Roberto González Rojo

The contact center is no longer just an operational channel, it has become a strategic business asset. Today, migrating to the cloud, integrating AI, automating processes, and embracing omnichannel strategies are key transformation drivers that are redefining the role of customer service. In this article we answer ten key questions that explain how traditional contact centers are evolving into truly intelligent service platforms. ■ An intelligent contact center is a cloud-based customer service platform that integrates AI, automation, and omnichannel capabilities to deliver faster, more personalized, and more strategic experiences—combining operational efficiency with a proactive approach to customer engagement. ______ 1. What are the main advantages of migrating a contact center to the Cloud? Migrating the contact center to the Cloud delivers flexibility to scale resources dynamically with demand—ideal for handling activity peaks—while reducing spend on physical infrastructure by adopting an operational expenditure (OPEX) model, which improves financial predictability and accelerates return on investment. It also provides access to advanced technologies such as AI, automation, and analytics, boosting innovation with minimal disruption. It enhances service stability by ensuring operational continuity, distributed operations, and minimal downtime. Ultimately, the Cloud not only drives internal efficiency but also improves customer experience, turning the contact center into a strategic lever for digital transformation and sustainable competitive advantage. The Cloud drives internal efficiency and improves customer experience, turning the contact center into a strategic lever for digital transformation and sustainable competitive advantage. 2. What challenges can a company face when migrating to the Cloud and how can these be mitigated? One major challenge is the perceived loss of control when relying on third parties. To mitigate this risk, it’s crucial to choose providers that guarantee transparency and strong service level agreements (SLAs), as well as certified data governance and security. In regulated industries, security becomes critical and can be addressed with robust encryption, frequent audits, and regulatory compliance. Another significant challenge is the risk of cost overrun inherent to pay-as-you-go models. This can be resolved through FinOps practices that optimise resource consumption and improve predictability. Likewise, integration with legacy systems can be complex, but is eased by a progressive approach based on APIs and hybrid architectures. Finally, cultural transformation is essential during migration. Effective change management—with training, clear communication, and early visible results—builds trust and organisational buy-in, accelerating Cloud adoption and maximising its strategic value. Effective change management and the adoption of best practices help overcome Cloud migration challenges, building trust and maximising its strategic value. 3. What comes after migrating a contact center to the Cloud? Migration is just the beginning. It’s followed by a maturity phase in which the company can harness the full potential of the Cloud: from incorporating speech and text analytics to understand what the customer says and feels, to deploying generative AI to assist agents or automating tasks through RPA (robotic process automation). A critical phase of continuous optimisation begins. It’s no longer just about lifting and shifting workloads, but about redesigning architectures, applying AI, automating processes, and improving operational efficiency. Companies adopt observability tools, practices like FinOps to control spend, and—above all—consolidate a new cultural model based on agility, collaboration, and constant innovation. In short, the truly transformative work starts right after migration. 4. How is AI transforming customer service? AI is completely redefining the relationship between companies and customers. It’s no longer experimental; it’s the operational core of many key processes. It automates repetitive tasks—such as identity verification or call routing—and frees agents to focus on more complex cases. Plus, thanks to natural language processing and machine learning, AI can analyse sentiment, anticipate issues, or suggest real-time responses. Chatbots, predictive systems, and agent assist tools are increasing efficiency, improving quality, and reducing handling times. AI is completely redefining the relationship between companies and customers, becoming the operational core of many key processes. 5. Can a poorly designed AI strategy harm the customer experience? Yes. When implemented indiscriminately or when human touchpoints are removed at key moments, AI can create frustration. Poorly trained bots, automated decisions without context, or a lack of empathy degrade the user experience. AI should complement, not replace. Its value lies in delivering smoother, more personalised and efficient service without sacrificing the human component when it’s needed. AI complements, it does not replace: its value lies in offering a smoother, more personalised and efficient service, without sacrificing the human component when needed. 6. What is the role of human agents in an increasingly automated contact center? The human agent’s role is more strategic than ever. While AI handles repetitive tasks, agents become the touchpoint that brings empathy, judgement, and personalisation. Tools such as agent assist or real-time recommendation systems enhance their ability to resolve better and faster. This hybrid model—where humans and AI collaborate—improves the experience for both the customer and the agent. The human agent’s role is more strategic than ever: they bring empathy, judgement, and personalisation in an increasingly automated environment. 