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Pros and cons of a hybrid contact center architecture
A hybrid cloud architecture can provide modern capabilities to legacy contact centers. Explore the benefits and challenges of adopting a hybrid contact center.
Cloud migration has been a strong trend with contact centers for some time, but the majority remain partially or fully on-premises. With rising expectations from digital-first customers, on-premises contact centers are increasingly challenged to keep pace. For many, moving entirely to the cloud is not practical or even possible. This is where hybrid architecture provides the best of both worlds.
In addition to customer expectations, remote work has become the norm. More contact center agents are working from home now. This distributed model of hybrid work is placing demands on contact centers that cannot be addressed by legacy systems.
These factors are becoming core drivers for a hybrid contact center architecture. The challenge is in striking the right balance between keeping as much of the existing on-premises deployment in place, while adopting the more modern cloud-based platforms and applications.
To help IT leaders move forward, this tip explores key benefits and challenges, as well as developing a deployment strategy.
3 benefits of a hybrid contact center architecture
1. AI and automation
AI has become the dominant technology trend across the enterprise, and contact center is one of the leading use cases. The benefits of AI are substantial -- especially related to automation to improve both customer experience and contact center agent experience. Some level of cloud adoption is needed to realize these benefits. A full cloud migration is not necessary to start adopting AI now; a hybrid architecture is especially practical where on-premises systems are still in place.
2. Minimal disruption
A valid concern for cloud migration is the potential to disrupt existing operations. Many contact centers have a finely tuned on-premises setup, often with complex, customized integrations with various legacy elements. Aside from possible downtime where customers cannot reach the contact center, these integrations could also be affected by migration downtime.
A hybrid architecture can mitigate disruption as cloud adoption can be done on a piecemeal basis and only with elements that do not disrupt the status quo. While a full cloud migration provides the most complete form of modernization, it almost certainly creates disruption, which makes hybrid a safer option.
3. IT transformation
As legacy contact centers struggle to provide a modern customer experience, IT departments are also struggling to keep pace with fast-changing technology. To be effective, IT needs to do more than just refresh existing technology.
The opportunities presented by both cloud architecture and AI applications require a more strategic approach for adopting new technology. Hybrid cloud models enable IT to start that journey now, rather than waiting for legacy systems to reach end of life, forcing a wholesale shift to cloud.
3 challenges of hybrid contact center architecture
1. Integrations
Given that most contact centers have complex, premises-based integrations, there is a fundamental challenge around how well new cloud applications integrate with the existing environment. IT must also evaluate how well cloud-based applications can replace legacy applications that have been in use for a long time.
While there is a spectrum of cloud options to support a hybrid architecture, there is no assurance that these perform on par with premises-based applications or that they integrate seamlessly with everything else. Conversely, it's important to note that cloud offerings can provide new capabilities or superior performance to legacy elements, so there is definitely a risk-reward balance for IT to consider.
2. Ease of use
Even if cloud-based applications integrate seamlessly, they may not be easy to use for agents and supervisors. Similarly, if extended to customer-facing applications, like chatbots, ease-of-use issues could have further implications, making this an important consideration.
Ease of use also needs to be viewed as a challenge, since many cloud applications are new for everyone. IT likely needs to devote new support resources to prepare end users, especially for AI-based applications, which are complex by nature. This is a key success factor for hybrid cloud models, as end-user adoption struggles if new applications are harder to use than what users are familiar with.
3. Migration management
Since a hybrid cloud architecture could entail a wide range of cloud-based elements, IT must consider several factors to make migration a manageable process. First is the pace of change. If cloud is introduced too quickly, there could be disruptions and unintended consequences.
Another factor is the extent of change. While IT may feel a readiness for change in the contact center, the reality may be different. This includes not just how much change can be absorbed, but also what top management is expecting. The more difficult it becomes to meet customer expectations, as well as increase agent performance, the greater the pressure from management is for rapid cloud adoption.
3 considerations for hybrid contact center strategy
1. AI capabilities
This needs to be the main focus for any hybrid cloud strategy. Cloud on its own does have strategic value, especially for supporting remote and hybrid work models. Beyond that, however, AI drives the transformation contact centers need to modernize and provide better customer experiences.
While all contact center vendors have an AI story now, their capabilities are not created equal. With AI evolving so quickly, the range of capabilities among vendors is quite broad. IT must carefully evaluate AI offerings to succeed with a hybrid architecture.
2. Economics
Unlike on-premises deployments, cloud is a subscription-based SaaS model. As such, the degree to which a hybrid architecture is cloud-based must factor in Opex. So long as cloud platforms provide business value and can continue innovating, the ongoing cost can be justified.
IT leaders must also factor in the costs associated with AI. Aside from being ongoing, AI costs continue to rise in response to surging demand. With AI's short track record, IT leaders need to consider vendors delivering real ROI now, rather than promising potential returns later.
3. Vendor compatibility
Contact center technology is quite specialized. With so many vendors entering this space with cloud offerings, IT leaders need to be sure they choose vendors with credible expertise. While some contact center-as-a-service vendors are pure plays, others are new to the contact center world.
The need to modernize is likely urgent, and IT doesn't have the luxury to climb the learning curve to improve customer experience and support remote contact center agents. Furthermore, businesses in a vertical sector require specialized expertise and integrations. For a hybrid cloud architecture, it isn't enough for a vendor to have strong cloud capabilities. The vendor must have the right compatibility for an existing deployment, along with the distinct needs of customers in a vertical industry.
Jon Arnold is principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent analyst providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel with a focus on the business-level effect of communications technology on digital transformation.
