OCTA+ boosts contact center with cloud and AI: best insights
Published on 16/06/2025 in Customer talks
Companies are improving both the customer experience (CX) and the employee experience (EX) with a contact center platform in the cloud. Proximus NXT implemented Genesys Cloud at OCTA+ in just six weeks. Learn how the company is reaping the benefits.
OCTA+ is the largest independent energy distributor in Belgium. Over a hundred thousand customers rely on the company for electricity, gas, petrol, diesel, electric charging and heating oil. OCTA+ also plays a role in the energy transition, with among other things solar panels, home batteries, charging stations and heat pumps. “We aim for five-star service,” says Customer Service Manager Stefanie Meyen, “not only for our customers through all channels, but also for our employees.”
To take this service to a higher level, OCTA+ decided to support its contact center with new software. “At the same time, we wanted to make the move from on-premise to the cloud,” explains Stefanie, “for more flexibility, more comprehensive reporting and a more efficient link to our CRM environment.” Overall, the new contact center software had to allow OCTA+ to serve customers faster and better.
Answering all calls
But it takes more than a tool to consistently deliver five-star service. The real key to success lies in thorough preparation for the entire process. OCTA+ therefore invested a lot of energy in analyzing its own needs. “We started by mapping everything out in detail,” says Stefanie. The company found that it gets 20,000 calls per month. “But we had 296 phone numbers in use, spread across various teams. Where do all those numbers go?” OCTA+ wanted to get an overview of this first.
Voice remains the core of our service.
Stefanie Meyen, Customer Service Manager at OCTA+
“Voice remains the core of our service. Call handling is our top priority. We cannot miss a single call. If someone calls to order heating oil and they get no answer, they immediately try a competitor. In our sector that’s a customer that you will never see again.” It was important for OCTA+ to not only answer all calls with the new solution, but also to get detailed reports on them.
Preparation, hard work and a learning process
Altogether, OCTA+ studied approximately twenty solutions for contact centers and telephony. “We really approached it very thoroughly and involved the business in the process right away. That buy-in was essential in making the project succeed.” Ultimately, the cloud contact center platform of Genesys, implemented and supported by the partnership and close collaboration between Genesys and Proximus NXT, was chosen. “That partnership was very important to us,” says Stefanie. OCTA+ needed a reliable partner. “Because the preparation and selection took six months, but we completed the actual migration in barely six weeks.”
With the Proximus NXT contact center platform (CCaaS) you use only the technology you need to build personalized customer journeys.
The project's success was a result of intensive preparation and decisive implementation. The project also proved to be a learning process. “As I said before, you really have to document everything thoroughly before you start,” Stefanie explains. “That’s the most important advice I offer for such a migration. Examine your current needs and make an estimate of your needs in ten years. That demands a major effort, but it provides a firm foundation throughout the process.”
Smart link
OCTA+ and Proximus NXT chose to implement Genesys Cloud off-the-shelf with local integration of the CRM system. “That doesn’t change the fact that it was a fairly challenging implementation,” says Stefanie. “The Genesys contact center runs in the cloud, but we chose to integrate the software with our on-prem CRM system.”
Technically, the CRM system is not integrated with Genesys Cloud, but Proximus NXT succeeded in linking the two. “An agent who works in the CRM system can click on the customer’s number there and call him via Genesys Cloud.” In a subsequent step it will also be possible to e-mail, whatsapp, and so forth, that way. “With APIs between Genesys Cloud and the CRM system we’ll make a lot more possible.”
With the new contact center platform, we save on average three days per month.
Stefanie Meyen, Customer Service Manager at OCTA+
Improved customer service through data analysis
It is important to OCTA+ that the Genesys-Proximus NXT contact center allows interactions with customers to be accurately tracked. “We now know that — thanks to the contact center reporting — a customer gets an employee on the line an average of four seconds faster, which means an improvement in our service to the customer,” Stefanie continues. “Four seconds times 20,000 calls per month: that’s approximately three days of time saved per month.”
The company also gained more insight into when customers call. This allows the contact center to be organized more efficiently. In this way the Genesys-Proximus NXT contact center also contributes directly to the employee experience. “We’re available starting at 8 am, but we found that there are very few calls during the first half hour. Now, most agents start at 8:30 am. Thanks to call analysis, we have optimized our agents' schedules.”
The four points that make the difference for OCTA+
- “We needed a clear plan that included all the current and future requirements and was supported by strategic advice from experts. This allowed us to properly launch the project right away and avoid potential pitfalls.”
- “We opted for Genesys Cloud, an off-the-shelf solution, with minimal adaptations to the standard package. This allowed us to roll out the software very quickly.”
- “The Genesys and Proximus NXT experts provided the necessary knowledge and best practices throughout the process.”
- “The choice for the cloud was essential. This enables us to innovate and scale up our customer service faster.”
Growing alongside the customer
“The project was the culmination of a transformation at OCTA+,” Stefanie concludes, “with the deployment of new technology and the collaboration between Genesys, Proximus NXT and our own teams playing a key role. We now offer better service to our customers. And there’s more. We have laid the groundwork for further innovation and growth, in which we will evolve flexibly alongside the needs of our customers.”
Transforming your contact center: why Proximus NXT?
- Your contact center is essential to your relationship with the customer. It’s at the heart of the customer experience your company offers.
- Proximus NXT helps you with the complete transformation of your contact center. We provide advice on your customer experience and employee experience, expertise in choosing the most appropriate solution and guidance on implementation and user training.
- To increase the companies’ competitiveness, Proximus NXT prefers contact center platforms in the cloud. Cloud solutions allow for faster innovation (e.g. via the use of AI functionality) and offer greater flexibility. In the cloud your contact center evolves easily and fluidly along with the needs of your organization and customers.