5G, IoT, Big Data: Prepare Your Contact Center Now

Here are four steps that progressive

companies can take today to get started

with these critical technologies.

By Wes Durow, Mitel CMO | As seen in No Jitter

The rise of connectivity and social media has

reshaped today’s customer service and put real

power into the hands of the consumer. At the same

time, new and emerging technologies like 4G, 5G,

Internet of Things (IoT)/machine-to-machine (M2M)

and big data are giving businesses the tools they

need to reimagine the types of service and support

capabilities that can meet, and even anticipate,

those new consumer demands, as I discussed in my

previous post, “5G, IoT, Big Data: Everything to Do

with Customer Service.”

Mitel | 2

For instance:

• 4G LTE is already creating a common IP thread

across carrier and enterprise networks, and the

follow-on transition to 5G will devote slices of

network spectrum to vertical segments, paving

the way for mass-scale IoT/M2M capabilities.

Coupled with the cloud, these technologies

give us a bridge to link different topologies

and application environments.

• The rise of IoT/M2M and wearables provides the

ability to take intelligence from the edge of a

company’s footprints – its products, equipment,

and services in the field – and rapidly integrate that

data back into the business, using big data analytics

to make decisions, deploy resources, and get

smarter about what customers need most.

• Big data and social media listening tools will soon

enable companies to proactively monitor trends

when things go well – or not so well. This will

provide a way for them to address the needs of

customers and other constituents, including

sales and channels.

In the midst of this excitement is the expanding role of

a truly next-generation contact center. This is a contact

center that goes beyond the 15% to 20% attachment and

penetration of traditional contact centers and instead

decouples advanced intelligent application features for

embedding across the entirety of an organization to help

improve customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

What Does This Technology Integration Look Like?

I reside in Texas, so I’ll use a familiar reference – that

of an oil rig maintenance firm. This firm dispatches

technicians to sites across West Texas for periodic

checks on client equipment, including oil rigs that can

pump out 10,000 barrels a day or more and where any

machinery slowdown creates a substantial financial

hit. By using IoT/M2M capabilities to connect each oil

rig, the company can monitor output remotely. If a

problem arises, the device can send a data trigger that

auto-dispatches the nearest qualified and available tech,

boosting response time.

Once on site, the tech can leverage traditional contact

center features that form a “find an expert” capability,

like that of vertical SaaS application leader FieldAware.

So, using a video application on a smart device, the

technician can show a colleague back at the office the

exact problem or operation and together they can solve

it in real time, eliminating the need for additional on-site

visits from multiple personnel. Further, data collection

across the macro deployment of rigs can establish trend

insights, allowing the firm to proactively take measures

in partnership with the client to keep the oil flowing.

In short, client satisfaction rises as does client profitability

by tying together IoT/M2M and customer service.

Companies across almost any segment, including

healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and retail, can

build similar scenarios. The question for most is:

Where do we start?

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To borrow a baseball analogy, we are still in the first inning of understanding and building customer experiences that

are optimized for IoT/M2M deployments. The most important step is the first one – to build a plan. While you’ll no

doubt adjust the plan over time, the key is to remain focused on your company’s ability to improve competitiveness

by identifying a strategy that reduces customer effort while increasing customer engagement. Let’s get started.

Four Steps Progressive Companies Can Take Today

Where to begin can be overwhelming, but following these four steps will allow companies

to leverage the intersection of IoT/M2M capabilities and improve the experience of their

connected customers.

1. Architect a seamless communications framework: In an era of ubiquitous

connectivity, the ability

to tie together disparate

hardware and software

platforms across

heterogeneous modes of

communication is critical.

Find a partner that can help

you leverage what you have

and build toward the future

with flexible cloud and

mobile-based solutions.

2. Build a blueprint of what you should automate versus what requires live agent support: High-escalation cases will

continue to require high-

touch customer service

engagement, but companies

should continue to identify

what steps they can first

handle through self-service

or automated options. With

IoT/M2M, the device itself

interacts to realize first-

level support, thus enabling

customer service agents

to provide higher value

support, integration and

analytics services. These

connected devices can

also signal a billing staff

member when a customer

has reached a specific data

threshold, or alert a sales

professional when it is time

to upgrade to a solution with

more features.

3. Leverage new tools to improve customer engagement: Fast-moving companies

are starting to look at how

to better leverage their

entire organizations to

provide customer care.

The intersection of IoT/M2M

allows companies to embed

legacy customer service

features like skills-based

routing into SaaS application

workflows. When embedded

with real-time voice,

video and collaboration

capabilities, these SaaS-

based applications make it

easy to leverage location-

based intelligence, customer

database information,

and advanced workflow

capabilities to provide

exceptional customer

engagement.

4. Exploit the seams

to find new solutions: More data means more

insights. By examining old

problems in new ways,

you may find previously

unimagined solutions. The

advent of IoT/M2M creates

a stream of real-time data

allowing for a whole new

set of predictive triggers,

which proactively improve

the customer experience.

By weaving together big

data analytics with real-

time communications and

collaboration capabilities,

the smartest and most

agile companies can create

immediate competitive

differentiation.