Choose a Right-Sized Contact Center Solution
“On-premises vs. cloud” is a false dichotomy.
Member Challenge
- IT needs a method to pinpoint which contact center solution best aligns with business objectives, adapting to a post-COVID world of remote work, flexibility, and scalability.
- Scoring RFP and RFQ proposals is a complex process, and it is difficult to map and gap without a clear view of the organization’s needs. SOWs can contain pitfalls that cause expensive headaches for the organization in the long run. Guidance through a SOW is required to best represent the organization’s interests.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- “On-premises versus cloud” is a false dichotomy. Contact center architectures come in all shapes and sizes, and organizations should discern whether a hybrid option best meets their needs.
- Contact centers should service customers – not capabilities. Capabilities must work for you, your agents, and your customers – not the other way around.
- Deliverables and responsibilities should be a contract’s focal point. While organizations are right to focus on avoiding unanticipated license charges, it is more important to clearly define how deliverables and responsibilities will be divided among the organization, the vendor, and potential third parties.
Impact and Result
- Assess the array of contact center architectures with Info-Tech’s Contact Center Decision Points Tool to select a right-sized solution.
- Build business requirements in a formalized process to achieve stakeholder buy-in.
- Use Info-Tech’s Contact Center RFP Scoring Tool to evaluate and choose from a range of vendors.
- Successfully navigate and avoid major pitfalls in a SOW construction.
- Justify each stage of the process with this blueprint’s key deliverable: the Contact Center Playbook.
Research & Tools
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to examine the current contact center marketspace, review Info-Tech’s methodology for choosing a right-sized contact center solution, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.
| Name | Actions |
|---|---|
|
Choose a Right-Sized Contact Solution – Executive Brief
|
|
|
Choose a Right-Sized Contact Center Solution – Phases 1-3
|
1. Assess Contact Center Architectures
Establish your project vision and metrics of success before shortlisting potential contact center architectures and deciding which is right-sized for the organization.
| Name | Actions |
|---|---|
|
Choose a Right-Sized Contact Center Solution – Phase 1: Assess Contact Center Architectures
|
|
|
Contact Center Playbook
|
|
|
Contact Center Decision Points Tool
|
2. Gather Requirements and Shortlist Vendors
Build business requirements to achieve stakeholder buy-in, define key deliverables, and issue an RFP/RFQ to shortlisted vendors.
| Name | Actions |
|---|---|
|
Choose a Right-Sized Contact Center Solution – Phase 2: Gather Requirements and Shortlist Vendors
|
|
|
Requirements Gathering Documentation Tool
|
|
|
Enhanced RFI Template
|
|
|
Contact Center Business Requirements Document
|
|
|
Request for Quotation Template
|
|
|
Long-Form RFP Template
|
3. Score Vendors and Construct SOW
Score RFP/RFQ responses and decide upon a vendor before constructing a SOW.
| Name | Actions |
|---|---|
|
Choose a Right-Sized Contact Center Solution – Phase 3: Score Vendors and Construct SOW
|
|
|
Contact Center RFP Scoring Tool
|
|
|
Contact Center SOW Template and Guide
|
Onsite Workshop: Choose a Right-Sized Contact Center Solution
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Do-It-Yourself Implementation
The slides in this Best Practice Blueprint will walk you step-by-step through every phase of your project with supporting tools and templates ready for you to use.
Project Accelerator Workshop
You can also use this Best Practice Blueprint to facilitate your own project accelerator workshop within your organization using the workshop slides and facilitation instructions provided in the Appendix.
Module 1: Assess Architecture
The Purpose
- Shortlist and decide upon a right-sized contact center architecture.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A high-level decision for a right-sized architecture
| Activities | Outputs |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Define vision and mission statements. |
|
| 1.2 Identify infrastructure metrics of success. |
|
| 1.3 Confirm key performance indicators for contact center operations. |
|
| 1.4 Complete architecture assessment. |
|
| 1.5 Confirm right-sized architecture. |
|
Module 2: Gather Requirements
The Purpose
- Build business requirements and define key deliverables to achieve stakeholder buy-in and shortlist potential vendors.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Key deliverables defined and a shortlist of no more than five vendors
- Sections 7-8 of the Contact Center Playbook completed
| Activities | Outputs |
|---|---|
| 2.1 Hold focus groups with key stakeholders. |
|
| 2.2 Gather business, nonfunctional, and functional requirements. |
|
| 2.3 Define key deliverables. |
|
| 2.4 Shortlist five vendors that appear meet those requirements. |
|
Module 3: Initial Vendor Scoring
The Purpose
- Compare and evaluate shortlisted vendors against gathered requirements.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Have a strong overview of which vendors are preferred for issuing RFP/RFQ
- Section 9 of the Contact Center Playbook
| Activities | Outputs |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Input requirements to the Contact Center RFP Scoring Tool. Define which are mandatory and which are desirable. |
|
| 3.2 Determine which vendors best meet requirements. |
|
| 3.3 Compare requirements met with anticipated TCO. |
|
| 3.4 Compare and rank vendors. |
|
Module 4: SOW Walkthrough
The Purpose
- Walk through the Contact Center SOW Template and Guide to identify how much time to allocate per section and who will be responsible for completing it.
Key Benefits Achieved
- An understanding of a SOW that is designed to avoid major pitfalls with vendor management
- Section 10 of the Contact Center Playbook
| Activities | Outputs |
|---|---|
| 4.1 Get familiar with the SOW structure. |
|
| 4.2 Identify which sections will demand greater time allocation. |
|
| 4.3 Strategize how to avoid potential pitfalls. |
|
| 4.4 Confirm reviewer responsibilities. |
|
Module 5: Communicate and Implement
The Purpose
- Finalize deliverables and plan post-workshop communications.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A completed Contact Center Playbook that justifies each decision of this workshop
| Activities | Outputs |
|---|---|
| 5.1 Finalize deliverables. |
|
| 5.2 Support communication efforts. |
|
| 5.3 Identify resources in support of priority initiatives. |
|
Testimonials
There are no worst parts of my experience. From start to finish it was a brilliant interaction as I was in discussion with persons who were clearly very knowledgeable and more importantly, very willing to help me figure out quite a pickle of a situation.
Our rep Thomas Randall is an absolute pro and amazing at what he does. He is an extremely valuable asset to Info-Tech and a pleasure to work with. Nothing negative to say in any form or fashion.
Good kickstart to our effort.
Thomas Randall was extremely knowledgeable on the CCaaS market. He was flexible and available to meet with us based on our schedule. He offered unbiased information and coordinated meetings. He summarized results and presented them to us. He brought ...
Thomas identified some gaps in our implementation plan, which once they are addressed will allow us to get the details in front of the executive staff faster.