Ip, Sip Transformation Creating A Roadmap

A Business White Paper

IP/SIPTransformation:
Creating a Roadmap
for the Dynamic
Contact Center
Genesys Business Consulting

April 2008

IP/SIP Transformation: Creating a Roadmap for the Dynamic Contact Center

Table of Contents

3 Executive Summary
3 Enabling the Next-Generation Dynamic Contact Center
4 Driving the IP/SIP Transformation Strategy Roadmap
Putting Together the Right Team

5 Four Steps to Creating a Transformation Business Plan
Step One: Assess the Current State
Step Two: Determine the Ideal End State
Step Three: Analyze Gaps
Step Four: Build a Transformation Roadmap

9 Building the Transformation Business Case
Determining the Expected Return on Investment
Finding the Savings

10 Conclusion
11 About Genesys

IP/SIP Transformation: Creating a Roadmap for the Dynamic Contact Center 3 of 12

Executive Summary
The transformation to IP (Internet Protocol) is bringing extraordinary value to many
areas of the business—none more so than the contact center. Far from being merely a
technology decision, the migration to a more open, flexible IP environment represents
the ideal opportunity for contact centers to reinvent themselves. Using IP/SIP (Session
Initiation Protocol)-based technology as the groundwork, companies can leverage their
service delivery with real-time intelligence, unparalleled flexibility, and modern multimedia
capabilities. The result is a next-generation contact center that is ready to deliver an
entirely new level of customer service and satisfaction.

Taking full advantage of an IP/SIP environment requires more than simply swapping out
or migrating to a new underlying communications infrastructure. Savvy companies are
recognizing that to drive true change, they must be prepared to systematically adapt and
evolve the processes and technology used to operate the contact center today. This broader
scope of transformation means that organizations must have a comprehensive business
plan—a detailed roadmap to help them successfully chart the course and stay on track.

This white paper discusses how companies can develop a roadmap unique to their
organizational needs, current technologies, and strategies. By utilizing the best practices-
based, four-step process presented here, companies can create a roadmap that spells out
exactly how people, processes, and technology can blend together seamlessly to create the
ideal customer experience.

Enabling the Next-Generation Dynamic Contact Center
A dynamic contact center orchestrates resources and capabilities to align with customer
expectations and business objectives—in real time. It enables organizations to rapidly
respond to the changing dynamics of customer service and the business environment.

IP/SIP technology is a critical foundation for creating this next-generation, dynamic
contact center. By implementing a SIP-enabled environment, organizations gain cost
savings, increased flexibility and efficiency, better management control, and the scalability
to grow with changing business requirements. Through the multimedia capabilities of SIP,
contact centers can deliver fast and consistent service across a variety of communications
channels: phone, e-mail, chat, SMS, and even video. A contact center transformed by
IP/SIP creates efficiencies previously unattainable and opens the door for capabilities that
drive revenue and satisfaction.


Managing the transformation to an IP-based dynamic contact center requires that
organizations first invest the time in developing a comprehensive roadmap and a solid
business case. This roadmap will guide the company and the contact center through each step
of the transition, and ensure business objectives precisely align with technology solutions.

Driving the IP/SIP Transformation Strategy Roadmap
A clearly-defined roadmap maximizes the business benefits of the transformation, while
minimizing disruption and avoiding any pitfalls. It should illustrate exactly how new
capabilities will be implemented to achieve measurable results—in improved business
processes, increased agent and customer satisfaction, and reduced service delivery costs.
By providing a clear path and measurable milestones, a transformation plan will alleviate
anxiety, keep the project on track, and enable the organization to gauge progress.

Putting Together the Right Team
To ensure all potential business considerations relevant to the IP/SIP migration are
thoroughly addressed in the plan, organizations would do well to form a core team
comprised of members representing all disciplines affected by the SIP project.

Core team members should include:

Executive Sponsor—The empowered visionary who provides thought
leadership in confirming the business drivers, and who has the authority to
remove obstacles to achieving the organization’s goals.

Functional and Technical Stakeholders—The contact center operations
and IT staff responsible for the technology transition and crafting solutions
to issues such as business continuity.

