Tag: ccaas

contact-centre, Customer-service

Dynamics 365 Contact Centre vs Other CcaaS Platform

Goloknath

Dynamics 365 Contact Centre is Microsoft’s AI‑first, cloud‑native CCaaS platform built on Azure Communication Services and deeply integrated with Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Microsoft 365.
Compared to other CCaaS leaders, Microsoft’s strengths lie in AI, CRM context, low‑code extensibility, and ecosystem integration, while competitors often lead in telephony maturity, WEM, and global carrier options.

Dynamics 365 Contact Centre

Strengths

  • Deep Microsoft ecosystem integration (Teams, M365, Power Platform, Dynamics 365)
  • AI‑first design with Copilot and CRM‑aware automation
  • Low‑code extensibility via Power Automate and Dataverse
  • Unified agent desktop with CRM context
  • FetchXML‑based routing for compliance‑driven orgs

Weaknesses

  • Workforce engagement management still maturing
  • Telephony ecosystem not as broad as Genesys/NICE
  • Best suited for Microsoft‑aligned enterprises

Amazon Connect

Strengths

  • Highly scalable, developer‑friendly
  • Strong AWS AI/ML integration
  • Pay‑as‑you‑go pricing

Weaknesses

  • Requires heavy custom development
  • Weak CRM story
  • Limited out‑of‑the‑box WEM

Genesys Cloud CX

Strengths

  • Very mature routing, WEM, and analytics
  • Strong global telephony
  • Broad enterprise adoption

Weaknesses

  • Higher cost
  • Less native AI compared to Microsoft
  • Complex configuration

NICE CXone

Strengths

  • Best‑in‑class analytics and WEM
  • Strong compliance and global reach
  • Mature voice and digital channels

Weaknesses

  • Complex licensing
  • Less modern architecture than Microsoft/AWS
  • Limited low‑code extensibility

Cisco Webex Contact Center

Strengths

  • Strong telephony and network reliability
  • Good for Cisco‑centric enterprises
  • Solid omnichannel

Weaknesses

  • AI and CRM context weaker than Microsoft
  • Less flexible than AWS/Genesys

Best‑Fit Recommendations

Choose Dynamics 365 Contact Centre if:

  • You are a Microsoft‑centric enterprise
  • You want AI‑first customer service
  • You need CRM‑aware automation
  • You want low‑code extensibility
  • You want a unified Microsoft ecosystem (Teams + Dynamics + Power Platform)

Choose Amazon Connect if:

  • You have strong AWS engineering teams
  • You want a highly customizable CCaaS
  • You prefer pay‑as‑you‑go pricing

Choose Genesys Cloud CX if:

  • You need advanced routing and WEM
  • You run a large, global contact centre

Choose NICE CXone if:

  • Analytics and compliance are top priorities
  • You need the strongest WEM suite

Choose Cisco Webex CC if:

  • You are already invested in Cisco telephony
  • You want a stable, network‑centric CCaaS
Uncategorized

What’s new in unified routing: April 2025 feature update in Dynamics 365 Contact Centre

Goloknath

What’s new in unified routing: April 2025 feature update (Key updates include Least Active Routing for messaging, Presence Sync APIs, Shift-based routing, and Template rulesets).

Real-time User Journey

This update optimizes how a customer moves from initial contact to the most qualified, available agent:

  1. Customer Re-entry: A customer returns to a persistent chat. Instead of a generic route, the system identifies the previous agent.
  2. Continuity Check: A Customized Notification pops up for the original agent, allowing them to instantly resume the conversation for a seamless experience.
  3. Shift-Aware Routing: If the original agent is unavailable, the system checks Shift Plans. It only considers agents currently on their scheduled shift, preventing “ghost” assignments to agents who have logged off.
  4. Workload Balancing: From the pool of available agents, the Least Active Routing method selects the representative who has been idle the longest since their last conversation ended.
  5. Agent Resolution: The agent receives the work item, benefiting from a balanced workload and clear context, leading to faster resolution.