7. Are we ready to deliver agentless service in some channels? In many cases, yes. Channels like chat, WhatsApp, or automated calls enable effective self-service for simple tasks—for example, balance enquiries or order updates. That said, this doesn’t mean applying it across the board. The key is to design empathetic bots that understand customer intent and know when to hand over to a human agent. Automation should improve the experience, not depersonalise it. Automation should improve the experience, not depersonalise it. 8. Is omnichannel still a competitive advantage? What are common mistakes when implementing it? It’s a basic requirement. Customers demand seamless, consistent service across channels, without interruptions, and without having to repeat information they’ve already provided in previous interactions. The most common mistake is keeping channels in silos, without integration. Another is focusing only on internal metrics without measuring the real user experience. In addition, many underestimate channels like email, which—when managed well—can be as agile as chat and is essential for cases requiring traceability or documentation. The most common mistake is keeping channels in silos, without integration. Customers expect seamless, consistent service across channels. 9. What does it mean today to deliver a “good experience” and how has it changed in the last five years? It has changed radically. Today, a good experience means personalisation, immediacy, self-service, and continuity across channels. Customers want to feel recognised, understood, and served at the time and place of their choice. It used to be enough to be friendly and resolve quickly. Now, customers expect a fluid experience where systems remember, channels are integrated, and responses are proactive and empathetic. Even bots should sound like human agents. A good experience means personalisation, immediacy, self-service, and integration across channels. 10. What will be the next big disruption in the CCaaS market? The leap will come from combining generative AI, advanced automation, and real-time data. It’s not just about serving better, but about anticipating, personalising at scale, and transforming the contact center into a strategic customer intelligence platform. We’ll see autonomous assistants managing interactions end-to-end, augmented agents with predictive insights, and environments where AI and humans collaborate to deliver more personalised and satisfying experiences. The next big disruption will be a contact center that predicts, automates, and resolves. Telefónica Tech Intelligent Workplace #WomenWithTech: María García Aznar transforms innovative ideas into practical tools July 1, 2025 Photo: Brooke Cagle / Unsplash.

Is your company among the 85% of organisations that, according to Gartner, plan to explore or test Generative AI features in customer service during 2025? ______ Automation through virtual assistants The growing interest in exploring AI is a clear reflection of an unstoppable trend: AI is driving a profound transformation in customer service. It’s no longer just a technological evolution—it has become a true competitive advantage. Its ability to automate processes, analyse large volumes of data, and deliver instant responses is redefining how businesses interact with customers, significantly improving both operational efficiency and the user experience. Automation tools such as virtual assistants can resolve queries 24/7 without human intervention. This reduces wait times and allows agents to focus on more complex cases that require a personalised approach. AI that predicts, personalises and builds loyalty Thanks to predictive analytics and natural language processing (NLP), AI can anticipate customer needs, identify behavioural patterns, and offer tailored recommendations. This proactive capability improves first contact resolution, reduces average handling time (AHT), and increases customer satisfaction (CSAT)—ultimately driving stronger customer loyalty. Implementing AI-powered solutions also has a direct impact on operational efficiency. By reducing human error, optimising resources and streamlining workflows, companies can deliver a more agile and consistent service. This efficiency leads to lower costs and continuous improvement of key performance indicators. Five real-world examples that show the impact of AI The benefits of AI are clearly reflected in real-world use cases featured in the 2024 report Five trendsetters in AI innovation, published by Genesys: Kiwibank (banking, New Zealand): cut operational costs by 50% and AHT by 49% through virtual assistant adoption. Virgin Atlantic (transport, UK): improved CSAT by 25 points and resolved 29% of enquiries without human intervention, thanks to new self-service capabilities. King Price Insurance (insurance, South Africa): halved average handling time and tripled the use of WhatsApp as a self-service channel. Modivcare (healthcare, USA): automated 63% of interactions and improved employee retention by 86%. Western Sydney University (education, Australia): achieved a 65% improvement in AHT and 90% user satisfaction. What do we really expect as service users? A global survey by Genesys in 16 countries (The State of Customer Experience, 2025), involving over 5,000 participants, reveals key insights into what we, as users, expect from service interactions: 72% of respondents value companies that understand their needs. 56% expect businesses to remember their interaction history. More than half prefer not to repeat information during the service process. 30% stopped trusting a company after a negative experience. Nearly 80% would buy more and recommend a brand if they received ongoing personalised service. AI’s role in a people-centred transformation The opinions gathered in the survey highlight the need to rethink how customer service is delivered. In this context, AI not only enables faster, more responsive services aligned with customer expectations—it also empowers organisations to adapt and continually optimise the experience they offer, keeping pace with users’ evolving demands. AI is revolutionising customer service, paving the way for a new era of service excellence, where customer experience becomes a strategic asset. This smart transformation helps businesses face the future with effective, people-centric solutions. Ultimately, AI doesn’t replace human interaction—it enhances it, making each touchpoint more meaningful and empathetic. ■ Want to transform your customer service with AI-powered solutions? At Telefónica Tech, we work with you to design agile, effective strategies aligned with your business goals. Learn more →

