Microservices are widely regarded by many observers as the way forward for software development. Indeed, a recent report by Market Research Future, predicts that the microservices market will grow at a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6% over the next eight years and be worth $21.67 billion by 2030.
The main growth drivers for microservices architectures are the growing use of different kinds of devices to access applications and services and the increase in home and hybrid working. This is making it critical for software developers to engineer versatility into their solutions – including contact centres – so that they can be easily deployed and updated on any device.
Most legacy applications were built using an older ‘monolithic’ architecture, in which data was accessed via middleware that would sit beneath the business application layer, the functions of which would be made available on devices through a user interface. This type of architecture is quite easy to understand and deploy, but not so great at adapting to change or scaling.
Embracing Microservices
With the arrival of the cloud, a new kind of architecture was needed and for contact centre provider Buzzeasy, recognising that early on has been key to its success. As Viktor Gajodi, CEO, said to UC Today, versatility and flexibility have been built-into Buzzeasy from day one.
“When we started with Buzzeasy we realised that the old type of thinking where applications or solutions were built using a monolithic structure, with all the functionality supposedly included and a new version being released once or twice a year, simply doesn’t work in the cloud. Many vendors had contact centre solutions that were built in that legacy and just moving that into the cloud was never going to cut it. Therefore Buzzeasy was designed, built and born in the cloud fully embracing a microservices architecture.”
Further to this, Gajodi and his team realised that by breaking down the components of the application into small services they could then make APIs available that would allow those services to be deployed alongside existing systems. This would enable customers to go on using their legacy applications and extending existing solutions with features from Buzzeasy cloud services.
“Having this kind of architecture made it really simple for us to offer something new without the need of replacing the full legacy contact centre. We could actually expand or add functionality to systems that a customer had already invested in.”
Protecting your Investment
As well as protecting the customer’s investment in software and licences, this means less disruption for people and to processes without the need to re-train agents. It’s also worth noting that the Buzzeasy components can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the customer.
Consequently, the first deployments of Buzzeasy tended to be adding newer digital channels to existing applications. This has enabled organisations to adopt a multi-channel approach, augmenting their existing solution with IM, chat and messaging. They have thus been able to advance with their digitalisation plans at their own pace.
“The great thing about the cloud is that it means making those choices [about when to upgrade and embrace more digital channels] becomes much simpler. You don’t have to sacrifice all your investment and while there may be less functionality in the individual microservices, they are easier to adopt”, said Gajodi.
Cloud Era Reality
It’s a reality of the cloud era that users want to be able to use new functionality instantly, he added. “The user interfaces need to be self-explanatory. If a new service is made available, you don’t want to sit down and read the manual. It’s got to be straightforward, and in this respect, I believe we have the edge over some of our competition.”
Another capability that has been inherent in Buzzeasy from the start – and is also a product of using a microservices architecture – is the constant update cycle. Buzzeasy makes enhancements, additions or changes to its software about every two weeks and new functionality is available to all customers immediately and without any interruption to services. The biggest challenge, says Gajodi, is choosing which capabilities to add first.
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