User Management and Staff—Contact center managers, supervisors,
and agents with insight into specific areas and processes that most impact
customer service and satisfaction.

Finance Staff—Financial management and project accounting staff who
can help quantify potential areas of cost reductions and provide thought
leadership on ROI criteria to be used in project cost analysis.

This core team may find additional benefit from engaging with an external business
consultant team, such as Genesys Business Consulting, to provide organizational insight
into building the roadmap.


Once the team is in place, it will drive the process of developing the roadmap and the
business case supporting the transformation. Subsets of this core team would be involved
in aspects of technology implementation and rolling out changes across the contact center
organization. Most importantly, the team should have access to a best practices-based
methodology to guide its efforts.

Four Steps to Creating a Transformation Business Plan
From the IT perspective, IP migration centers around the issues of software and hardware.
For the contact center, however, the focus should be on the implications for the people and
processes reliant on that technology—and ensuring the new capabilities are deployed for
maximum business value.

In spite of its enthusiastic adoption of the IP/SIP solution, Genesys Business Consulting
does not advocate a rip-and-replace approach to bring IP/SIP into the contact center
environment. Instead, Genesys Business Consultants work closely with companies to craft
a strategy that transforms the contact center from its current state to a future, fully SIP-
enabled dynamic contact center.

This roadmap is created using a four-step process developed by Genesys Business
Consulting and based on best practices and insight gleaned from many customer projects.

Figure 1.
Analyze Build A
Genesys Assess the Determine the Ideal Transformational
Current State End State Gaps
Four-Step Roadmap
Business Plan AssessmentofStrategy, Define and validate Identify the current A comprehensive
Process People, Process, and the ideal end state gaps and recommend business case
Technology based on business opportunities summarizing the
strategies recommendedsolutions

Step One: Assess the Current State
A comprehensive understanding of existing resources, technology, operational metrics,
and strategy provide the baseline for the transformation business plan and roadmap. This
includes understanding the existing infrastructure and rationale for current technology
investments, such as PBXs, ACDs, IVRs, and other telephony solutions.

Genesys Business Consulting recommends:

• Reviewing organizational strategies that impact operations in the
contact center, sales, marketing, customer service, and other areas. What new
programs are in the pipeline intended to expand sales? How is the organiza-
tion working to improve service and reduce costs?


• Surveying contact center effectiveness and analyzing data from the
current telephony platforms, as well as key performance indicators (KPIs),
agent productivity, and processes that impede productivity. In addition, poor
agent satisfaction is often a key indicator of dysfunctional processes and
outdated procedures.

• Mapping contact center technologies to understand levels of integra-
tion, flexibility, scalability, life span of the infrastructure, and costs to support
and maintain it.

• Studying the end-to-end customer experience when interacting with
the telephony service. Use customer surveys, usability studies, and telephony
data to gain an understanding of call patterns and how they impact queuing
and routing. What obstacles do customers face when trying to reach an agent
or use a self-service application?

This detailed information is then gathered and analyzed for potential business opportunities
and to provide valuable baseline data for the gap analysis, step three in the process.

Step Two: Determine the Ideal End State
Properly defining and validating the ideal end state requires a holistic view of the business,
keen insight into business strategies, and an in-depth understanding of what the future
needs of the business might be. As in each of the steps, it helps to have business consultants
with knowledge of industry best practices and deep experience guiding other companies,
in order to deliver a truly objective look into the future potential of the contact center.

In determining the ideal state, optimal operating models for each business unit should be
defined. This exercise needs to consider where revisions are most needed and what business
opportunities may be present in processes, operation locations, staffing, and technology.
Each proposed revision should have a clearly defined financial and non-financial benefit.

Some of the areas to include when considering improvements and capabilities in an ideal
end state are:

• Improving process effectiveness—Using SIP-based technology, dramatic
process improvements can be made in how calls are queued and routed.
For instance, customers can be routed to specific agents based on business
rules that include criteria such as skill level, customer value, and presence
(availability) of agents or specialists. Information provided by the customer


can be passed to the agent’s desktop to reduce call time and improve
communications. Caller data can be retained if the call is transferred, avoiding
customer frustration at having to repeat information. By using the network to
queue calls, agent utilization and staff shrinkage are more easily managed.