Step-by-Step: How to Enable These Features

Since this is a suite of updates, here is how to enable the core components:

A. Enable Least Active Routing (for Messaging)

  1. Go to the Customer Service admin center.
  2. Navigate to Queues > Advanced Queues.
  3. Select a messaging queue (Chat/SMS/Digital Messaging) and go to the Assignment method section.
  4. Select Create New and choose Least active as the assignment strategy.
  5. Save and apply to the queue.

B. Configure Shift-Based Routing

  1. Navigate to Routing > User management.
  2. Select Shift schedules (Preview).
  3. Create a Workforce Management Shift Plan and define the working hours.
  4. Assign the plan to specific agents or teams.
  5. In your Assignment Rules, ensure the toggle for “Check agent availability based on shifts” is set to On.

C. Set Up Template Rulesets (Bulk Management)

  1. Go to Routing > Template rulesets.
  2. Select Create Template for either Prioritization or Assignment rules.
  3. Define your logic once (e.g., “Always prioritize VIP customers”).
  4. Select Apply to Queues and choose all the queues/workstreams that should follow this logic. Any future update to this template will sync to all linked queues instantly.
FeaturePrimary BenefitWho it’s for
Least Active RoutingPrevents agent burnout & ensures fair work distribution.Messaging Agents (Chat, SMS)
Shift-Based RoutingReduces wait times by ignoring agents who aren’t on clock.Global/24-7 Support Teams
Presence Sync APIsSyncs status across D365, Teams, and 3rd party tools.Multi-platform Organizations
Returning Chat AlertsEnsures customer-agent continuity.Persistent Chat Workflows
Bulk Rule TemplatesUpdate 100+ queues with a single click.Large-scale Administrators

References

What’s new in unified routing: April 2025 feature update 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-service/administer/assignment-methods#least-active

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/contact-center/extend/presence-status-sync?tabs=modifyagentpresence

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-service/administer/configure-routing-on-agent-calendar?branch=nn-first-party#how-shift-based-routing-works

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-service/administer/manage-routing-rules-templates

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/release-plan/2025wave1/service/dynamics365-customer-service/unified-routing

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/release-plan/2025wave1/service/dynamics365-contact-center/unified-routing

Uncategorized

Enhance Customer Service with Advanced Prioritization

Goloknath

Enhance Customer Service with Advanced Prioritization (Focusing on cross-queue and in-queue prioritization within Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Customer Service).

Real-time User Journey

The user journey for this feature involves a multi-layered evaluation to ensure the most critical issues reach an agent first:

  • Trigger: A customer initiates contact (e.g., starts a voice call or submits an urgent billing case).
  • Channel Prioritization: The system recognizes the channel type. In a “Voice-First” configuration, the system prioritizes the live call over an existing chat or email.
  • Cross-Queue Evaluation: The system looks at organizational priorities. For example, a Refund queue might be prioritized over a Sales Inquiry queue to improve customer retention.
  • In-Queue Refinement: Once the item is in a queue, the system applies “In-queue” rules. If two customers are in the VIP queue, the system evaluates secondary factors like Sentiment (prioritizing an angry customer) or SLA (prioritizing a case near its deadline).
  • Agent Assignment: The agent is automatically presented with the highest-priority work item from their combined pool of queues, ensuring they are always working on the most valuable task for the business.

Step-by-Step: How to Enable This Feature

To enable and configure advanced prioritization, follow these steps in the Dynamics 365 Customer Service admin center:

  1. Define Attributes: Identify the data points you want to prioritize by (e.g., Customer Value, Sentiment, or Case Severity). Ensure these fields are populated via Unified Routing rules.
  2. Configure Cross-Queue Prioritization:
    • Navigate to Routing > Workstream.
    • Define a “Global Priority” for queues (e.g., assign Priority 1 to “VIP Support” and Priority 2 to “General”).
  3. Set Up In-Queue Prioritization Rules:
    • Go to the specific Queue settings.
    • Under Assignment Methods, choose New or edit an existing one.
    • Go to the Prioritization tab and create rules (e.g., “Priority = Case Severity * SLA Timer”).
  4. Enable Sentiment Analysis (Optional but Recommended): Ensure AI-driven sentiment is enabled so it can be used as a dynamic priority factor in your rules.
  5. Assign to Workstreams: Apply these assignment methods to your active workstreams to begin routing live traffic according to the new logic.

