THERE STILL APPEARS TO BE AN ONGOING DEBATE BETWEEN CLOUD, ON-PREMISES, AND HYBRID DATA ENVIRONMENTS. WHERE DO YOU SEE THE DATA THAT CONTACT CENTERS HANDLE NOW AND IN THE FUTURE RESIDING, AND WHY? WILL SOME DATA MIGRATE BACK TO ON-PREMISES FROM THE CLOUD? OTHER DATA MOVING TO THE CLOUD?
The dynamics of the contact center today require a completely different skillset than the contact centers of yesteryear.
But it is a more demanding and rewarding one, as a higher level of skillset is required to meet the consumer demands within a technology environment that abounds in data.
SO, WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE AI“ REVOLUTION” ON DATA VOLUME AND THE ABILITY TO SAFEGUARD, AUTHENTICATE, ANALYZE, AND PRODUCTIVELY USE IT IN CONTACT CENTERS? ARE THERE NEW MODELS OR TOOLS THAT CAN HELP?
A: We now live in a world where data volume is like oil and gas. More oil and gas( setting aside the climate change challenges) brings forth more control and power.
The same now holds true for data. Data has always been there, but technology has always been the barrier in both accessing it as well as processing it.
This is no longer the case. Data technologies now allow us to consume infinite volumes of data such as what has transpired with the advent of OpenAI and ChatGPT in Nov. 2022.
Because of these developments, the use of AI is becoming an everyday tool, as discussed in the first two questions.
But AI’ s authentication will always be suspect as there are two elements here. The first element is behavioral, which is very reliable based on what the consumer does. However, the second element is based on what the consumer says. This is always going to be less reliable because not every person conveys their thinking publicly.
In other words, you may not be capturing the thoughts of the so-called silent majority and thereby incorporating a bias here which is not reflective of the entire population.
" THE DYNAMICS OF THE CON- TACT CENTER TODAY REQUIRE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SKILLSET THAN THE CONTACT CENTERS OF YESTERYEAR."
A: It will really depend on the organization. In the example above, CIBC could have their data on-premises. But TD’ s data is entirely in the cloud while Bank of Montreal( BMO)’ s data is a hybrid of both on-premises and in the cloud.
The key for contact centers is having access to the data regardless of where it is, and then having the right APIs to move the data back and forth to provide the reps with the right information in real time as they interact with the customers.
" THE KEY FOR CONTACT CENTERS IS HAVING ACCESS TO THE DATA REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT IS, AND THEN HAVING THE RIGHT APIS..."
LET’ S DISCUSS DATA SECURITY. IT APPEARS THE BAD PEOPLE ARE BECOMING MORE SUCCESSFUL IN STEALING DATA. ARE ORGANIZATIONS – AND THEIR CONTACT CENTERS – AS SECURE AS THEY SHOULD BE? IN RESPONDING TO DATA BREACHES?
A: There is no real hard answer to this. The key for any contact center is to hire an outside data security consultant who is extremely well-versed in this area. They need to review their existing firewalls, as well as explore in great detail how they move or transfer data between different locations and platforms. This would require a review of their existing APIs that execute the data transfer process.
DOES AI AID OR HINDER DATA SECURITY?
A: There is a two-edged answer here in terms of limitations and benefits. On the limitations side, we have more data which increases the likelihood of more data security risks. Because of its insatiable appetite for data, the use of AI has certainly accelerated the level of concern in this area. 8 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE