A Multi-Faceted Approach to Modernizing Contact Centers for a Leading Fortune 50 Telecom Provider 

CLIENT PROFILE 

Industry: Telecommunications 

Client: Fortune 50 Telecom Provider 

Solution: Contact Center Solutions, Enterprise Program Management

BACKGROUND 

In an increasingly competitive business landscape, contact centers face the constant challenge of optimizing operational efficiency while enhancing customer experience. As businesses expand, whether through acquisitions, new service offerings, or growing vendor reliance, contact center infrastructures tend to fragment, which can significantly affect performance. With the growing need to support omnichannel customer communications—such as voice, chat, and video—the challenge becomes even more pronounced. 

Recognizing these complexities, a Fortune 50 telecom provider sought to transform its contact center platform to drive efficiency and enhance customer experience. Their goal was to migrate more than 30,000 agents spanning over 400 centers and 16 countries from a legacy system onto a modern, unified platform. Kenway Consulting was engaged to lead this initiative, leveraging its expertise in Enterprise Program Management and Contact Center Solutions. 

THE CHALLENGE 

The client's contact center infrastructure was fragmented, largely due to legacy systems and acquisitions over time. With tens of thousands of agents across multiple lines of business, each with distinct requirements, migrating to a unified platform presented several key challenges: 

• Diverse infrastructure: Years of mergers and acquisitions resulted in fragmented technology stacks, with inconsistent upgrades and maintenance across different platforms. Integrating these legacy systems, each built for distinct purposes and leveraging different technologies, into a single, cohesive platform was a complex undertaking. The integration process required not only advanced technical expertise but also careful coordination across multiple business units to ensure seamless alignment and functionality. 
• Complex vendor landscape: With multiple vendors involved in different aspects of the infrastructure, aligning internal processes, resources, and technology requirements was a significant hurdle. 
• Change management: Ensuring user adoption and proper training for agents was essential to a smooth transition. 
• Supply Chain Delays: A six-month delay in server procurement, driven by widespread supply chain disruptions, significantly impacted the project timeline. As critical infrastructure components, the delayed servers played a vital role in the overall system, causing cascading effects across the entire initiative. 

Kenway was tasked with leading the migration while navigating these obstacles, implementing a unified system that would streamline operations, and enhancing the customer journey. 

THE SOLUTION 

Kenway’s involvement spanned several years, working closely with the client to tackle the complexities of modernizing its contact center infrastructure which included multiple Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) systems to a single CTI vendor. By providing program management services, vendor management, and routing architecture and support Kenway ensured a seamless transition.

1. Enterprise Program Management 

Kenway implemented a robust Enterprise Program Management approach to ensure alignment across all projects. The team facilitated regular stand-ups and deployed program-wide tools that enhanced communication across 20 project managers and technical SMEs. By doing so, Kenway was able to accurately forecast and keep project teams on track even when there were significant delays due to supply chain issues of crucial server components which delayed the project by 6 months and assist with the executive communications. 

Key areas of focus included: 

• Vendor management: Kenway acted as a central hub between the client and vendors, ensuring all technical requirements were clearly communicated and understood. By collecting and organizing vendor information, Kenway ensured all teams were well-prepared for the agent migration process. 
• Dependency tracking: With multiple interconnected deadlines, the team used tracking tools to identify, monitor, and manage project dependencies. This was critical in maintaining progress, even during unavoidable delays. 

2. Routing Architecture and Support

One of the most challenging aspects of the migration was developing a new call flow strategy while minimizing disruption to ongoing operations. 

• Call flow management: Kenway’s first step was to help map existing call flows onto the new consolidated design. The team conducted an in-depth analysis to ensure all routing logic was accounted for, avoiding errors during the transition. 
• Dynamic routing architecture: To facilitate a gradual migration, Kenway designed a system that allowed real-time traffic allocation between old and new call flows. This enabled the telecom provider to dynamically route calls to the appropriate agents while quickly addressing any unforeseen issues. 
• Troubleshooting: Kenway implemented an alarming system to detect defects during the migration. With deep expertise in routing architecture, Kenway swiftly identified and resolved issues, ensuring a smooth transition. 

3. Testing Services 

To ensure the infrastructure was robust and functional, Kenway played a key role in establishing and managing comprehensive testing services across various phases of the project. 

