Start with the contact center, not the software

Before comparing vendor features, define the operation’s requirements.

How many agents do you have?

How much of your workload is inbound versus outbound?

Which channels do your customers use?

What CRM or helpdesk are you running?

How important are Workforce Management, forecasting and scheduling?

What reporting does the operation need?

Where are the biggest operational problems today?

And what are you expecting the contact center to look like in two or three years?

The answers shape which platforms belong on the shortlist. A 25-agent customer service operation may have different requirements from a 500-agent omnichannel contact center.

The major platforms are not all solving exactly the same problem

Platforms buyers may include in their shortlist include NICE, Genesys, Five9, Talkdesk and Amazon Connect. Compare each against the same requirements, including architecture, pricing, implementation, integrations, AI capabilities and the operating environments it supports.

Some platforms target smaller and midsize businesses. Check their available features, implementation needs and costs against your requirements.

A smaller platform may fit when its capabilities, implementation requirements and total cost match the operation better than an enterprise option. Compare those factors directly rather than choosing by feature count alone.

AI changes the evaluation

Assess AI by the work it is expected to support, rather than treating it as a single feature. Contact center platforms may offer different capabilities, including:

• AI voice agents
• Agent assist
• Automated quality management and coaching
• Call summarization and conversational analytics
• Knowledge management
• AI forecasting and workforce management
• Workflow automation