Why legacy CX technology is holding back agility and AI adoption
Customer Experience (CX) has become the new competitive battleground for organisations. Customers expect to engage with the brands across any channel, and at a time that suits them. In response, organisations are continually adapting their tech stacks – bolting on new systems and rolling out new features – to meet the rapidly evolving demands of their customer base.
In practice, what this means is that today’s CX environments are complex and sprawling from years of continued “fixes”. Systems are fragmented, layered with multiple technologies, making them operationally heavy. Most notably though, these CX tech stacks often rely on legacy technology that is difficult to scale, secure and modernise. This presents a logistical headache for IT leaders seeking continuous innovation and looking to take advantage of newer agile and AI-based technologies within a cloud environment.
Leaders don’t necessarily need to rush into deploying new architecture. A more effective starting point is often simplifying existing systems and reconfiguring them in a more streamlined, efficient way. But how?
Here are our top tips:
1. Audit your existing CX tech stack to identify risk, complexity and AI readiness
You can’t fix what you can’t see – so your first step must be to understand your existing set-up – what you have, how it connects and how well it’s performing. but rather to re-engineer what you have to create an agile, future-ready CX infrastructure that your organisation, and customers, want.
To perform optimally, the foundations of your CX tech stack would ideally be cloud-based, secure and scalable – so it’s important at this stage to assess what you have in place and the governance surrounding your systems. Consider whether you can trial AI user cases safely in a contained environment within your existing set-up. This is important as when you are ready to take the next steps into AI you want to test out a use case before scaling upwards.
2. Align CX technology strategy with business objectives and customer demand
Any programme of change requires a solid set of objectives to frame it. This means bringing together key stakeholders across your organisation to consider what your CX initiative is aiming to deliver and if your current objectives are still relevant. Ask what is working well and what isn’t. Look at which channels are the most important to your customers and consider if you need to evolve what you’re offering. Armed with this information, you can more accurately assess how your platform needs to evolve to deliver next generation functionality.
3. Reduce CX platform sprawl through technology consolidation
Every new channel or solution that has been added to your technology stack over time is another layer to manage, another vendor to coordinate, another risk to monitor. Likely your CX stack also has duplicate tools handling similar tasks such as routing of channels, automating tasks, or providing insights on the customer journey. Look to consolidate these duplicate tools under as few platforms as possible. Not only will this enable easier management of your CX stack, but it will also be more cost effective for your organisation in the long-run.
4. Build a scalable, cloud-ready CX foundation for AI innovation
With your tech stack realigned and consolidated, you are ready to start exploring AI functionality. Remember to go back to your original objectives and ensure that your project aligns with these. Start small with a test-case and build from there. Working with an experienced partner will help here, as they will be able to direct you in the next best step forward and help to manage your programme of change in the most effective manner – they will have experience of being involved in multiple and varied projects – experience that is difficult to build within one single end-user organisation.
Creating a future-ready CX technology stack without disruption
Simplifying your CX tech stack – so that new technologies such as AI can be plugged in seamlessly when the time is right – is the first step on the path to innovation.
Here at IPI, we help IT leaders clarify what they already have, where the gaps are and what improvements will deliver the most value. This approach consistently helps our clients reduce time spent managing systems and drives cost efficiencies, creating a clear, scalable foundation for AI and innovation. The focus is always on practical steps that deliver measurable value, not wholesale replacement or disruption.
Contact us here if you’d like to talk to us about how we can help you take the next step toward a simpler, smarter, future-ready customer experience.
Craig is CX & AI Strategist at IPI, bringing over two decades of experience in the evolving world of contact centres and customer experience. Having started his career in operational roles – panning technology, workforce engagement, and leadership – Craig has worked closely with global brands to help them harness technology and streamline operations.
In his current role, Craig acts as a trusted advisor to clients and prospects, leading strategic conversations around customer experience transformation and AI adoption. He partners with customer teams to shape solution strategies, provide thought leadership, and translate complex AI concepts into practical business value.
