Is the Doomsday Clock ticking on Legacy Systems?

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Businesses have had to change and innovate quickly over the past year, which has often been a challenge. But for those who’ve succeeded in updating and improving their operations, it has been immensely liberating.

Harnessing the power of cloud technology has been a necessary step for many businesses and taken them a significant step closer to becoming more future-proof. Those turning to the cloud have transformed the way they do things, updating their past processes to be at the forefront of industries.

In the world of contact centre business communications, we have seen a huge number of clients benefit from changing their legacy systems to a cloud-based alternative. The drawbacks of legacy systems have grown more apparent, whilst the benefits of a cloud-based contact system have become undeniable.

The Threat Legacy Systems Pose.

As this technology proliferates, those who stick to legacy set ups are at risk of letting down their stakeholders and losing out in the market.

Companies using on-premise legacy systems came unstuck in lockdown. The pandemic increased contact volumes in the short-term, but contact centres were ill-prepared to handle these without accessible premises or work-from-home technology, with further implications for security, agent experience and client satisfaction.

The COVID-19 crisis demanded that businesses in all industries find a remote, reliable alternative to unsafe in-person operations. Contact centres with cloud setups were already at an advantage. The pandemic put them leagues ahead of their legacy-using competitors. The cloud contact centre industry is now forecast to see a growth rate of 23.11% (CAGR) before 2025 - businesses failing to catch on to this trend will struggle in a digitally advanced market and risk failure.

Legacy systems create several conditions for businesses that pose a threat to their own success. Here, we look at the key reasons contact centres should reconsider their legacy set up, for the sake of their customers, stakeholders and even their own existence.

Inefficiency.

When over 40% of customers expect to have their query answered within an hour of making it, businesses must prioritise improving contact handling time. But legacy systems are simply a long way off providing the greatest efficiency when it comes to contact.

Legacy systems take too long to gather relevant data, making it harder for agents to be responsive and support customers quickly. These systems also silo channels, preventing a singular CX strategy from businesses or the ability to analyse channel performance or customer behaviour properly.

The cloud not only provides access at any time from anyone, no matter where they’re based. It is faster, easy to implement, easy to use and reliable. Automating parts of the contact flow gives more simple, high volume tasks to robots whilst agents take on meaningful work. Agents can gain insights on customer intent and behaviour, meaning direct contact can be more valuable and relevant.

Smart cloud solutions make the handling of customer information and contact data better, simplifying the tasks required of agents to support customers. This drives efficiency and agent performances, ultimately giving you more of a chance to achieve your business goals.

Poor CX and CSAT.

Legacy systems create a challenge for your contact centre to be as efficient and successful as possible. This can end up having implications for your CX, your customer retention and your business reputation.

Customers want shorter waiting times and faster information. Legacy systems prevent agents from providing this service. Modern cloud-based solutions make it easier for businesses and agents to respond quickly, efficiently and accurately - cloud contact centres can expect to see CSAT increase by 20% with the right solution in place.

Employee experience.

Agents’ tasks can be made simpler and their experience better by removing the unnecessary limitations of legacy systems. 60% of contact centre agents say that their company doesn’t give them the right technology to address CX challenges. A smart omnichannel solution can give agents the tools needed to do the work of legacy systems and more.

SmartAgent was designed to provide the ultimate agent experience for contact centre employees. By unifying multiple contact channels, including voice, email and SMS, into a single, streamlined desktop, our product can simplify the contact handling experience for agents. This simplicity means agents can support customers in different ways in the fastest, most efficient way possible, whilst making their workloads more manageable and roles more rewarding.

Resources and costs.

Leaving the premises behind saves money as well as time. Shifting resources and materials from the physical to the cloud can only bring further cost benefits to contact centres.

Prior to the pandemic, UK businesses were wasting as much as £2.1bn from underinvesting in contact centre innovation. The costs of running on-premise systems, agent offices and hardware in multiple places can all be saved by migration to cloud setups, which are cheaper than on-premise ones by as much as 27%. For this reason alone, companies should consider the cloud alternative to their legacy processes.

Bringing the Future to Your Business.

It is clear that, as it gets harder and harder for legacy systems to fulfil their roles in contact centres, cloud alternatives are continuing to prove their worth. Legacy systems will slow businesses down and damage their reputation the longer they are left to host contact centres.

Fortunately, the options for businesses to improve their contact operations are plenty. The technology and capabilities of cloud-based systems offer a simple way for your business to keep up with competitors and provide consistent long term success.

Mission Labs are here to help bring your business into the future by offering products and solutions that give your business the best of the cloud, with easy and reliable implementation from industry experts.

Our SmartAgent product will empower your agents to work more efficiently, whilst our valuable experience with implementing bespoke solutions for all sorts of businesses. From smart improvements to your contact channels to automating parts of your contact flow, we have repeatedly proven to be a successful service provider for clients wishing to make the most of what the cloud has to offer.

The race to the cloud has been going on for years now. Those holding on to legacy systems will be the last to realise its benefits and will surely lose out on business. By reaching out to Mission Labs and reconsidering your processes, you can leave legacy behind to embrace the future of the cloud contact centre.