One of the trends in contact center management in recent years is the ability to offer integrated experiences regardless of communication preferences, through omnichannel. This means a true 360-degree view of the customer, as well as greater operational efficiency. Another of the most important trends is the automation of routine tasks using Artificial Intelligence, which results in an improvement in the time and quality of service, also allowing operators or agents to focus on tasks that really bring greater value to the business. Telefónica Tech has developed the best practices to implement Contact Center projects with these characteristics. This ability has recently been recognized by Genesys, the market leader in this type of solutions according to Gartner's magic quadrant, by awarding us the 'Partner of the year 2022' award both in Spain and in the EMEA region. Genesys Cloud, is one of the main options in the Contact Center product portfolio that we have in Telefónica Tech to respond to organizations seeking to improve the relationship with their customers. Evolution of Contact Centers Remaining the partner of reference for our customers requires us to continuously improve our Contact Center proposal, with the priority objective of meeting their needs in the best possible way. Knowing "the ground we are treading on" is therefore an essential activity, and analyzing the environment through different studies is one of the best ways to achieve this. As part of this observation process, we have carried out, together with IDC and Genesys itself, a study that analyzes how Contact Centers are evolving through a survey of a considerable sample of companies from different segments, the result of which has allowed us to reach a series of conclusions. In the medium-sized company segment, we have identified that: Only 25% of respondents have a Contact Center solution. Most of these companies use solutions deployed in their own infrastructure. It is key to focus on the development of a collaborative model to facilitate digital transformation. In addition to Genesys Cloud, Telefónica Tech has a wide range of omnichannel Contact Center products, hosted in the cloud and offered as a service (SaaS), flexible and adaptable to any requirement, key factors to make them affordable to the economy of any company, regardless of its size. Our team of professionals has extensive experience in defining the best approach, covering both essential functional aspects - the leap from voice to digital channels, for example - and economic aspects, maximizing cost efficiency, a particularly sensitive issue in the case of SMEs. For large companies, simplification and automation stand out as the basic requirements that a contact center proposal should include: Omnichanneling, guaranteeing a homogeneous and consistent customer experience, regardless of the communication channel used, is presented as one of the main shortcomings. Both those responsible for Contact Center services and their agents agree that there is a need for improvement in terms of simplification, integration, and automation. Insufficient training of agents leads to shortcomings in customer service, generating frustration among customers. Towards an increasingly smart customer journey Our study also identified that 40% of organizations are considering moving their contact center assets to the Cloud, with the intention of taking advantage of both the benefits of these architectures and the flexibility and benefits offered by SaaS models. Telefónica Tech has the knowledge and technological capabilities to make the migration to cloud-hosted solutions seamless. Based on all these results, we can conclude that an increasingly "smart" customer journey is the formula for success to achieve greater customer satisfaction: prioritizing the use of omnichannel solutions, unifying data by aggregating information in a single repository, applying the possibilities offered by Artificial Intelligence, will facilitate an agile and personalized interaction, generating empathy and trust in the brand, which will improve customer loyalty. Future Workplace The three revolutions of the Contact Center: apple pies, convertibles, and social media May 3, 2023

