Digital Innovation and AI in Customer Experience: Avaya’s Perspective
As companies strive to find innovative solutions that deliver performance while ensuring security and privacy, they often encounter challenges during the transition to the cloud. This shift, while offering significant opportunities for growth, can also present unexpected hurdles. At GITEX in Dubai, the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper spoke with “Gisele Bou Ghanem”, Vice President of Global Product Marketing at Avaya, about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on customer experience and how it can boost operational efficiency for businesses. The conversation also explored the complexities of implementing hybrid cloud solutions and strategies for overcoming these challenges to stay competitive.
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The Impact of AI on Customer Experience
AI is reshaping customer service by automating routine tasks and providing real-time support. Gisele BouGhanem explains that Avaya’s tools, such as virtual assistants and chatbots, enable companies to provide 24/7 customer support, respond to common inquiries, and solve simple problems without human intervention. These tools rely on Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies to better understand customer interactions and respond more intelligently.
AI also transforms the roles of customer service agents and supervisors by alleviating burdens related to repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on more complex issues, thereby improving their ability to deliver high-quality, personalized service.
Predictive Analytics and Personalization in Customer Experience
AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of customer data enables highly personalized experiences. By leveraging predictive analytics, companies can anticipate customer needs and provide tailored solutions before customers even ask. This approach helps meet customer demands accurately and enhances satisfaction by offering personalized promotions and proactive customer support.
For example, an AI system might recognize that a customer frequently contacts support about a recurring issue. Instead of waiting for the customer to reach out, the system can proactively offer a solution or supplier, preventing future inquiries and improving the customer experience.
BouGhanem emphasizes that this type of predictive AI has become increasingly crucial as businesses strive to meet rising customer expectations regarding personalization and seamless service. By leveraging AI-driven insights, companies can enhance customer satisfaction while also increasing efficiency by reducing the number of routine inquiries that require human intervention.
Redefining Roles in Customer Experience
As AI becomes more integrated into the customer experience landscape, it is also reshaping the roles of customer service agents, supervisors, and managers. AI is increasingly viewed as a valuable collaborator rather than a replacement for human employees. BouGhanem highlights this shift, stating that “the role of the agent is now different… Agents are expected to be closer to the customer, spending less time on repetitive tasks and more time delivering personalized service.”
AI tools enable agents to work more intelligently by automating many administrative tasks that would otherwise take up their time. Instead of spending time searching for information or generating reports, agents can now focus on providing a more human and empathetic experience.
The Future of AI in Customer Experience
The future of customer experience is closely tied to the ongoing evolution of AI. As BouGhanem points out, AI will increasingly be seen as an integral part of customer service operations. She predicts the emergence of more AI-enhanced agents and autonomous virtual agents, which will transform the workforce landscape for which solutions are designed.
One of the main challenges in the future will be finding the right balance between automation and human interaction. While AI can efficiently handle many tasks, there will always be situations that require empathy and human understanding. Companies are encouraged to find a balance that leverages AI’s strengths while maintaining the human touch necessary for building strong customer relationships.
Hidden Challenges of Cloud Migration
According to BouGhanem, a major obstacle for many organizations when transitioning to the cloud is unexpected delays and costs. She referenced findings from a third-party research study with global enterprise customers, indicating that the time required for migration took three times longer than anticipated. The study also noted that “customization challenges led to a 50% increase in costs over what was expected.” These unforeseen obstacles often result in significant drops in service levels, complicating the transition process.
Many companies expect cloud migration to be a quick and seamless process, but the reality is much more complex. Gisele BouGhanem states that “innovation should not mean compromises. It should mean progress.” However, the process of overhauling existing systems often results in trade-offs in terms of time, cost, and service quality.
The Power of Hybrid Cloud: Innovation Without Compromise
Hybrid cloud solutions offer a middle ground for organizations that want to leverage cloud innovation without sacrificing the stability of their existing systems. BouGhanem asserts that “the hybrid cloud allows companies to innovate on a trusted platform. They can still maintain what works, deliver innovation, and adopt it as they grow, instead of overhauling everything at once.”
This incremental approach to innovation enables companies to move forward without the risks associated with completely replacing their systems. Hybrid cloud solutions provide the necessary flexibility to integrate new technologies as needed while preserving valuable legacy systems that are still functional.
In industries such as finance, healthcare, and government, where compliance, privacy, and security are paramount, this flexibility is essential. BouGhanem states, “At Avaya, we give our customers a choice about where they want to keep their applications and data, whether on-premises or externally.” This is especially crucial in heavily regulated sectors where data residency and information control are critical.
BouGhanem emphasizes that the hybrid cloud not only provides a pathway for innovation but also ensures that companies can maintain compliance with local regulations, which can vary significantly from one region to another. This ability to tailor solutions to fit specific needs and regulatory frameworks makes the hybrid cloud a powerful tool for companies operating in complex environments.
Data Management: The Key to Innovation
One of the biggest challenges facing companies today is managing customer experience data that is often scattered across various platforms and systems. BouGhanem notes in her discussion with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that “without data, you cannot build innovative use cases, especially with AI.” The increasing number of customer touchpoints, driven by new AI interfaces and communication channels, complicates data management.
Companies face the challenge of unifying these touchpoints and effectively managing the customer journey. Here, hybrid cloud solutions come to the forefront, offering a way to aggregate disparate data into a single unified platform. By doing so, companies can harness the power of AI to deliver personalized and seamless customer experiences without compromising security or compliance.
BouGhanem remarks, “Markets are different, but customer problems are the same.” Whether in government, finance, or healthcare, companies need to effectively manage and own their data to drive innovation. The hybrid cloud provides the necessary infrastructure to achieve this, offering businesses a platform that continuously aligns with their needs.
In an era where digital transformation is no longer optional, companies must find ways to innovate without sacrificing performance, security, or compliance. Avaya’s hybrid cloud solutions provide a means to achieve this balance, enabling organizations to maintain their existing infrastructure while gradually adopting new technologies such as AI.