Putting AI at the heart of CX: From contact center to growth engine

Customer expectations have never been higher. Today’s customers don’t just want quick answers — they expect personalized and consistent experiences across every channel. Yet many organizations are still operating with fragmented systems, outdated workflows and limited intelligence within their contact centers.

This results in higher costs, unsatisfied customers and missed opportunities to build loyalty.

At NTT DATA, we believe it’s time to rethink the role of the contact center. Instead of operating as a reactive service desk, it must become a strategic growth engine. When intelligence, automation and seamless connectivity are embedded in every interaction, the contact center becomes a source of value for both customers and employees.

The shift: From cost center to growth engine

The days of viewing the contact center as a cost center are over. It is now the front line of customer engagement and a critical driver of loyalty and revenue. Organizations that adopt AI-powered, connected customer engagement in their contact centers can:

• Deliver personalized, proactive experiences that delight customers
• Empower teams with AI agents that make their work easier and more engaging
• Reduce costs through automation and smarter processes
• Build future-ready customer experience (CX) solutions that scale with business growth

This transformation is essential for organizations that aim to stay competitive in a digital-first world.

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The catalyst: AI at the core of Dynamics 365 Contact Center

So, how do you make this shift? The answer lies in AI-driven innovation — and that’s where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center comes in.

This platform redefines customer engagement by combining advanced AI, real-time analytics and intelligent automation. Here’s what makes it powerful:

• Intelligent automation: Automate routine tasks so agents can focus on high-value interactions.
• Real-time analytics: Turn data into actionable insights for smarter decisions.
• Natural language processing: Enable human-like conversations across multiple channels.
• Microsoft Copilot, agentic AI and Microsoft Copilot Studio: Equip agents with predictive insights, contextual recommendations and low-code tools to boost efficiency.

The result? Faster resolutions, happier customers and empowered employees — all at scale.

The innovation: NTT DATA Virtual Center of Excellence

To help organizations accelerate innovation and unlock the full potential of Dynamics 365 Contact Center, NTT DATA has launched the Virtual Center of Excellence (CoE). Starting in the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany, this CoE brings together experts in CX, enterprise voice and Microsoft technologies.

Our mission is clear: We aim to accelerate the deployment of AI-driven contact center solutions, support best practices that enable scalability and long-term success, and deliver measurable business outcomes through proven methodologies. As Microsoft’s capabilities expand, we remain committed to fostering continuous innovation that delivers meaningful impact.

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The path forward: Redefining CX together

Organizations that embrace intelligent, connected and AI-powered customer engagement will be well positioned to meet changing customer expectations and achieve sustainable growth.

We draw on NTT DATA’s three decades of CX expertise in contact center transformation, together with the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Copilot, to deliver measurable ROI, faster time to value and meaningful business outcomes.

As Victoria Huizar, Global AI Business Solutions Leader at Microsoft, says: “NTT DATA’s deep expertise in Microsoft technologies (including Contact Center, Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Agents), combined with their long-standing experience in CX, empowers customers to adopt the latest Microsoft innovations and transform CX using AI.”

And now, with our Virtual CoE, we’re taking this collaboration to the next level — enabling you to build a scalable, AI-powered platform for future-ready CX and helping you reimagine the contact center as a true engine for growth.