• Infrastructure testing: Kenway coordinated unit testing and failover/disaster recovery tests to verify the stability and reliability of the new infrastructure. 
• System integration testing: Over four months, Kenway facilitated end-to-end system integration testing, collaborating with all technical teams involved. By hosting daily stand-ups, tracking defects, and troubleshooting issues, Kenway ensured the successful execution of the test plan. 
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Kenway led UAT, creating the test plans and working closely with the client’s IVR teams to test platform functionality. This included ensuring that agents were prepared, and the platform was fully tested and ready for go-live. 

4. Migration and Go-Live Support 

Kenway's support was critical during the migration and go-live phases. From preparing agents to ensuring a seamless transition, the team handled multiple moving parts, including: 

• Agent preparation: Kenway created detailed cutover plans to manage agent provisioning across more than 10 Lines of Business (LOBs) and over 30,000 agents. 
• Go-live support: During the go-live period, Kenway provided hands-on support, troubleshooting configuration issues in real-time, and resolving defects to ensure minimal disruption. 
• Defect management: Over 20 distinct tracks within the project required defect management, which Kenway handled using structured prioritization methods, ensuring all issues were resolved efficiently. 

5. Customer Experience Enhancements 

While Kenway’s primary focus was on the migration, the team also identified additional customer experiences and applications that needed to be migrated onto the central virtual assistant platform. These applications utilized the timing of the platform change to incorporate enhancements during their migration period so the training could be incorporated holistically. Kenway identified the opportunity to help get these enhancements complete before migration live date and assisted with getting this incorporated into the overall program training curriculum. One such example is the agent desktop application, the tool an agent utilizes to manage a customer’s call. Kenway saw a gap in how enhancement requirements from the business were getting to the third party vendor to develop. Kenway stepped in to host requirements grooming sessions, create a backlog of enhancement requests, and see to its successful production deployment to time with migration live date.   By going above and beyond just the migration scope, Kenway optimized the agent and customer experience beyond just the platform switch. 

WHAT WE DELIVERED 

Kenway’s comprehensive approach delivered significant value across multiple areas of the project: 

• Change Management: Kenway meticulously outlined business and technical requirements across all project tracks, ensuring seamless alignment with regulatory requirements and technical specifications. 
• Technical Documentation: Kenway provided thorough documentation of all technical requirements and regulatory standards to ensure smooth project execution. 
• Program Management: Kenway played a pivotal role in managing over 20 distinct projects, coordinating status reporting, and ensuring cross-team alignment throughout the SCTI platform migration. 
• End-to-End Testing (E2E): The team developed and executed rigorous UAT and E2E testing plans, ensuring all integrations were fully validated before going live. 
• Migration Support: With a focus on scalability, Kenway provided robust support for the CTI migration, helping the client manage defect resolution and ensuring a smooth transition for agents. 

RESULTS  

By leveraging Kenway’s expertise, the client successfully completed the CTI migration while enhancing their contact center operations. The result was a scalable, flexible platform capable of supporting the company’s evolving business needs. Key outcomes included: 

• Improved Scalability: Kenway's implementation of scalable processes and tools provided a solid foundation for future upgrades and Business as Usual (BAU) changes, enabling the client to easily adapt to evolving business needs. 
• Seamless Transitions: The robust change management approach and user acceptance testing ensured a smooth transition for business units and agents, minimizing operational disruptions and accelerating user adoption. 
• Increased Reliability: Comprehensive testing at every phase guaranteed the infrastructure’s reliability, reducing risks and ensuring a stable go-live with minimal downtime. 
• Efficient Execution: Collaborative efforts between Kenway, vendors, and internal teams ensured that all project objectives were met on time and within scope, delivering a fully integrated and efficient solution. 

Kenway’s strategic approach, technical expertise, and commitment to operational excellence were crucial to the successful execution of this complex, multi-year transformation. 

CONCLUSION 

The successful implementation and migration of the CTI platform highlights the critical role of strategic collaboration, technical expertise, and effective program management. Kenway facilitated this transformation by coordinating complex vendor landscapes, optimizing call flows, and leading thorough testing efforts. As a result, the client was able to modernize their contact center infrastructure, improve customer experience, and establish a scalable foundation for future expansion. 

Discover how our customized approach to contact center modernization and enterprise program management can optimize your operations and enhance customer satisfaction. Contact us today to explore how we can help your organization achieve operational excellence.