Does “Off-the-Shelf” Contact Center Integration Really Work?

You’ve probably heard the phrase “seamless integration” if you’ve looked into buying business software. Vendors like to paint a pretty picture of contact center integration: just download, point, click, and voila.

In reality, it’s not that simple.

The one-click integration promise

Integrating CRM data into your contact center platform isn’t just nice to have — it’s required to get the full benefit of your investment.

Marketers throw around terms like “plug-and-play,” “out-of-the-box,” and “one-click” all the time. I’ve even used them myself when describing integrations.

The idea behind off-the-shelf integrations is sincere. They’re supposed to make it easy for anyone, even those without an IT background, to connect their tools.

After all, not everyone has the resources to hire a developer.

These integrations are built and tested by experts who know the systems inside and out. Plus, vendors on both sides handle updates and maintenance for you. When one updates, the other follows suit.

It sounds awesome in theory.

But contact center integrations are built for the masses — not for your specific workflows, systems, or agents. Every contact center is different, and there’s no way for vendors to account for everyone’s needs.

What to expect from out-of-the-box contact center integrations

If you’re lucky, you’ll set up the integration and everything will work as planned. This is more likely if you’re using a well-established CRM, like HubSpot or Salesforce, paired with a popular contact center solution, like Nextiva or RingCentral.

You may find a few areas that feel clunky, but you can adjust your processes to make it work. This absolutely does happen.

But more often, you’ll find the integration works okay. Not great, just okay.

Fields may not map correctly, features you were hoping for might be unavailable, and there may be no timeline for these features being added — you’re at the mercy of the two vendors.

This is common if you use new or lesser-known software.

It can also happen if you’re combining well-known CRM software and an industry-specific contact center platform — or vice versa.

You might still be able to make the integration work without investing in developer resources, but you’ll likely have to rely on workarounds and hacks to get it to work for your team.

Worst case scenario? Nothing works. This is particularly common if you’ve heavily customized your CRM or contact center platform. Whether you’re using something you built or you’ve had a developer tweak established systems to match your processes, you’ll have a hard time making off-the-shelf integrations work for you.

No matter which scenario you fall into, you may still find yourself hoping for more. That’s an unfortunate, but common experience.

When pre-made integrations aren’t enough

The easiest solution is middleware — third-party tools that specialize in connecting data, systems, and processes. Zapier and Make are the most popular right now.

I’ve had a lot of success using these for various tasks. While there is a learning curve and added expense, neither is as steep as custom integrations or APIs. For the most part, middleware is drag-and-drop, letting you easily create custom flows and automations.

For contact centers, you may be able to use them to:

• Sync communication history.
• Create new contacts in your CRM.
• Update contact information in either system.
• Trigger tasks, reminders, and follow-ups.
• Automate deal and opportunity management.
• Set up custom alerts and notifications.

You can even use it to pull in other tools, like Slack or email too. With that said, there are limitations — particularly when it comes to flexibility and customization. Some features and capabilities just won’t be an option.

If you have the budget, time, and resources, custom integrations using APIs and SDKs offer far greater possibilities.

These also give you more control over security — it may be your only option if you have to adhere to stringent security requirements (like HIPAA).

However, custom integrations add complexity and overhead beyond what middleware requires.

With either option, you might face latency, scalability concerns, compatibility issues, security risks, and problems with consistency.

Why isn’t contact center integration easier?

Every contact center is unique. The data they collect, how they store it, what they do with it, and their processes are unlike any other business — including yours.

To complicate things further, CRMs and contact center solutions are highly customizable. While this is great for tailoring them to your workflows, any level of customization inherently makes integration a challenge.

Omnichannel integration is even tougher. Syncing emails, chats, social media, text messages, and other communication logs into a CRM — even one that isn’t customized — is no small feat.

Synchronization of all often leads to duplicates, lost data, or data corruption.

On top of that, technology is constantly changing. New features come out and UI updates happen behind the scenes all the time. Your integration may work perfectly one day but break the next. It’s a constant evolution that requires ongoing maintenance from everyone involved.

Vendors and middleware providers do their best to make things easy for everyone, but it’s a monumental task.

How to make contact center integrations work for you

First and foremost, if you don’t have a CRM or contact center solution, choosing two that work well together is the best place to start.

SEE: Best contact center CRM software and best call center platforms.

The best approach is to leverage  free trials, demos, and direct conversations with vendors. You may be tempted to just sign up for one and call it good, but that’s not going to do you any favors in the long run.

Spend time testing each solution, especially the out-of-the-box integrations. Try to replicate your use case as closely as possible and test it at volume.

The more thoroughly you test, the fewer surprises you’ll face later.

Don’t be afraid to grill vendors on integration specifics. Tell them how you work and what you need, then have them demonstrate how it’s done. If they can’t show you, consider that a red flag. You should also ask about future development plans so you know the direction they’re headed.

Already have both pieces of software? You have three options, depending on your budget.

If you’re working with no budget, manual data entry or partial integrations can suffice on a small scale. Even basic syncing contacts, transferring interaction logs, and using screen pop can provide a huge advantage.

Something is better than nothing.

Have more than no budget but less than a lot? You’ll likely need to make internal changes to make out-of-the-box contact center integration work. This could mean switching to a different CRM or contact center solution, modifying your processes, coming up with workarounds, simplifying the data you collect, or learning to use middleware.

For businesses with deep pockets, a custom integration or API development is the best way to avoid internal changes and get exactly what you need.

It might take longer than you expect, but it’ll be worth it to have a system that matches your workflow.

No matter what, training your team on your integrated system is crucial. Even the best setup won’t work if no one knows how to use it.