Boosting Contact Center Performance with ERP Data
Contact Center owners remain constantly challenged in ensuring that CSRs meet KPIs and attrition rates remain within range, while preparing for what’s next (AI). Getting critical, actionable data from your core systems into CSRs’ hands fast is the goal.
With its motherlode of critical data sources, your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an obvious target. However, integrating data from ERPs (a relatively monolithic system) into the Contact Center too often has required a lot of time and developer resources.
It’s thus no surprise that, as of 2022, more than 68% of Contact Center agents were still suffering from “swivel-chair-itis”: juggling multiple screens and manually copying data from one system to another.
APIs to the Rescue
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) enable greater business use of ERP software. This is done by enabling other applications and systems to easily access your ERP, acting as an intermediary with any third parties. An API is essentially a code that allows two software programs to communicate with each other. It defines how a developer can request services from an operating system or other application, and share data across multiple channels and contexts.
APIs can help turbocharge Contact Center automation by simplifying developers’ access to your ERP software, related IBM i® and IBM® Z systems, and their data. Using APIs, developers can connect these critical systems, including those sources and functions critical to your CSRs.
API-first vs. Code-first Approach
In developing APIs, organizations have typically used a “code-first” approach, coding APIs from business requirements and then producing a machine-readable API definition from that code, with a design process distributed among various code documents.
A newer approach to building software products, “API-first,” emphasizes the importance of treating APIs as reusable and easily accessible products that client applications consume. Unlike traditional methods where APIs are added later, API-first involves designing products around an API from the start. APIs are treated as critical business assets, and each API is designed around a contract written in an API description language. This approach ensures consistency, reusability, and broad interoperability. By starting with an API contract, organizations can better plan API design and gather feedback from stakeholders before writing any code.
It’s no wonder that more organizations are taking an “API-first” approach vs. the traditional code-first when developing their APIs.2
Migration, Micro-services, Modernization and More
By implementing APIs in automating your Contact Center’s most critical functions, you’re also laying the groundwork for continuous modernization. A modern API strategy will include such functions as process discovery and collaboration.
The business advantage? Your organization can now tackle its IT challenges in a more nuanced, calculated, and data-driven way. This approach promotes substantial and meaningful change, a prerequisite for the successful implementation of AI-driven systems in the future.
With an API-first strategy, your developers are empowered to deploy more-creative new approaches to your ERP.
Consider the Strangler Pattern, a powerful solution that (rather unfortunately) sounds like a criminal. Rocket Software’s white paper, “API-First-Driven ERP Transformation," highlights this architectural approach, which enables gradual migration from a monolithic application to a micro-services-based architecture.
Other approaches bring new power tooling directly to the Contact Center. For example: Adding real-time, continuous insights into Contact Center processes can deliver better, more data-driven experiences for CSRs and customers at scale. Think “virtuous loop,” with your APIs and modern UX tools doing the heavy lifting.
Ready to Transform?
Transforming Contact Center operations through more automation may seem like a high hill to climb. However, with the right approach, tools, and knowledge, you can leverage APIs, your ERP systems and other resources to improve your KPIs and pave the path for AI success.
The rewards can be substantial. For example: it’s estimated that Contact Centers can save upwards of $10K per CSR annually by minimizing those “swivel chair” issues.
To learn more about how to bring real IT change to your organization through automation, download the white paper “API-First Driven ERP Transformation."
