---

The Sad Story of a Contact Center That Never Saw the Light of Day

A Cautionary Tale on Choosing the Wrong Vendor

Recently a client came to us with a sad—but not uncommon—story. They run a medium-size business with several hundred seats in their contact center. They had approached a vendor about increasing the speed, flexibility, and agility of their agents by moving to a cloud-native contact center solution. The product was dazzling. They were promised an incredible ROI. Their agents were excited about the change. The decision was a no-brainer.

“The project was NEVER deployed. It had stalled in implementation, never seeing the light of day.”

One year later, however, the cloud contact center wasn’t bringing in the huge return they had been looking forward to. In fact, it wasn’t bringing in a return at all—the project was NEVER deployed. It had stalled in implementation, never seeing the light of day.

Why Migrate to Cloud in the First Place?

There are many reasons that it’s crucial for a business to consider cloud. Vertical often recommends a cloud contact center solution because it can provide numerous benefits:

• Practical Artificial Intelligence (AI) — Boost effectiveness by automating FAQs, appointments, card payments, password resets, order look-ups, and more.
• Integrations — Have customer info at your fingertips by integrating with leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Unified Communications (UC) solutions like Salesforce, Zendesk, Microsoft Dynamics, Netsuite, RingCentral and 8×8.
• Omnichannel — Meet your customers where they are with a unified view of all interactions through voice, e-mail, chat, messaging, social media, video engagement, and more.
• Analytics — Track trends and understand what triggers them with powerful ad hoc analysis and automatic scoring/evaluation.
• Scheduling — Use statistics to forecast demand and accurately schedule your agents when they will be needed, with real-time analysis of adherence.

Despite all the promised benefits, however, businesses who are moving their critical applications to the cloud all seem to be lamenting the same problem: Delays. According to a Cloud Security Alliance survey, 49% of cloud migration projects have been delayed. 17% of businesses indicated that their cloud deployment had taken much longer than expected. Why does this happen and what can you do about it?

The Problem Is in the Implementation

Let’s go back to our poor client with the contact center that never was. Why did they never achieve deployment? At first glance, their solution checked all the boxes:

• Need—was there a business-critical need with the opportunity for ROI? Check.
• Solution—did the product offer clear, practical advantages? Check.
• Timing—was the company ready and able to make the change? Check.

The only thing that was missing was the implementation. Don’t let this critical last step trip you up and cause your contact center migration to fall apart. Here are four warning signs to look for when choosing a vendor that won’t keep your cloud contact center grounded at the implementation stage.

4 Ways the Wrong Vendor Can Ruin Your Migration

1 Overpromise and Underdeliver

We’ve all had a salesperson promise us whatever it takes to get the sale. It will pay for itself. It’s so user-friendly, that your grandma could figure it out. Sure, we can have it up and running this month! When you ask for details, though, you get vague responses and incoherent promises. And of course, when it comes time to deliver, the results aren’t there. Where are they when you’re struggling to get things up and running after launch? They’ve moved on to the next customer. Don’t be left out in the cold by a vendor only looking for a sale.

2 Ignore the Customer’s Needs

When a vendor comes in with all the answers, run the other way! Can your business systems and processes be improved? Sure, that’s why you’re looking at the cloud in the first place! But when it comes to your business environment and the unique challenges that you face, a cookie-cutter solution won’t do. Only trust a vendor that asks pointed questions about your business AND crafts a unique solution based on your answers.

3 Roll into Production Without Testing

Every new product launch has kinks. Maybe the solution just works a little differently than you thought. Or it’s mysteriously not working at all. It happens. This can be a real cause for concern, however, if your business needs to operate smoothly, without interruption. Watch out for vendors that want you to simply trust that everything will work! Instead, they should conduct rigorous testing, looking for both expected and unexpected points of failure. The hiccups your customers never know about are always the best ones.

4 Blame 3rd Parties for Integration Problems

One of the best features of a cloud solution is how it can integrate with other products that you’re already using. Your vendor will be quick to highlight how easy it is to pass critical information back and forth between systems. But if something goes wrong? Nope, that’s the responsibility of the 3rd party. You need a vendor that won’t leave you hanging when there’s an issue, even if it’s not their fault.

So, What Can You Do About It?

Some vendors are only interested in selling you a product. It’s no surprise… that’s their business model! Look for a vendor relationship that doesn’t end with the sale. When your vendor is financially invested in your solutions working, it changes the process. For example, because Vertical partners with its customers for service and support, we deliver solutions that will fit your business into the future. We ask questions about your needs, limitations, challenges, and concerns. Remember, your vendor shouldn’t just need you to purchase a product, they should need you to be happy with it! And once the installation takes place, they should still be there, providing ongoing training and offering support.

Consider a Value-Added Reseller

One way you can trust that you’re getting an effective cloud contact center solution—from design all the way through to implementation—is to work with a value-added reseller like Vertical Communications.

A Perfectly Designed Solution

We intentionally offer the widest variety of contact center and unified communication options available, from on-premises to cloud, so that your solution is a perfect fit. Still not quite right? No worries, we’ll work with you to craft a solution that is.

Implemented for Long-Term Success

Our process is meticulous. We take every new customer through a network assessment as part of our world-class discovery workflow. With us, designing your solution is a true partnership based around your goals and needs. If there’s a mission-critical feature that’s missing, we’ll even work with you to custom build one. At the end of the day, we’re invested in your cloud contact center delivering results.

Quick and Attentive Support

And when your contact center is up and running, our job’s not done. We ensure that it stays that way, running efficiently and supporting your business. If something goes wrong, we’re quick to deliver a fix. And we stay up with ever-evolving technology, so that you can be sure when it’s time for an update or upgrade, or if your needs or capabilities change, we’re standing by.