It’s no secret that Microsoft Teams has become one of the most popular business applications of all time. Combining a host of solutions for team productivity with collaboration and communication features, this platform has become an all-in-one hub for the world of modern work.
With 300 million people already accessing Teams on a regular basis for unified communications and collaboration, businesses are rapidly beginning to look for new ways to increase the return on their Microsoft investment.
One of the most popular ways to upgrade Microsoft Teams today, is to implement contact centre functionality, turning Teams into a unified landscape for internal and external communications. Microsoft’s flexible platform already empowers companies to connect their own cloud voice solutions to Teams, through Direct Routing and Operator Connect.
The question is, how do organizations choose the right contact centre integration for Teams?
Tips for Choosing a Microsoft Teams Contact Centre Solution
Notably, while Microsoft does have a few “native” solutions available for contact centre functionality, the service doesn’t offer a comprehensive solution for customer experience. Teams benefits from a few useful features, like call queues, auto attendants and shared voicemail. Companies can even customize these features with PowerShell scripting.
However, for Contact Centre Teams’ itself lacks a lot of crucial functionality. Microsoft also offers the option to integrate Teams with Microsoft Dynamics 365 customer service, a more comprehensive contact centre toolkit under the Microsoft banner. However, once again, there are limitations in how much companies can accomplish with this integration.
To truly unlock the full power of a contact centre within Teams, choosing an integration from a 3rd party contact centre specialist is often the most effective option. Here are some points businesses should consider when selecting their ideal add-on for the Teams environment.
1. Look for a Certified Contact Centre Vendor
Microsoft is no stranger to partnering with other world-leading brands to enhance the Teams experience. The company’s Direct Routing and Operator Connect solutions empower businesses to bring all kinds of communication features into the Teams landscape. However, while many companies offer Microsoft Teams solutions, only some are officially certified for Teams.
Certified Contact Centre vendors offer more reliability and peace of mind to companies expanding their Teams ecosystem. They’ve been pre-assessed by Microsoft, ensuring their tools are reputable, easy-to-use, secure, and compliant.
There are also various options to choose from among certified vendors, from those using the “Extend” model, and Microsoft Graph APIs, to partners leveraging the “Connect” and “Power” models. Each option comes with its own pros and cons to consider, so it’s worth considering your vendors carefully.
2. Know your Must-Have Capabilities
Most certified integrations for Microsoft Teams contact centres will provide access to a host of critical capabilities, from global voice to intelligent call management. However, some vendors can offer more advanced services than others. Assess your current contact centre requirements to determine which features are most important for your team.
For instance, it may be important to select a vendor that supports omnichannel contact centre capabilities, allowing team members to connect with customers on virtually any channel. Some solutions also allow integrations with CRM and ERP, creating powerful tools to help unify and empower the workforce when dealing with customer experience.
Ahmed Khisk, a solutions architect for Resonate and a specialist at integrating and supporting Contact Centres for Teams, says:
“Integration is not an option, it’s a must. We can now offer Teams with APIs from Microsoft for more than 2,000 integrations and this means agents can remain in the Teams environment while performing CRM, reporting and social media tasks, to name just a few. We can do whatever customers need through integrations with Teams.”
An exceptional Microsoft Teams contact centre integration should also support advanced call queuing and routing solutions. This will help businesses to ensure every call reaches the right agent, based on pre-set policies connected to agent skillset and customer need. Plus, the right tool will come with a strong attendant console, capable of transferring callers rapidly to the right professional.
Microsoft Teams Contact Centre Solution | Resonate (resonate-ucc.com)
3. Explore Analytics, Recording, and Reporting
While features like omnichannel communications, auto attendants, and advanced routing will likely be necessary for all businesses, some companies may find themselves in need of additional solutions within their Microsoft Teams contact centre.
Using direct routing technologies, PowerShell, and the Power platform, experienced contact centre vendors for Microsoft Teams can also empower companies to leverage additional CX features, such as comprehensive compliance recording tools, analytics systems, and reporting features.
With the right integration provider, companies will be able to retain excellent visibility into their contact centre, leverage real-time and historical reporting for insights, and improve their compliance standards within their industry.
4. Ensure Flexibility and Agility
Contact centre integrations for Microsoft Teams need to be flexible enough to evolve with the business they serve. One of the biggest advantages of moving a contact centre into Microsoft Teams, is it empowers companies to leverage the benefits of scalability and flexibility in the cloud.
A good contact centre solution should make it simple for businesses to scale numbers and features according to their evolving needs. The most attractive integration options allow companies to pay for only the features and capabilities they use, and access powerful platforms for remote configuration.
5. Choose a Supportive Vendor
Leveraging the right support is crucial when migrating a contact centre into the Microsoft Teams environment. Transitioning into a cloud ecosystem can present a number of challenges to business leaders. When implementing a contact centre solution for Microsoft Teams, it’s important to choose a partner with deep expertise.
The right vendor will have experience not only in the VoIP landscape, but in the Teams ecosystem. They’ll be able to offer expertise and guidance every step of the way, whether you’re migrating to Teams for the first time, or trying to make the most of your new UCaaS ecosystem. For example when Mazda was looking to move their North America Dealership Contact Centre to Teams, they were specifically looking for feature rich integration, plus a highly skilled Partner to deliver and support the solution. The right vendor can help to boost the ROI of your Microsoft Teams contact centre with ongoing guidance, insight, and assistance whenever you need it most.
6. Invest in Innovation
Finally, as the communication, collaboration, and customer service markets continue to evolve, working with an innovative vendor can be extremely useful. A company that commits to staying up to date with the latest Teams innovations and features will help you to upgrade and enhance your investment over time.
Innovative companies can enhance your core contact centre services, ensuring you can take advantage of crucial integrations to CRM and ERG tools, and unlock the benefits of automation. Some vendors can even help you navigate components of the Microsoft Power Platform, creating apps and systems that make it easier to manage your contact centre landscape.
Choosing your Teams Contact Centre
As Microsoft Teams continues to take the world by storm as the ultimate platform for team productivity and collaboration, interest in contact centre solutions is growing. In a world where companies have numerous options to choose from for contact centre integrations, knowing how to select and validate the right vendor will be essential to success.
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