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The world seems to be moving at breakneck speed. Case in point, I had an interesting conversation with a couple of millennials where I reflected on the tech I used early in my career (I am a “boomer”) – technologies like the first IBM PC, the DOS operating system, Lotus 123, “brick” cell phones, RPN calculators and the like. I was met with a mix of giggles, and gasps. To these millennials, I might as well have been talking about stone knives. Now, just for fun, think of the time when we saw the demise of the Blackberry phone; Google was launching its Facebook “killer,” Google+; the time when companies began to embrace mobile devices; and the introduction of group texting. Seems like a long time ago, right? Would you believe all of this happened only seven short years ago! A lot can happen in a very short time.

 

What does this have to do with contact centres? Most IT systems have a lifespan of about seven years, and call centre systems are no different. Contact centre software and hardware is replaced or upgraded every couple of years because it either falls behind the market or because the version change requires a forklift. As we have seen, technology moves fast and what was once considered “state of the art” will inevitably become functionally obsolete. That’s why your customers are functionally working with the equivalent of stone knives if their call centre tech is more than seven years old! Sure, maybe the hardware still works. But how often does it go down? How long does it take to repair? How well does your system support omnichannel, chat or email access? How much work does it take to build a decent report? Do you have multiple products that are plugged into each other to form some sort of Frankenstein platform? What direction is their key KPIs trending?

Modernising your customer’s contact centre software may seem like a big job. Doing a version change is a massive professional services job for an on-Premise system. But chances are you can walk them through the upgrade if you are helping them move to a Cloud Contact Centre. Your expertise, backed by the Tradewinds engineers, will get them upgraded more easily and for less money than their last experience. Why? Because you can help them plan for success.

Let the Tradewinds engineers help you walk your customers through the steps necessary for a successful cloud modernisation. Tradewinds has developed a decision matrix to assist you in determining the best contact centre solution for your clients. The matrix includes features like:

  • List Price
  • Point Solutions
  • Infrastructure
  • Workforce Management
  • CRM Integrations
  • Platform
  • Access
  • Omnichannel

By talking with your customer about what features are important to them, you can help them make a smart, well-informed decision that will minimise disruption while also saving time and money. To learn more and talk with a Tradewinds engineer, contact me or my team today.

theywood@tradewindsbrokerage.com.au

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