In late 2017, we conducted our third annual challenges and priorities survey. Each year we tweak the list based on what we see happening in the market and what we learn from the previous year. We retain substantial consistency so we can identify changes and trends. Participants could select three of each, with no ranking…. Read More »
SIP is a protocol standard for initiating and managing “sessions” or connections between point A and point B. It is one of many standards that have been defined over the years, and is competing with or replacing predecessors such as H.323. SIP fits with “Voice over Internet Protocol” (VoIP), which is the way most voice… Read More »
Optimizing authentication and preventing fraud are hot topics in the industry. I had the pleasure of facilitating a panel on the topic at the ICMI CC Demo in September. Here are key learnings from that session as well as project work we have been doing to tackle this ubiquitous challenge. I’m going to start with… Read More »
If you’ve spent any time around contact center conferences and trade shows, you can’t help but notice that the cloud is all the rage. Cloud-based technology appeals to contact centers that lack sufficient resources to manage their specialized technology. Centers also gain the freedom to turn capabilities and capacity on and off, while continuously benefiting… Read More »
Contact center leaders often express frustration with their current technology. Yet in our experience, they have substantial opportunities to optimize efficiency and improve the customer experience by getting more out their current investments. Here are some high-impact strategies for success. Expand the Role of Data Contact centers should review the information contained in their enterprise… Read More »
“Bad guys” seem to be lurking around every corner these days. They steal customer information and break into networks and systems. The recent massive data breach at Equifax has spurred action by a host of companies to plug leaks in security. At the same time, contact centers face a growing array of compliance requirements, rules,… Read More »
In the era of “five nines” of reliability, contact center leaders didn’t worry too much about the resiliency of their technology: it was always up. Yet several factors have elevated the need for improved contact center resiliency: Delayed technology investments come home to roost when a formerly reliable machine starts to have bad days, or… Read More »
Contact centers must rise to the challenge of attaining efficiency and effectiveness. Traditional metrics support the drive for efficiency by measuring average handle time, labor cost, staffing, cost per contact, occupancy, and the like. Effectiveness presents more of a challenge. It demands a careful analysis of data drawn from enterprise applications (e.g., CRM, CIS, ERP,… Read More »
If you are in the throes of platform replacement, you may find the evaluation and selection process daunting. There are many vendors and a dizzying array of options from which to choose. And if your need for new contact center technology functions pushes you into a PBX upgrade, things can get even more complicated. There… Read More »
Contact center technology selection is more complex than ever. Vendors offer a mind-boggling array of capabilities. Sourcing options abound and are a bit tricky to navigate. Buyers constantly live in the tension between their enthusiasm for the technology and the reality of budget and resource constraints. This complexity makes it difficult to narrow options and… Read More »