Explore today’s most advanced call center technologies and impactful call center technology trends. Discover how these technologies are revolutionizing the customer experience to boost contact center performance and CX.

Call center technology refers to the software, tools, and systems used by contact centers to facilitate, streamline, and optimize operational processes and interactions throughout the entire customer journey. With the constant stream of new call center technology solutions becoming available each day, it can be overwhelming trying to determine which technologies investments are truly effective and worthwhile. The first step in finding the right contact center technology for your operation is understanding today’s impactful and trending options.

A simple Google search will reveal a nearly limitless list of advanced call center technologies and call center technology trends. Substantial research and industry benchmarking are required to identify the most impactful contact center technologies.

Fortunately, our call center experts are here to save the day and have done the heavy lifting to determine which tech solutions can help call center leaders drive qualitative results. Most industry-leading organizations leverage a combination of these and other advanced call center technologies to create a tailored solution that meets their specific needs and objectives. Let’s dive into the 10 call center technology trends that boost performance and CX.

A Call Center CRM (customer relationship management) system is a comprehensive software solution that manages customer interactions, tracks customer information, and streamlines communication channels within a call center environment, such as phone calls, live chat, social media, SMS, and email. It is a centralized repository for storing customer data, including contact details, interaction history, purchase behavior, preferences, and more.

A call center CRM system enables efficient operations by managing and analyzing customer interaction data across channels. This wealth of information enables call center agents to deliver personalized and efficient customer service, ultimately fostering stronger relationships, improving customer satisfaction, and driving business growth.

Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) is a type of call center software that provides all the functionalities and tools required to run a contact center operation. These solutions are often cloud-based and include features such as call recording, interactive voice recognition (IVR) and call routing services, call recording, interaction analytics, and more.

Contact Center as a Service software helps manage and optimize the customer and employee experience across channels to deliver quality customer service at every touchpoint. Unlike traditional on-premises systems, CCaaS solutions enable scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, making them an optimal option for call centers of all sizes and maturity levels.

Call Center Data Analytics and Reporting and Data Visualization solutions provide insights into workforce performance, customer behavior trends, operational efficiency, and more. This valuable information enables you to identify areas of opportunity and make data-driven decisions to improve performance metrics.

Call center data analytics and reporting involves examining large datasets to uncover patterns, contact center performance trends, and correlations related to customer interactions, agent performance, and operational metrics. This data includes key performance indicator (KPI) information for metrics such as call volume, average hold time (AHT), contact center customer satisfaction (CSAT), and more.

Call center data visualization solutions provide comprehensive visual reports of your performance data. These performance dashboards include visual elements, such as charts and graphs, that make it easier for stakeholders to understand complex datasets and identify trends in real-time. Interactive dashboards allow users to drill down into specific call center metric data in real-time, enabling faster decision-making and more effective performance monitoring.

Contact Center Artificial Intelligence refers to the AI integrations and machine learning technologies that can automate and optimize the diverse aspects of customer service operations. Contact center AI vendors offer a wide variety of features to help drive efficiency, productivity, and quality assurance while reducing operational costs.

Some popular applications include chatbots and virtual assistants, self-service platforms, predictive analysis, natural language processing (NLP), and performance data analytics and reporting.

Contact center Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are automated phone call interaction solutions that utilize a menu of pre-recorded voice prompts to interact with callers for effortless and efficient service. When customers call into a contact center that utilizes an IVR solution, they are greeted by a pre-recorded message that prompts them to select from a menu of options using their phone’s keypad or by speaking commands aloud.

Based on the customer’s input, the IVR system routes the call to the appropriate department, gathers information to expedite inquiry resolution, or offers self-service options to perform tasks without live support, such as retrieving payment history or paying bills. Automating and routing customers without utilizing live support resources can create significant cost labor savings while still delivering an exceptional customer experience.

Contact center Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) technology is an intelligent call routing software that utilizes predefined criteria, such as agent skillset, language, and customer interaction history, to direct inbound calls to the appropriate party for customer assistance.

When customers contact a call center, the ACD system identifies their needs, such as language preference, reason for calling, or priority level. It directs the call to the appropriate queue or call center agent. Contact Center ACD systems use algorithms to intelligently distribute calls intelligently, ensuring efficient utilization of resources and timely resolution of customer inquiries.

Call center Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) technology integrates telephony systems with computer systems and applications, enabling screen pop-ups with caller information, click-to-dial functionality, and automatic call logging. CTI systems capture and exchange information between telephony devices, such as telephone lines and headsets, and other contact center technology systems, such as call center CRM software. This integration facilitates seamless communication, improves agent efficiency, and enhances customer experience.

Contact Center Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) store and organize product, service, and process knowledge resources such as FAQs and troubleshooting guides, enabling agents to quickly and efficiently access the information required to resolve customer inquiries. A KMS solution empowers call center agents with consistent and accurate information to improve KPIs, including call center quality assurance, agent productivity, first call resolution (FCR), customer satisfaction (CSAT), average hold time (AHT), cost per call, and labor costs.

A Call Center Learning Management Systems (LMS) is a call center software that delivers and manages call center training programs and learning initiatives, enabling flexible, scalable, and personalized learning experiences for learners while efficiently tracking their progress and performance. An LMS tool has proven to reduce call center training costs, improve employee engagement and agent performance, drive superior customer satisfaction, and identify training gaps for resolution before the deficit impacts customer service.

Call Center predictive dialer technology automatically dials multiple phone numbers simultaneously and connects answered calls to available agents. Unlike manual dialing or traditional automatic dialers, which dial numbers sequentially, call center predictive dialers use algorithms to predict agent availability and call answer rates. This allows you to maximize agent productivity and call center efficiency by minimizing idle time between calls.

The one fool-proof way to ensure significant ROI on your technology investment is to work with an experienced call center technology vendor selection partner. To find the optimal partner, you should evaluate contact center consulting companies based on their:

• Ability to understand the operational impact of your call center technology systems
• Commitment to remaining technology vendor-agnostic
• Capacity to provide long-term technology system support

Many call center technology assessment partners lack an understanding of your unique organizational needs and the specialized industry knowledge to grasp the complexities of adopting new technology. An effective technology assessment partner, however, approaches your technological needs with a keen operational perspective, facilitating seamless execution through comprehensive end-to-end technology implementation services, encompassing:

• Technology vendor selection, onboarding, and management support
• Technology system integration management
• Custom training for organization-wide adoption of new or upgraded technologies
• Implementation of best practices for system change management
• Technology system optimization for scalable and sustainable improvement

The right technology assessment partner is tech vendor-agnostic and is not bound to technology brands or products. Vendor-agnostic technology assessment partners have the unique ability to determine the best-fit technology solution for your operational needs, including your specific practices, environment, and contact center performance goals.

In an industry where the only constant is change, you need a technology partner who can provide long-term technology systems support beyond system execution. Partnering with a technology assessment expert that offers post-implementation support and system optimization will help you achieve peak performance as new call center technology trends emerge and customer expectations evolve. This “hyper care” support will ensure maximum ROI on your technology investment through every stage of your business growth.

Schedule time to talk to our experts about choosing the right tech to achieve breakthrough performance in your call center!