Samsung switches to Amazon Connect
What defines a "future-proof customer contact platform"? "You have no idea what might be invented in someone's attic in a few weeks," says Ruben Lowenstein (Customer Care, Samsung Benelux). After nearly nine years, the existing platform was replaced by Amazon Web Services (AWS) Connect.
The partnership between Samsung Electronics Benelux and Teleperformance? It’s solid. But after over eight years of collaboration, it was time to shake up the application landscape. "We've built this around the agent and the consumer over the past few years, with various point solutions," says Ruben Lowenstein, Manager of Customer Care at Samsung Electronics Benelux. He lists: calls are routed via Avaya, digital channels (webcare, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, X) are handled through Khoros, email and live chat through Sprinklr, there's an e-learning tool with microlearnings (Centrical), and we use InSocial for our customer satisfaction surveys.
Attic
All this forms a whole and is interconnected, says Lowenstein, but gaps are starting to appear: reports are incomplete; there's a lack of specific metadata and capabilities to use AI for voice; and the current routing platform isn't suitable for quick adjustments. "You want to be ready for what's coming. You have no idea what might be invented in someone's attic in a few weeks," says Lowenstein.
Looking for a new platform
Together with TP, Samsung compared three alternative CCaaS solutions. The limitations of other providers became evident, according to Lowenstein: traditional integrators focused little on the future, with traditional pricing models that don’t clearly relate delivered functionality to costs.
Pay as you go
Eventually, it became Amazon Connect, the solution from Amazon Web Services, for which TP is certified. "AWS is not a 'telephony company'," emphasizes Lowenstein, "It is an AI company with a modular platform where you take what you need and pay for what you use. This was the first time I encountered that, because with most cloud solutions, the number of licenses you take is based on peak usage. I want to get away from the idea that I need to purchase twenty extra licenses for a year if I want to quickly start a pilot to try something new. If you want to stop after the pilot or try something else, you're stuck with those licenses. With AWS, billing is based on the volume of data processed by the apps and the number of call minutes. With AWS Connect, we can fully integrate voice and digital, for example, routing based on intent and using voice bots alongside agents."
Ziptone also spoke with Marco Brouwer, contact center manager at TP for Samsung. The first question: what about bringing your own routing platform? "Ten years ago, Avaya was the most robust and stable platform; it was our standard for Europe and ran in our own data centers. Since the rise of cloud solutions, customers who come on board with us can hook up to TP’s infrastructure or bring their own platform. Due to our size, we have a lot of knowledge in-house of all major CCaaS solutions."
‘Cloud bill shock’
Billing based on actual data usage makes costs flexible but also less predictable. In IT, 'cloud bill shock' (unexpectedly high bills from your cloud providers) is a well-known concept. Lowenstein explains that AWS's monthly invoices are very detailed and clear, that they are meticulously reviewed together, and that a reporting tool runs alongside. Lowenstein: "We made an estimate of our data usage in advance. We have been testing for some time now and have a good idea of the data flows. Extremes mainly occur when you start using data-intensive processes like Lens (an architecture tool, ed.) or Lambda (for running serverless applications, ed.). You need to think not about routing calls from A to B, but about data streams that flow through various applications. Data traffic must also have value, visible in better employee satisfaction scores or shorter call durations. You always have to weigh: do the costs outweigh the benefits?"
How to prevent cloud bill shock? Brouwer says about the cost structure of cloud applications: "We have a good understanding of data flows, so we know what to expect. And if your costs rise, something always precedes it. Samsung scales up around the holiday season and when a new device is launched. Normally, Samsung would have to pay for the highest number of concurrent users, the peak load, throughout the year. That's no longer the case. Paying as you go, as we calculated, is more cost-effective. Additionally, this billing method makes it easier to try out the many microservices of AWS. You turn it on, create a Proof of Concept, test it, and turn the microservice off again."
The last point, turning off what you don't use in time, is something to watch. Not turning off unused services that continue running is another cause of high cloud bills. Reports and itemized invoices help maintain oversight, says Brouwer. New technology (such as AI) can contribute to further reducing the number of live contacts, but Brouwer notes that the number of contacts increases year after year due to population growth and the complexity of products. "We aim to automate conversations with little to no value for the consumer or Samsung and focus on conversations where we can add value for the customer or client. We have been working with Samsung for nearly ten years and aim to continue that relationship for at least another ten years. We gladly help Samsung optimize the TCO," says Brouwer.
