Too often, customers make upgrades to their Contact Centers in haste, often because a product will no longer be supported under a maintenance contract, or because a system is on the verge of failure. Consequently, they fail to get the full benefit of a potential upgrade.
In order to avoid costly missteps, what’s required is a thorough assessment of 
contact center assets and requirements prior to upgrading, says Zach Shankle, Director of Call Center Services for Carousel Industries. He recommends customers take four steps when considering a call center upgrade.
Conduct a call center inventory
The first step is to conduct a complete inventory of what exists in the current call center, including all software releases and version numbers. If you upgrade your phone switch, for example, you also need to look at ancillary products such as your reporting package and call recording equipment and software, to ensure they will work with the new switch. “Then you have to do interoperability analysis. If we upgrade this component, do all the others still work?” Shankle says.
Consider all the various components that play into your call center, from wall boards, call management system and any data exports you may do to various databases. Also, think about the various employees from other departments who may rely on reports from the call center for their jobs. “I can’t tell you how many times someone in another department is screaming because ‘xyz’ doesn’t work after an upgrade,” Shankle says. “No one ever thought of it.”
Consider the contact center business drivers
It’s also important to clearly delineate why the upgrade is taking place. Is it simply because you need to upgrade so that you can remain under a maintenance contract? Or does the business need new features that the existing setup doesn’t have? Do you need more capacity? Do you need a product, such as a call recorder, that isn’t compatible with your existing switch? Do you want to start integrating social media interactions into your contact center? Having a clear picture of why you’re upgrading will help as you move along in the process, Shankle says.
Conduct a call center technology evaluation
With a clear sense of why you’re upgrading in hand, the next step is to evaluate your technology options. Probably your requirements have changed over the years, so simply upgrading to the latest version of the product you already have may not make the most business sense, he says. Too often, companies are in scramble mode to simply get the upgrade done so they can remain under maintenance and they don’t take the time to really think through their requirements. “You need to step back and say, ‘Does it make sense to upgrade the product we’ve got or should we be looking at pricing out a new product?’” Shankle says. “That takes time. As soon as you know there’s an end of support notice coming, that’s when you should start talking and planning next steps.”
Examine all the new features
Even if you do simply upgrade the product you already have, chances are you’re getting lots of new features in the process. You’re paying for them, so you may as well take advantage of the ones that make sense. “We have customers that have been upgrading for 12 and 15 years who are still using 12 and 15 year-old features,” Shankle says. Take the time to evaluate the new features, perhaps by planning a seminar where your team can learn how to implement them.
Of course, you can always contact Carousel to learn about the latest call center technology and how best to take advantage of it.
Thanks for providing steps one can take when upgrading a call center.