Gartner defines contact center as a service (CCaaS) as solutions offering SaaS-based applications that enable customer service departments to manage multichannel customer interactions holistically from both a customer-experience and employee-experience perspective. CCaaS is a key technology platform used to support the customer service experience, whether it be self-service or assisted by customer service representatives. All organizations need to offer customer assistance. The preference is for remote support via voice and digital channels over physical presence in offices and stores, though it is common for organizations to offer multiple options. The ambition is for customers to self-serve assistance, through web portals or chatbots. But it is also recognized that complex issues still need the support of employees. CCaaS technology is instrumental in orchestrating both self- and assisted-service engagement with customers. The technology can also manage the quality of engagement between the customer and the customer service representative, recognizing that premium customer experiences are achieved through premium employee experiences.
Gartner defines global WAN services as points-of-presence (POP)-based services supporting multiregional corporate networks. Service providers own and operate their own global core networks and sell directly to the client. Services include transport-centric/unmanaged, managed, and co-managed network services, or network as a service via a monthly fixed or usage-based fee model. These services are measurable and consumable through customer-facing web portals and programmable APIs. Global WAN services consist of backbone network transport and last-mile access connections, providing connectivity to individual enterprise sites such as large offices or remote branches. WAN service providers are also offering more transformational capabilities, such as cloud fabrics and enhanced visibility enabled by the underlay service network, and adding more network-based security functions to their offerings. Ancillary services such as cloud interconnects, managed SD-WAN and secure access service edge (SASE) are now commonly offered. Gartner also sees providers increasingly investing in AI and automation to support more service processes across the WAN service life cycle, from network design to service assurance.