Three Things to know before Moving Your Contact Center to The Cloud

By Michael Ringman, CIO, TELUS International

Michael Ringman, CIO, TELUS International

The thought of moving your contact center to the cloud can be daunting. Potential disruptions, lack of familiarity and concerns about security can serve as major deterrents. But the benefits of a cloud contact center can far outweigh any potential complications.

Cloud contact centers offer clear financial advantages and incremental time and resource savings. So although your legacy system may be working perfectly fine as is, the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, will only serve to delay your organisation growth and efficiencies in the long-run.

Knowing what lies ahead can help ease some of those fears and help your company ready itself for change. Here are three key factors to consider and anticipate before moving your contact center to the cloud for a smooth transition.

Change Management

Today’s contact center customers expect an omnichannel level of service with the ability to interact with your brand via any support channel on any device and receive a personalised, effortless and consistent experience. The reality is, however, that legacy technology is often not able to meet the intricate demands customers are looking for. In order to meet their evolving expectations, technology needs to be kept current by investing in the latest contact center equipment along with the resources required to manage it.

This is one of the many perks of a cloud contact center. Providers are deeply invested in anticipating customer needs and constantly update their services to keep up with industry standards. But for as seamless and hassle-free as software updates might be with the cloud, it’s critical to account for the human capital required to manage this new technology and deliver the omnichannel service customers have come to expect.

As with any big IT project, the largest challenge is often change management, and ensuring your team members are well prepared for the transition is important for a stress-free migration.

Work with your cloud provider, and your own teams, to determine what you can do to make sure your business remains as secure as possible

Conducting a gap analysis to determine new hire or training requirements, and mapping existing agents’ skills and talent portfolios to the new technology are just a few of the requirements to account for prior to transitioning.

Privacy and Security

Data breaches—There are perhaps nothing more frightening to a company considering moving their contact center to the cloud than the threat of being hacked. But thanks to advancements in technology, most cloud solutions now offer an even greater degree of security than on-premise options.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t take the necessary precautions. Don’t be afraid to ask your cloud provider questions and make sure that they have a plan in place in the event of a security breach. For example, what are your backup processes and technology in case your cloud application goes down? Can your cloud service provider ensure alternate links in case of an outage? What is the speed of your response to these events, given that many times they come with no warning?

As the old saying goes, “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst,” and when it comes to privacy and security, one can never be over prepared. Work with your cloud provider, and your teams, to determine what you can do to make sure your business remains as secure as possible.

Financial Investment

Wouldn’t it be great if you could flip the proverbial switch to the cloud and immediately see the money start rolling in? While cost savings are certainly one of the many benefits to a cloud contact center, it’s not an instant gratification scenario. What most don’t realise is that there is quite a bit of upfront investment required before any efficiencies are realised, and it can take about two years just to get the first five percent of workloads and data into the cloud. After that, it does get exponentially easier, but it’s still a timeline and cost most companies aren’t prepared for.

As mentioned earlier, transitioning to the cloud requires significant change management both in terms of using the cloud and using it for customer support specifically. A company may also need to modify some of the processes in their daily workforce management which can require a substantial financial investment.

Fortunately, the best time to embrace change management, process engagement, and workforce optimisation is when implementing new technology and the benefits often extend well beyond the contact center to the organisation as a whole.

The Road Ahead

The process of moving your contact center to the cloud can be intimidating, but for most businesses, it’s the right decision to make. Work with your cloud provider to create a plan that acknowledges any challenges and offers proactive solutions that consider the end customer. After all, moving your contact center to the cloud has many benefits, but the ultimate goal should always be a better customer experience.