Purpose of This Study
We have previously written that it takes a best practices blend of people, processes and technology to form a world class contact center (*). This Research Report documents an analytical “drill down” into an emerging model of contact center technology. We surveyed the people and explored the processes that are keys to the acquisition and implementation of technology in the contact centers. In particular we sought to understand base-line decisions made regarding a “multiple point solution” approach as opposed to an “all-in-one” contact center suite approach. In the all-in-one approach, we sought to understand the difference between on-premise and off-premise strategies. This topic is strategically important both for vendors to the industry and to contact center managers, who need to decide how to plan their way forward. Making the right decisions can have long-term consequences for budgeting, functionality, and competitiveness.
With these factors in mind, this Research Report aims to:
- Define what we mean by “all-in-one” versus “multiple-point” solutions;
- Gain insights into technology decision-making processes within contact centers (also referred to as “call centers”) from specifying technology needs through implementation and operation, i.e. the Technology Process Phases;
- Evaluate results of these decisions, as recounted by implementers of both strategies. Evaluation was done both numerically (as seen through survey results) and anecdotally (as found through on-site visits);
- Highlight specific concerns regarding multi-point solutions and all-in-one solutions;
- Develop an idea of future trends in this regard; and finally,
- Conclude something about best practices that can be of use to contact center managers.
Definition of Best Practices
Since we will be using the term “best practices,” we hereby define this often-used, and oftenmisunderstood term.
The following characteristics do not typify best practices:
1. the most common, or most popular process implementation practice; and
2. the least expensive process implementation practice.
We define best practices as follows:
“Best Practices are those defined steps that have proven to achieve the highest possible effectiveness and efficiency for a given business process.”
Best practices result when highly creative managers optimize the combination of people, processes, and technology to achieve the highest possible customer satisfaction at the minimum possible cost. The last several words are absolutely key in the definition of best practices, and therefore are worth repeating here: “the highest possible customer satisfaction at the minimum possible cost.” Such a definition definitely indicates a balanced optimization of quality and quantity, and/or of efficiency and effectiveness.
The concept of “benchmarking to find best practices” is described simply by the following statement:
“All of us are smarter than any one of us.”
What this means is that there is seldom one company that is better than all others. More typically, each world-class company is doing one or more steps really well, but is unaware of the creativity of others. Our worldwide benchmarking research helps us pinpoint the “best of the best” call centers and contact centers. We then strive to make their best practices knowledge available to all. This Research Report focuses on the best practices in acquiring, implementing, and operating contact center technology.
Summary of Research Findings
Contact center managers want ease of use and reliability in their technology, and would prefer to have one relationship, one vendor, one suite of products, and one common administrative interface. However, many are burdened with legacy “multi-point” solutions that condition their decisions, and some have long-standing relationships with point solution vendors that they want to continue. In addition, other managers need to be convinced that going with all-in-one providers will not deprive them of “best-of-breed” excellence, at least for those applications they consider mission-critical to their success.
How managers come out on this issue may have as much to do with their previous experiences, and the perceived weight of their legacy systems, as with the pure operational and financial optimization of their current or future operations.
Conclusions: Important Distinctions Between Approaches
Our research showed many important distinctions between the two approaches. Some of the key findings from the data allow us to draw the following conclusions: - Overall, considering all costs, including maintenance costs, establishment of vendor relationships, time required to evaluate new technology, and system administration requirements, the total cost of ownership appears significantly less for an all-in-one solution when compared with its multi-point counterpart.