• Empowering agents—With SIP, agents and specialists can work almost
anywhere as long as there is Internet access available. This flexibility eliminates
the need to deploy expensive PBX solutions for one or only a few workers.
Channel partners can also join the network easily and at a low cost.

• Enhancing staffing flexibility—Agent pools can be quickly brought on-
line to meet peak demands and, due to the flexible nature of VoIP (Voice
over Internet Protocol), can be more cost-effectively located in branch
offices or their own homes. In addition, agents may be employed in-house
or even by partner organizations.

• Lowering technology costs—Running VoIP on a data network delivers
savings in both networking and support and maintenance costs. Instead of
the high costs of traditional telephony, organizations can realize substantial
savings by combining voice and data networks. Further, SIP does not
require PBXs, ACDs, or the engineers that typically support and maintain
them. Software-based ACDs can be maintained by regular IT staff.

After completing this step of the process, the focus shifts to analyzing and describing how
to go from point A to point B in the most cost-effective, high value way possible.

Step Three: Analyze Gaps
Step three uses the results of the first two steps to analyze gaps—specifically focusing on
areas where the greatest benefits can be achieved, costs of implementing the changes, and
realistic times for delivery. While each of these areas is assessed independently, the analysis
should also reflect the interrelationships where further business value and improvement can
be derived.

An important component of the analysis is to understand and communicate the impact
the transformation to IP will have on the people, processes, and technology within the
organization. While any change recommended is intended to improve the performance
of the entire contact center, it’s critical to evaluate the individual implications of potential
enhancements on both employees and customers.


For instance, the gap analysis looks at the impact of transformation on:

• Processes
How the process will change, and how the changes will improve
organizational performance, taking into account how anticipated changes
will impact customers and employees.

• Locations
Which facilities will be impacted by changes designed to improve customer
service or working conditions.

• Staffing
How staffing can be optimized, while understanding the impact on
individuals, especially those affected by reduced or reassigned staffing.

• Technology
What impact technology has from a business perspective, including realistic
cost estimates for the development and deployment cycle.

The results of this step form the basis for creating the detailed roadmap for the
transformation.

Step Four: Build a Transformation Roadmap
The transformational roadmap is a phased, ROI-based plan that describes how the
organization should move from the current state to the ideal state. This roadmap provides
a guide for continuous improvement throughout the SIP implementation process.
Relying on the gap analysis, priorities are set for developing and deploying the required

GEnESyS HElpS “InSuRE” ExCEpTIonAl CuSTomER SERvICE
A major insurance company in France fields one million calls each year across five contact
centers. In 2005, the company considered its future needs in light of its then current
technology infrastructure. It found that its earlier decision to build its contact centers on
Genesys technology left it well-positioned for the future.

The firm recently decided to launch a technological revolution by bringing the power of the
Internet to every agent’s desktop. Working with Genesys, the insurance company was able
to plan for the future while incorporating its existing TDM network in a hybrid architecture
that also supports an IP network. The IP/SIP protocol gives the company a broad range of
multimedia communications between agents and customers. As a result, call duration times
have been reduced by 20 to 30 seconds. With on-the-fly staffing flexibility, agents can be
added anywhere on the IP network.


infrastructure in progressive phases. These priorities are driven by business imperatives as
well as financial considerations, such as budget and payback.

An essential component of this step is the definition of specific and measurable goals.
By establishing clear metrics, Genesys Business Consulting provides a means for tracking
and measuring the success of the transformation. These goals also shed light on difficult
project issues that may arise, helping the organization to make objective, informed
decisions. This approach enables companies to move away from a project completion-
based view of success to one of continuous improvement with benefits realized
throughout the life of the project.

Building the Transformation Business Case
While a business plan with a transformation roadmap is essential to the success of an IP
migration, developing the business case is equally critical in order to get approval and
funding for the project. The information and analysis generated from the development of
the business plan serve as the basis for the explicit business case.

