Item: NICE CXone
Rating: 10
Author: Martin Lara

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are a government agency. We have several departments using NICE CXone. Naturally, it is primarily used for call center functions, however, we are developing an IVR to front end our call centers to reduce demand for agents staffed. Our department is, and has always, suffered from low staff and retention. We are still working to resolve this problem using CXone to limit load.

Pros and Cons

One stop shop for all call center functionality.
The platform is only limited by your own imagination and skill, but NICE CXone has many partners to help develop ideas and solutions.
Very reliable and stable platform.
Good support model (much improved since we started with InContact 4 years ago).

Very slow project start up process.
Online documentation needs a bit more detail.
Training is very limited.
Very plain interface. Visually bland. Max could be more appealing to the agent.

Return on Investment

Additional skills needed to create more advanced solutions. At least basic programming skills needed for Snippets and other actions. An additional $15,000 per employee.
Elimination of maintenance agreements and hardware upgrades saves us between 500 and 800 thousand dollars annually.
Simple web interface eliminates software license agreements and upgrades.

Customization

I come from an Avaya and Nortel background and I found that reporting has not been to the level I was used to. Asa result, we have had to customize nearly every report to show details that are more easily understood by business management. This has taken considerable effort to produce and continues to impact us with new requests received regularly.

Programming in Studio is convenient. We have had to create multiple templates to simplify and speed up our deployments. Call centers are very impatient so speed is important for us.

Overall, it is convenient to have so much flexibility and customization, but it shouldn't have to feel like such a burden because prebuilt reports are so limited.

Usability

Having a cloud based platform to work with, like NICE CXone, adds a ton of flexibility to our technical staff. We can build almost anything we want. Our call centers are not only enjoying the flexibility but are now getting creative with how they want to manage the call center.

Reporting Capabilities

All the data is there, mostly. Where it lacks is the prebuilt reports and the dashboard. Very boxy and limited customization. Visually not appealing at all. Customization and exporting is good but is literally a requirement to see the data you really want.

Products Replaced

Yes -

Avaya
CI
Verint

The biggest reason for replacing was annual maintenance and upgrade costs.

Other Software Used

Pega Platform

Likelihood to Recommend

I have worked in telephony for over 30 years, with over 25 years in call center engineering. By far, the number one complaint has always been mobility. Cloud ACD is the perfect solution to access your call center from anywhere.

Although we have not experienced this I anticipate leaving this platform would be very difficult. Although I expect it would be easier than doing a painful PBX cutover (I did over 10 in my career), leaving NICE CXone will feel like a downgrade, especially if it was to a site based PBX.

Traditionally, adding an IVR to your call center required budgeting for the possibility of growth and future capabilities, meaning you had a large capital cost up front. With CXone you can start small and expand as needed.

Lastly, and I can't believe I haven't stated this already, no yearly maintenance cost and upgrades to deal with! I can't tell you how many weekends I lost because of upgrades and maintenance work. Easily the worst part of my job anywhere. The fact that I just now remembered this is a testament to how quickly I forgot the pain of dealing with that for so many years.

Ultimate flexibility with all the call center features and functionality you need.

Overall Satisfaction with NICE CXone (formerly NICE inContact)