Keep your Contact Centre stress free with IPI Managed Services!

Dave:
Hi, Dave Glasgow here, Sales and Marketing Director from IP Integration. I have the pleasure of doing another IPI Converse episode with my colleague and longstanding friend, Mark Rossell, Head of IPI Managed Services.

Mark:
Thanks, Dave. Great to be here and have the opportunity to chat again.

Dave:
Let’s talk about managed services and what’s happening in the market. We’ve seen a lot of legacy, on-premise contact centre solutions out there. Having worked with Avaya, Genesys and our own ElasticCX platform, what trends are you seeing at the moment?

Mark:
I think organisations that may have been hesitant in the past to move to the cloud are now getting on top of it and moving quickly. The way contact centres operate is changing rapidly, especially around collaboration and agent structures, and that’s forcing people to adopt new technologies faster. Those that don’t are falling behind. The performance, scalability and flexibility of modern systems are far superior, particularly when it comes to integration through APIs and linking into CRMs. It just makes life much easier.

Dave:
That makes sense. You know I like old cars, but the thing about them is, they break down a lot and you need specialist engineers to fix them. They charge a lot of money. It’s a good comparison to old on-premise technology. Outside of cost, what other inefficiencies does that create for customers and partners?

Mark:
Maintenance is a big one. Keeping those systems patched, secure, and up to date takes a lot of time and effort, often out of hours. Moving to the cloud removes that overhead and lets teams focus on day-to-day business. There’s also the issue of skills, people who know those legacy systems are moving on to newer technologies, so it’s harder to find and retain that knowledge. That’s why working with a partner who maintains those legacy skills but can also take you forward is so important.

Dave:
And I suppose that’s one of the frustrations when you’re managing budgets, maintaining those skills on old products isn’t cheap.

Mark:
Absolutely. Skills development is key for us. We focus on continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and improvement. Over the years, we’ve helped our teams move from supporting legacy systems to becoming experts in cloud technology. People want to be on that journey, and it fits perfectly with our value of always evolving and investing in our people.

Dave:
And that’s something we’re really good at, helping customers move off old technology and into the new world.

Mark:
Exactly. For organisations that understand and value that, managed services really help in making the transition to cloud. We bring the key skills, experience, and knowledge that customers might not have internally. We’ve taken hundreds of customers from legacy systems like Avaya to modern platforms such as Genesys and our own ElasticCX offering. Because we’ve done it so many times, we know what to expect, where challenges might arise, and how to make it a seamless journey.

Dave:
That experience must count for a lot. Can you think of a specific example where we’ve done that successfully?

Mark:
Yes, one that comes to mind is a large housing association. They were under pressure to move away from their incumbent provider and had a legacy system that was unreliable and costly to maintain. We engaged quickly, understood how their operations worked, configured a new cloud system, and migrated them across, all with zero downtime. We built the new system in parallel with the old one, trained their teams, and ensured everything was ready for a smooth cutover. Some customers prefer to do it in phases, but in this case, we achieved a full transition without disruption.

Dave:
That’s great. What advice would you give to organisations that haven’t yet made that move to cloud?

Mark:
First and foremost, work with a trusted partner, one that has the experience and credibility to deliver. We’ve been through the pitfalls, we know the challenges, and we’ve refined the process to make it as smooth as possible. Cloud adoption isn’t just about technology; it’s about people. Bring your agents, supervisors, and the wider business along on the journey. Show them the benefits and involve them early so everyone feels comfortable and confident.

Dave:
And within your team, how have skills evolved from the old on-premise world to where we are now?

Mark:
They’ve changed dramatically. Over the years, we’ve invested heavily in education, new skill sets, and continuous development. People want to work with modern technology, it excites them. That enthusiasm drives the innovation we deliver for our customers.

Dave:
Well said. Thanks, Mark. That’s all for today. Great conversation and always a pleasure.

Mark:
Thanks, Dave. And thanks everyone for listening.