Deciding whether to migrate a large call center away from a TDM-based PBX to VoIP-based Asterisk can be difficult. Any site wishing to do that would need to decide whether to go it alone, or use an existing contact center solution. Using an existing solution may cost more upfront, but you’ll have the advantage of not having to develop all the screens and reports yourself.
One of the biggest decisions would be whether to use a hosted service, on-premises system, or a hybrid of both. In many cases, it would be more economical to retain existing telephony infrastructure. Adapters and gateways allow easy conversion to VoIP but still require some equipment to be on site. The hybrid solution can keep the voice traffic on the premises to reduce the opportunity for delay or network lag.
As with any large software installation, there will be costs to manage the hardware and software. Many of these costs can be defrayed by selecting a vendor that will manage the servers as a managed service. This will leverage the economies of scale and allow the vendor to provide a high value service. This will essentially give the call center the advantages of both on-site and hosted service.
Moving from a closed PBX to an open VoIP implementation will reap great benefits for your call center. It is a significant upgrade from previous technologies so you will need to adjust business processes to allow you to make the best use of them.