems deliver a wide range of benefits. There’s no required equipment to purchase or maintain, so there’s no need to purchase a phone when you add call centre agents. And calls don’t incur additional charges—fixed monthly subscription fees let you budget accordingly. In addition, agents can receive calls on any device. If the agent is remote, calls can be routed to a cell phone or computer.

Moving to VoIP

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For years, you’ve added applications to support call centre business requirements. Now, you want to introduce new digital communication channels, such as text or chat. However, you’ve hit a tipping point—mixing another application into your already complicated stack offers no further benefits.

By streamlining applications into a single platform, you get all the functionality you need and the ability to integrate with key business platforms, such as Salesforce. You can replace several applications that require daily management by a team of IT pros with a single platform that offers one maintenance protocol, training protocol and update protocol. And that has value.

Reducing the application stack

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Moving to a single cloud-based platform with telephony built-in allows you to adapt to existing systems. A cloud vendor that combines unified communication and collaboration tools—with services like toll-free and international calling—sets you up for successful, streamlined business communications.

You can seamlessly integrate your business telephony, collaboration tools and contact centre to craft a communications ecosystem that meets your needs today and into the future. In addition, integrating mobile device support with your core applications ensures maximum flexibility and usability. Look for a modern cloud communication platform that integrates with CRM tools and productivity apps to optimise your workforce.

A system for business communications that is built with a modern, adaptable architecture ensures your platform can evolve with your needs and meet changing industry demands. Unlike legacy PBX systems, the cloud can grow and adapt with your business and advancements in technology.

Cloud and a consolidation project

Continuous deployment of new features eliminates downtime for upgrades and keeps you at the forefront of communications technology.

A redundant, highly available architecture gives you unparalleled reliability—eliminating any single points of failure. Cover your bases with redundant, geographically dispersed data centres and load balancers that distribute traffic across each location.

Mitigate risk with a system that can offload storage and data processing to someone else, reducing your responsibility.

A platform that is PCI-compliant lets you securely process credit cards over the phone via features like Secure IVR and Secure Pause.

Benefits of moving to the cloud:

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The first step in an IT consolidation strategy is to understand which technologies your business relies on and and which lines of business your consolidation efforts will affect.

Questions that affect consolidation and culture:

Start by asking the right questions

What are the communication needs, both external and internal i.e., phone inbound/ outbound, email, chat, social, text?

What features are required (IVR, dialer, etc.)?

What applications must be integrated (CRM system, billing, payment processing)?

Do you support onsite or remote agents?

How will different tiers of customer care operate?

What depth of customer informa-tion is necessary (purchase history, etc.)?

What level of security is required? Are cloud and virtual environments a viable alternative?

What are regulatory requirements for your business, such as HIPAA, GDPR, PHI, etc.?

Who is responsible for operational performance?

Who is responsible for training and how will it be administered?

Can you outsource personnel?

What are the call centre business needs?

Consolidating contact centre technologies isn’t an overnight project. And even though it’s a multi-month journey, it doesn’t have to be torturous.

Create a project roadmap that outlines both short and long-term initiatives across prescribed timelines. Piloting each initiative will validate opportunities and enable you to refine an action plan.

The following diagram outlines what to prioritise during your call centre consolidation; each initiative has a value potential in terms of effort versus cost (or cost savings) and how long implementation could take.

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Success factors in implementation

Importance/value Time/commitment (months)

Streamline hardware

Plan for reduced data centre footprint High 12–24

Enhance/upgrade network efficiency Medium 3–6

Consolidate telephony systems Medium 6–12

Transition tasks to business

Identify tasks to transition to business (self-serve) High 3–6

Provide initial and plan for ongoing training for business partners High 3–6

Leverage technology

Use customer self-service tools to reduce call volumes High 6–12

Move tickets upstream from onsite to the call centre Medium 3–6

Use tools like artificial intelligence to improve resolution rate High 6–12

Use automation tools to improve operational efficiency High 6–12

Manage demand

Reduce the number of applications per employee Medium 12–24

Improve license management Medium 3–6

Plan for peak demand; use tools to accommodate High 3–6

Streamline overhead and support roles Medium 3–6

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In addition to following a well-thought-out timeline, create champions for your IT consolidation efforts within your organisation. Employees can be set in their ways, believing that their needs are unique and that consolidation will disrupt the call centre’s mission. Culture clashes like this can slow—or even prevent—a successful implementation.

Engage key stakeholders within the call centre early in the process and enlist their help to drive initiatives. Having champions lead initiatives ensures implementation and adoption. One option is to create a steering committee with members from across the organisation or within the call centre. Not all members need an IT background but should hold positions in other lines of business, such as human resources, communications, and finance. All teams play a critical role in moving the transformation effort forward.

If consolidation plans have any impact on the workforce, involve agents in the plans early. Sharing the goals and communicating them with agents can go a long way to avoid major disruptions. For example, have an agent representative on your steering committee. Regularly communicating with agents and ensuring that their feedback is incorporated in the final plan can facilitate a smooth transition.

Consolidating technology and IT within the call centre is long-term project. While quick wins are possible, it takes a dedicated, sustained effort across the entire organisation to gain momentum and capture long-term savings.

Work collaboratively across your organisation

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