Why a migration profile is important for agile cloud migration – Blackchair

Agile cloud migration is a complex process, one that is best broken down into different steps. While cloud providers can help, contact centres are largely better off working with a partner that can help facilitate their shift to another platform.

Working with a different partner ensures smooth operations on the new UC platform, minimal disruption to work on the current platform, and secures data. A partner can facilitate the migration process and make it as cost-efficient as possible by performing several functions that include creating a migration profile.

What is a migration profile?

A migration profile refers to the technical, business, and human resource configuration that make up a contact center’s current CX platform. It contains vital information on how the system works, including work agent schedules, interaction routing flows, in-queue objects, and telephony configuration, to name a few. A migration profile is often compiled by the organisation responsible for migrating the contact center’s CX platform to a different cloud provider. Most importantly, a migration profile can accelerate the agile cloud migration process significantly.

How does a profile optimize agile cloud migration?

A migration profile can aid agile cloud migration by streamlining the process significantly and is often created by cleaning legacy systems. Here are just some ways a migration profile facilitates a shift to another platform.

Accelerate the transition to post-migration services

When migrating to a new UC platform, managers and CX engineers have to draw up plans for post-migration service. Part of the process is to write each business line from scratch due to the different architecture of the two platforms. This process is lengthy and often draws out the migration project, leading to delays and driving up costs.

However, by creating a migration profile, we can streamline the process and reduce the cost of migration. CX engineers can use the migration profile to build and scale out a delivery practice that will help move the contact centre from migration to service delivery as soon as possible. This allows contact centres to minimize the time needed to transition from platform migration to service provision.

With a migration profile, it becomes much easier to determine what will work on the new UC platform and what might not. For example, interaction workflows and tools may not work on the new platform. This could, in turn, affect agent scheduling. However, by creating a migration profile, CX engineers will find it easier to resolve several questions in regards to interaction workflows and models. With these questions answered, it becomes easier to set out suitable workforce schedules and interaction flows.

Contact centres can ensure accurate schedules and work shift patterns. This helps avert certain disasters that could hurt customer goodwill like inaccurate work shift rosters and wrong shift patterns that can cause a serious loss of goodwill with the platform.

Identify the most important systems in the platform

Through a migration profile, contact centers can determine which systems are important. Contact centers often use complex CX platforms containing several systems. Certain systems are no longer used (classed as legacy systems), while some remain vital to operations. CX centers can determine which systems and data are important and what is redundant, making agile cloud migration far more efficient than before.

Encourages efficient migration practices

The creation of a migration profile encourages efficient practices in agile cloud migration. For example, part of creating a profile involves cleaning the legacy data. At first glance, it seems like a waste of time and an unnecessary process. However, cleaning legacy data paves the way for more efficient migration because it allows contact centers to get a grasp of the legacy data and systems in the CX platform.

Working with partners to create a migration profile

When creating a migration profile, it is important to work with the right partner. The key to finding the right partner is to list out the right questions in the RFP. Some questions include: Will they audit and evaluate the whole configuration or only parts? What tools would they be using? How can they ensure agents can work without any disruptions?

By asking some of these questions, it would be much easier to find a partner who can help assess their legacy data and create a migration profile that can accelerate the agile cloud migration process.