Determining the Expected Return on Investment
Migrating to SIP technology is a long-term project, so the expected return on investment
should be assessed based on a long-range view. Industry analysts such as Forrester Research
recommend a five-year period for determining return on investment. Further, analysts
state that the most significant cost savings will be realized from converged network costs,
management, and support. The initial cost of moving to an IP infrastructure should be
factored against those savings.

While converged network savings can be the most significant savings, there are a myriad of
other areas that deliver less-readily visible return on investment:

• Incremental revenue generated by new products and services
• Reduced time-to-market
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Enhanced customer interactions
• Employee productivity gains


Finding the Savings
As part of a business case for the IP/SIP transformation, the following opportunities for
savings should be considered:

Customer Service
• Incorporating current technologies to preserve familiar customer access
methods
• Improving first contact resolution by reducing unnecessary routing steps
• Improving customer retention as a result of enhanced customer interaction
experiences

Technology and Infrastructure
• Reducing telephony costs by consolidating or eliminating unnecessary costs
and services
• Providing a standards-based software platform that reduces proprietary
maintenance and operating costs for disparate hardware solutions
• Lowering operating expenses for operation and maintenance of diverse and
siloed systems

Business and Operations
• Creating opportunities for marketing value-added products and services
more rapidly and at a lower total cost of ownership
• Providing users with consolidated access to all enterprise applications and
communications
• Consolidating reporting and workforce management (WFM) operations
• Reducing the cost of merger and acquisition activities
• Reducing real estate costs by deploying remote agent capabilities

Conclusion
With a transformation roadmap and the data necessary to make the business case in hand,
the organization is ready to begin enabling its next-generation contact center. The ideal
outcome will be a re-energized contact center with a dynamic and highly flexible engine
that delivers profound increases in productivity, efficiency, and performance.

Genesys delivers an end-to-end business consulting solution to clients preparing for
IP/SIP transformation. It combines the power and leadership of its SIP technology expertise
with the proven methodology of Genesys Business Consulting. Through its unique, proven
methodology, Genesys Business Consulting determines business requirements, documents
business rules, and creates a clear and realistic roadmap for transformation. This client-specific
SIP migration plan enables companies to realize improved customer service, better resource
virtualization, flexible growth, and scalability for future business demands.


About Genesys Business Consulting
Strategic advantage is won or lost in service delivery, especially in contact centers.
Genesys Business Consulting assists you by closing gaps and achieving improvements
that deliver demonstrable, reportable returns. By using Genesys Business Consulting
methodologies, you can build a customized roadmap that sets the right balance between
cost, quality and revenue for your business and customers. Genesys Business Consulting
recommends solutions that you can use, taking into consideration available resources,
impacts on the organization and existing technologies.

Genesys Business Consulting has created repeatable best practices to deliver actionable
solutions to our customers. From white papers to contact center assessments to strategy
creation and validation, we have a variety of services to choose from based on your
business goals. For more information, visit www.genesyslab.com.

Additional Genesys Worldwide
Information Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the world’s leading provider of contact center and
customer service management software—with more than 4,000 customers in 80 countries. Genesys
software directs more than 100 million interactions every day, dynamically connecting customers
with the right resources—self-service or assisted-service—to fulfill customer requests, optimize
customer care goals and efficiently use agent resources. Genesys helps organizations drive contact
center efficiency, stop customer frustration, and accelerate business innovation.
For more information visit: www.genesyslab.com, or call +1 888 GENESYS or 1-650-466-1100.

Genesys Corporate Americas Europe, Middle East, Africa Asia Pacific
Headquarters Corporate Headquarters EMEA Headquarters APAC Headquarters
Genesys Genesys House Genesys Laboratories
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United Kingdom
+1 888 Genesys (436 3797) +61 2 9463 8500
Tel: +44 1276 457000

Genesys and the Genesys logo are registered trademarks of Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. All other company names and logos may be registered
trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby recognized. © 2008 Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ip, Sip Transformation Creating A Roadmap

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