Microsoft surveyed 30,000 people in 31 different countries in 2021 as part of its Work Trend Index report, asking participants for their opinion on the most appropriate way to work and interact in a post-pandemic environment. 73% of respondents wanted to maintain flexible remote working options, but at the same time, 67% felt that face-to-face interaction was essential. We are therefore faced with the dilemma of the new hybrid working model and its implications: it is now necessary to have options to connect from anywhere, at any time, using any device, synchronously or asynchronously, face-to-face or remotely, and also to provide an enriched user experience that even enhances collaboration in physical spaces. This substantially increases the complexity compared to previous paradigms, which were designed to try to emulate face-to-face scenarios in the workplace. Companies must therefore adapt to this new situation, and it is here where tools that facilitate collaborative work play an essential role. The market for CCUU solutions and collaboration The consulting firm Omdia forecasts a global growth in users of collaboration tools that could reach 140 million by 2025, which translates into a business opportunity worth around 23 billion euros. The technologies or tools that should serve to meet this demand are multiple and are part of a fragmented scenario, with the emergence of new players and solutions, as reflected in the Magic Quadrant (Meetings Solutions) published in 2021 by Gartner.. Cisco with Webex remains in the lead, although it shares this leadership with Microsoft Teams and Zoom, which have experienced significant growth in a very short period of time, threatening its dominant position: Microsoft Teams has become the de facto standard for collaborative work during the pandemic: the number of daily users before COVID-19, 20 million, has risen to 270 million active monthly users, according to one of the latest reports published by the company itself. The fact that Teams is part of the Office 365 office suite has undoubtedly been a key factor in facilitating its adoption, accelerated by the circumstances that the coronavirus imposed, suddenly demanding a global remote working environment. Teams has been the fastest growing business-oriented application in Microsoft's history. Zoom has evolved from a cloud-based video conferencing offering to an end-to-end communications platform, building products ready for hybrid work environments. Its growth has also been exponential, reaching a market share of 28%. A freemium licensing model, supported by a simple and intuitive user experience that is easily adopted by the B2C segment, are part of the main reasons that have contributed to its rapid expansion. Another trend in the Unified Communications market that Gartner highlights is the progressive migration towards cloud platforms as an alternative to in-house deployment. Gartner forecasts that by 2024, 3 out of every 4 user licenses will be linked to services deployed in the cloud. Telefónica Tech expands its offer to meet the needs of any customer Telefónica Tech, in constant adaptation to all these changes, proposes a catalogue of solutions with a double objective: to cover each of the use cases associated with hybrid work environments and to meet the needs of all types of customers. The main characteristics of these solutions are: Adapted to the needs and typology of any company, guaranteeing a barrier-free user experience. Advanced and enriched with all the necessary functionality to ensure total collaboration between the different areas and teams of an organisation. Leaders, driven by alliances with the main partners in the market, through collaboration agreements and certifications that support a complete and qualitative proposal. Integrated with voice services, enhancing the user experience through a single interface for communication and collaboration. Complemented with professional services that allow us to adapt, implement and manage any type of customer requirement. All of this translates into a series of specific actions: Constant expansion of the catalogue, offering the best ecosystem of solutions through strategic alliances with global leaders such as Cisco, Microsoft and Zoom. Applications always updated and enriched with the latest market innovations. Personalised advice with the aim of proposing the best solution for each client. Functionality complemented with value-added services, e.g. recorder, peripherals, etc. An economical pay-as-you-go model, avoiding costly up-front investments for the customer. A Global Operations and Support Centre is responsible for management and maintenance, providing all of Telefónica's experience and knowledge in communications and collaboration solutions. Cloud Future Workplace Cloud services enabling remote working December 9, 2021 Five pillars of the best value proposition Telefónica Tech's value proposition, therefore, for collaboration products and services, is based on offering its customers a one-stop-shop experience, on cloud solutions, fully managed and adapted to their business requirements. The main characteristics of this value proposition are: Customer centric: the satisfaction of customer needs as a priority objective, with a definition of profiles to meet the different use cases, including the best user experience. Complete offer: with a catalogue that includes an ecosystem made up of products from the main partners and manufacturers in the market, through strategic alliances, covering any functionality demand and aimed at all types of customers. Products always updated with the latest versions, offered as Software as a Service (SaaS) on cloud infrastructure. Scalable pay-per-use economic model, avoiding the need for costly initial investments. End-to-end managed service, including both initial advice to the client and the configuration, operation and advanced administration of the service. Telefónica Tech is an industry leader in CCUU solutions and Collaboration Telefónica Tech is a leader in Unified Communications solutions and Collaboration for companies. The activities carried out by its team of professionals complement the different technologies, thus enabling it to offer end-to-end services, with the aim of providing customers with the ability to isolate themselves from the complexity of these products and focus exclusively on their business. Telefónica Tech's main tasks include: Advice and planning: technical-economic analysis and proposal of the most appropriate solution. Design and implementation: implementation of the proposal made, based on the previous study. Migration: if necessary, of previous applications. CYBER SECURITY The impact of cybersecurity attacks on SMEs and corporates December 2, 2021