4 ways to support contact center calling redundancy

1. Connectivity redundancy

The greatest single point of failure for any organization hosting its calling platform in the cloud is its network and internet connection. IT leaders must ensure redundant networking and internet connectivity -- but not just for corporate headquarters. Remote users and offices must also be provided with multiple connectivity options.

2. Security

Hosted systems can be vulnerable to cyberattacks fueled by something as simple as a leaked administrative credential. To ensure administrative systems are well protected, IT leaders must implement strict password policies and require users to satisfy multifactor authentication protocols before they can access a contact center's administrative console.

3. Quality and performance monitoring

For organizations relying on hosted phone platforms, the right bandwidth makes a huge difference in call quality. System health and quality must be continually monitored to ensure the network has enough bandwidth to meet performance objectives.

4. Patch and update management

Just like any cloud-based UC platform, Microsoft continuously updates Teams, and it's important that employees use the latest version of the software. Doing so helps keep operations secure and reduces the chance that a bug or an outage disrupts the users or client experience.

By following some of these recommendations, IT administrators can help ensure their phone system supports contact center redundancy. Even if Microsoft or another cloud provider itself suffers from an outage, these suggestions reduce client-side risks associated with configurations or system failures that could cause a system outage.

Reda Chouffani runs the consulting practice he co-founded, Biz Technology Solutions Inc. He is a healthcare informatics consultant, cloud expert and business intelligence architect who helps enterprise clients make the best use of technology to streamline operations and improve productivity.