Reference

Enhance customer service with advanced prioritization

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-service/administer/assignment-methods#how-unified-routing-prioritizes-work-items

Uncategorized

Dynamics 365 Contact Centre (Novice to Expert Series)(Chapter 3)

Goloknath

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, a Copilot-first contact center solution that delivers generative AI to every customer engagement channel which was general availability on July 1, this standalone Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution enables customers to maximize their current investments by connecting to preferred customer relationship management systems (CRMs) or custom apps.

Key Dynamics 365 Contact Center capabilities include:

  • Next-generation self-service: With sophisticated pre-integrated Copilots for digital and voice channels that drive context-aware, personalized conversations, contact centers can deploy rich self-service experiences. Combining the best of interactive voice response (IVR) technology from Nuance and Microsoft Copilot Studio’s no-code/low-code designer, contact centers can provide customers with engaging, individualized experiences powered by generative AI.
  • Accelerated human-assisted service: Across every channel, intelligent unified routing steers incoming requests that require a human touch to the agent best suited to help, enhancing service quality and efficiency. When a customer reaches an agent, Dynamics 365 Contact Center gives the agent a 360-degree view of the customer with generative AI — for example, real-time conversation tools like sentiment analysis, translation, conversation summary, transcription and more are included to help improve service, along with others that automate repetitive tasks for agents such as case summary, draft an email, suggested response and the ability for Copilot to answer agent questions grounded on your trusted knowledge sources.
  • Operational efficiency: Contact center efficiency depends just as much on what happens behind the scenes as it does on customer and agent experiences. We’ve built a solution that helps service teams detect issues early, improve critical KPIs and adapt quickly. With generative AI-based, real-time reporting, Dynamics 365 Contact Center allows service leaders to optimize contact center operations across all support channels, including their workforce.

Here is a video series end to end I have started (Chapter-3) –

Uncategorized

Dynamics 365 Contact Centre (Novice to Expert Series)(Chapter 2)

Goloknath

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, a Copilot-first contact center solution that delivers generative AI to every customer engagement channel which was general availability on July 1, this standalone Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution enables customers to maximize their current investments by connecting to preferred customer relationship management systems (CRMs) or custom apps.

Key Dynamics 365 Contact Center capabilities include:

  • Next-generation self-service: With sophisticated pre-integrated Copilots for digital and voice channels that drive context-aware, personalized conversations, contact centers can deploy rich self-service experiences. Combining the best of interactive voice response (IVR) technology from Nuance and Microsoft Copilot Studio’s no-code/low-code designer, contact centers can provide customers with engaging, individualized experiences powered by generative AI.
  • Accelerated human-assisted service: Across every channel, intelligent unified routing steers incoming requests that require a human touch to the agent best suited to help, enhancing service quality and efficiency. When a customer reaches an agent, Dynamics 365 Contact Center gives the agent a 360-degree view of the customer with generative AI — for example, real-time conversation tools like sentiment analysis, translation, conversation summary, transcription and more are included to help improve service, along with others that automate repetitive tasks for agents such as case summary, draft an email, suggested response and the ability for Copilot to answer agent questions grounded on your trusted knowledge sources.
  • Operational efficiency: Contact center efficiency depends just as much on what happens behind the scenes as it does on customer and agent experiences. We’ve built a solution that helps service teams detect issues early, improve critical KPIs and adapt quickly. With generative AI-based, real-time reporting, Dynamics 365 Contact Center allows service leaders to optimize contact center operations across all support channels, including their workforce.

Here is a video series end to end I have started (Chapter-2) –