TP as system integrator
Besides choosing AWS Connect, Samsung Benelux also chose TP as the system integrator. The service provider has two AWS teams in India (a cloud infrastructure team and an application team) with which Lowenstein says he has worked pleasantly. Good communication and mutual understanding are not a given, Lowenstein knows, having dealt with other Indian developers and business analysts. "Marco has all the relevant AWS certifications, making him a fully-fledged conversation partner for the Indian team. And I have also completed several AWS training courses myself," explains Lowenstein.
Fall back options
Of course, Samsung examined all possible risks and scenarios before the migration. "We set up the necessary safety nets. During the migration at the end of May, we had a fall back option: we could revert to the old situation with a push of a button. Incidentally, we can still do that. We initially opted for a gradual transition: moving groups of agents from the old to the new application." But in the end, it became a 'big bang': previous tests showed everything was running smoothly, also from the agents' perspective, says Lowenstein.
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Migration approach
Marco Brouwer explains how the cloud migration project was divided. "The comparison of providers – on points such as front-end, backend, architecture, and references – took about four to five months. Then a choice was made for both the solution and the implementation partner. TP and Samsung spent about three months together mapping out (almost ten years of) processes and data flows. The migration should not be noticeable to Samsung's customers (hence lift & shift) but should be an improvement for the agents working with the systems. A custom agent interface was developed in collaboration with 'champions' (frontline employees) from the teams in the Netherlands and Suriname."
Including all integrations with other applications, this phase took about six months. During that period, extensive testing was done, by forwarding a small portion of the traffic to AWS for a few hours several times. Then this forward became the standard flow for the full volumes; the forward is removed once the numbers are ported to AWS.
Functional management by the business
The migration was completed in early June – primarily a lift & shift of the existing functionality. Choosing a cloud solution means saying goodbye to 'hardcoded' functionality, says Brouwer. "Think about adjusting an IVR, which requires the involvement of IT personnel for on-prem solutions. With AWS Connect, changes can be made by the business: low code ensures the business can handle functional management and make adjustments within minutes."
A cloud solution also makes it easier to route customer contacts based on customer intent and employee skills. AI is needed to perform good and quick analyses: which contact should go where?
Real-time performance information for agents
One of the changes realized is that agents can now see in real-time where they perform well (or less well). In the future, they can also do appropriate micro-learnings or receive targeted coaching on specific areas. "Simple conversations are automated or digitized," says Lowenstein. "More complex conversations remain and require a different type of employee, for whom it seems strange to withhold performance information. We want to create an environment where the employee is optimally facilitated to help the customer as best as possible. This is part of that."
Asked about the biggest hurdle in the migration, Lowenstein has to think for a moment. "Making people aware of the new possibilities of innovative software. Again, I don't need a telephone exchange; I need a digital platform that also accommodates telephony."
Priority List
The timing of Samsung's implementation of a modern cloud solution raises some questions: cloud applications have been around for a while, so why only now? Lowenstein responds, "Over the past few years, we've tackled and optimized various processes. Now it's time for the integration phase, including giving agents a unified desktop. That's something I've wanted for a long time. But we can't do everything at once. In our partnership with TP, we take on one or two major projects each year." For now, AWS Connect is being rolled out only for Samsung's Benelux customers, including support for the French language.
For future innovative applications, Lowenstein plans to engage with fellow AWS end-users for inspiration. This could involve the use of advanced speech bots or further integrations with knowledge bases. One of the developments already in progress is the real-time labeling of conversations, which forms the basis for pushing knowledge content, such as conversation suggestions or next best actions.
Ensuring a Smooth Transition
Updating the WFM solution is also on the agenda. "We are at a tipping point when it comes to WFM. Employees can have much more control in this area. A customer contact employee can't just leave during a shift to take care of a sick child, but the question is, why not? If employees can arrange this among themselves, even through software, why should they still need permission from a traffic manager? Flexibility, which takes into account employees' personal circumstances, is part of this. It contributes to job satisfaction and employee contentment. With our old systems, self-scheduling wasn't possible, but as we gain more capabilities, we need to make use of them. Our mission statement is 'supporting people to be their best' – and that should apply to our employees as well. But first, we need to ensure AWS Connect is well integrated into the organization."
Source: (Ziptone/Erik Bouwer)