Contact centers expect a smooth migration as they move to a CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) solution.
Automated validation testing and monitoring is crucial for a successful cloud migration strategy, so it's just as important for resellers to ensure it's part of their technology set as it is for contact centers to insist on it.
We look at the main benefits for value-added resellers and contact centers. 
Benefits for value-added resellers
1. Visibility of entire CX operation and infrastructure
Using automated validation testing software such as Occam's ETS (Experience Testing System) allows you to map out your customers' existing CX environment from the perspective of their end customer, as well as capture and document an accurate and up to date overview of the customer's existing operations.
This offers the starting point on where and how migrating to cloud will deliver significant results. It provides you with a benchmark, all the information you need to carry out the cloud migration, and a centralized testing environment.
ETS then compares these against the newly delivered Cloud CX Environment, speeding up UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and ensuring deployments are accurate and complete.
2. Differentiate yourself from competitors
Validation testing enables you to differentiate yourself from competitors by having additional verification steps, as well as the ability to speed up the process whilst keeping costs realistic.
3. Deliver additional value
Deliver additional value by adopting this approach. Validation testing means you can provide a more layered and thorough service to your customer.
4. Reduce excess work
The reality is that, unless your testing process shifts left during the deployment process, small errors that could have been identified immediately are not picked up until much later in the process where they have a far greater impact on the overall project.
Verification testing allows you to test continually throughout the deployment, and share results demonstrating that the project is moving forward within the anticipated timeframes.
The added benefit is that a lot of the testing process that you would have had to go through – spotting issues and wasting time to look into them, is eliminated at a much earlier stage.
5. Keep projects on time and within budget
Nothing will place more strain on your relationship with the customer than a missed deadline. When deadlines are missed, there are a number of negative consequences. The customer loses trust, but that's not all. Anxiety can develop over whether costs will increase, responsibilities are called into question (including finger-pointing over who's to blame), while fears regarding overall business impact rise.
6. Drive retention
Once you've completed the cloud migration, provide continual insights and feedback on where and how improvements to the customer experience can be made. Highlight the benefits of deploying additional features available within the cloud solution and support the way your customer delivers their CX initiatives to their own customers. By doing so, there's no reason for your customer to research alternative providers and solutions. You’ll be offering an indispensable service that enables you to enjoy long term revenue from the customer by ensuring that they're using the latest features and services to meet their CX initiatives.
7. Enhance your customer reputation with the end-user and within the industry
Businesses that invest in testing their processes and functions project an image of forward-thinking enterprises that prioritize high-quality customer experiences. Validation testing will speed up the response to issues, improving the call center's competitiveness.
Benefits for contact centers
1. Eradicate risk
If you're in charge of contact center operations, it would be understandable for you to be concerned about any downtime or challenges that compromise service delivery for prolonged periods during a transition from an on-prem to cloud solution. These reservations might be delaying your decision to invest in the cloud in a bid to ensure performance consistency, or making it harder to gain buy-in from other stakeholders.
You'll want to see all of the necessary information, as well as the protocols and systems being put in place to prevent any major issues and reduce the risk. To further put your mind at ease, validation testing will provide continuous feedback and updates on progress, eliminating any nasty surprises or inexplicable mishaps.
2. Understand where to focus efforts
IVR discovery tools allow contact centers to complete design-driven testing, by mapping out the current end customer journey and ensuring that everything is working as expected before the migration is completed in the live production environment. Functional testing will flag if any errors occur and this will allow you to understand where to focus your efforts to ensure the best customer experience is delivered. As all the decisions you'll need to make are time-sensitive, access to this information is crucial.
3. Assurance that all providers are delivering
A cloud solution will have several components: the carrier, the network, the traditional CRM, and any other third-party integrations that need to be brought over. All of these providers will have to operate according to specification. Validation testing helps you to spot any niggles across these various providers and keep the project on track. As a result, you have less to worry about and greater assurance that everything will function as expected.
4. Keep the call center migration project on time and within budget
Budget will undoubtedly be one of your primary considerations, particularly if you're responsible for approving the cloud migration strategy. Any excess financial requirement could put a strain on the business and frustrate other stakeholders. Validation testing will you and the reseller predict and resolve issues before they evolve into costly add-ons.
5. Transfer test scripts to a monitoring schedule
The test scripts that have been created at the IVR discovery and functional testing stages can be utilised and transferred into a monitoring schedule to ensure systems constantly deliver as expected.
Want to know more about why validation testing is essential for a successful cloud migration strategy, and how it can accelerate your cloud migration projects?
In the webinar, we discuss how adopting automated validation and monitoring into your technology set ensures that you are perfectly positioned to bring your current on-premise customers and new customers over to the cloud and drastically increase your chances of retaining that customer in the long term.
