For years, many vendors have sold the story that CCaaS is the new normal. But, it’s not.
As of late 2023, over two-thirds of businesses have not moved their contact centers to the cloud – according to Gartner analysts.
There are many reasons, including cumbersome workloads, regulatory considerations, and sometimes features that lag their legacy platform - often relating to voice.
However, most still accept that cloud contact centers are the future – thanks to the scalability, ease of integration, and speed of innovation within the CCaaS space.
That makes the following Metrigy statistics all the more surprising. Last year, the analyst found that:
- 48.2 percent of the organizations using cloud-based contact center platforms are changing, planning to change, or evaluating a shift in providers.
- 14.1 percent of those are doing so because they are returning to on-premises platforms.
These findings suggest that CCaaS often underwhelms, especially when organizations fail to take the optimal path to the cloud.
The Pathways to CCaaS: Which Is Best for You?
Often, the simplest approach to a CCaaS migration is “lift-and-shift”, where the organization moves everything to the cloud as is. But that doesn’t harness the cloud’s potential.
Alternatively, a business can rip and replace its entire systems architecture with cloud-native solutions – which is typically considered a risky step in large enterprises.
After all, many have spent significant time and resources customizing their on-premises solutions. The thought of uprooting and starting from scratch is daunting.
However, those aren’t the only two options. For a softer transition, the contact center can:
- Revise its systems to leverage elements of the cloud one by one for smaller wins.
- Re-architect all its systems for cloud optimization and enhanced functionality.
Noting this, Gurpreet Kohli, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Telecom & Networks at HCLTech, told CX Today:
“There is not a single best approach, and we’re seeing enterprises choose to mix and match these options – which is the direction that cautious enterprises will increasingly take.”
As organizations do this, they often turn to trusted partners like HCLTech, which help them uncover the best path forward, with respect to their specific requirements.
Moreover, HCLTech has a global community of expert consultants, extensive industry expertise, and strategic partnerships with the best and brightest contact centers.
Yet, perhaps most crucially, it has designed a framework to help contact centers ensure they follow the CCaaS migration path that is right for them.
A Sneak Preview of HCLTech’s CCaaS Migration Framework
The HCLTech CCaaS migration framework follows four cornerstone steps: due diligence, design, implementation, and transition.
Stage 1: Due Diligence
In the due diligence phase, HCLTech will examine the existing setup. In doing so, it works with the organization to determine whether the new environment should mirror the old one or if a minimum viable product (MVP) approach is better placed.
When following the MVP approach, the business first identifies the critical capabilities that various contact center stakeholders leverage daily. That then enables the creation of a simplified cloud platform that service leaders can progressively enhance.
During due diligence, it’s also crucial to consider if the customer journey needs redefinition or if existing features need improvement.
After gathering all this information, HCLTech clients move into the design phase.
Stage 2: Design
HCLTech utilizes its due diligence to design a CCaaS environment that aligns with the client’s specific requirements and pre-empts potential risks.