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Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

  • 1.  Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-16-2022 12:12
    Hello everyone -

    We have a customer group that we are advising that is considering migrating their current PureConnect environment to AWS. For some background - they are also considering migrating to Genesys Cloud and are aware of the upcoming EOS and EOL dates for PureConnect. What they are specifically asking about is the technical feasibility of such a migration. As for the environment - there are about 1200 agents, 50 servers in data centers spread out across North America, EMEA, and APJ. These servers include 20+ Media Servers and 8 OSSM servers. The core telephony components are SIP trunks terminating to Ribbon SBC devices in data centers in the 3 regions.

    What I would like to know - is there anyone out there who has tried something similar - and if so - could you share how it went along with the pros and cons of such a move?

    Thanks,

    Ken Shea
    #CloudMigration(NEW)

    ------------------------------
    Kenneth Shea
    CITRIX SYSTEMS, INC.
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-17-2022 08:52

    Hi Ken,

    Long time no chat!  Hope you are well!

    I have to ask,  imagining the effort to move PC to AWS, and PC's fate is sealed,  why would they not just go directly to Genesys Cloud CX?

    Knowing you,  I am sure you have discussed this with key stakeholders.   Also the obvious, feature parity between PC & GC is not there yet.

    I just completed my Genesys Cloud Certified Professional (GCP-GC) certification, already identified 4-5 items that are substantially less powerful/flexible/granular  for the BPO space, and I am sure will have impact for some larger non-BPO deployments.  Found a couple solutions in App Foundry, but each add on adds "per agent" costs.  I see the per agent cost climbing.........

    I will be following this thread, to see where this goes, Good Luck!

    Feel free to reach out when you have a minute, so we can catch up.

    Regards



    ------------------------------
    Pete Schroeder
    HMC3 LLC
    Senior Contact Center Engineer (Technical Lead)
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-17-2022 10:26
    Hi Pete - thanks for the response!  We are strongly pushing for Genesys Cloud CX and have also shared with the stakeholders the situation regarding the end of sale, support, and life dates.  At this point they do see Genesys Cloud as a strong solution - but they mainly want to do their due diligence on all possibilities including moving to AWS - so we're mainly covering all of our bases here.

    On another note - I recently passed my GCP-GC as well - so congratulations on getting this cert as well!

    Thanks,

    Ken

    ------------------------------
    Kenneth Shea
    CITRIX SYSTEMS, INC.
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-17-2022 10:28
    My biggest concern would be the Media Servers. AWS is essentially all virtualized and Media Servers , in particular, don't take kindly to being virtualized!

    Your second challenge will be the IC Server license. The Host ID is based on not only the MAC address of the NIC, but also the processor hardware ID. From experience, I can tell you that hosting IC in a Virtual cluster isn't a walk in the park!

    Just a couple of random thoughts / comments ;-)

    ------------------------------
    Paul Simpson
    Eventus Solutions Group
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-17-2022 10:53
    Thanks Paul for the response - much appreciated.  Hearing this feedback from someone with your experience is very valuable information that we will pass on to our stakeholders.

    Ken

    ------------------------------
    Kenneth Shea
    CITRIX SYSTEMS, INC.
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-17-2022 11:20
    Ken,

    Thank you - high praise indeed! Although I have been known to be wrong (not often, but it has been known!)

    My experience, as you know, was from the classroom. What we found was that when we used local Hosts to0 virtualize (with managed MAC addresses), the Host ID would remain constant as long as the underlying hardware didn't change. So a cluster of DL360 G7's would all give the same Host ID for VMs, but it would be different from those given by, say, a DL360 G8 (although all G8 would be the same).

    When the Labs went to the cloud, we had to work with the cloud provider to ensure that they didn't move the VMs around, at random, according to their load / business needs.

    Now, it may be that Genesys have a solution for this for services like AWS, but I would recommend investigating this before putting too much more effort into that solution!

    Good luck!

    ------------------------------
    Paul Simpson
    Eventus Solutions Group
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-18-2022 09:23
    Hello Team,

    I want to piggie back on this conversation, as I too have to look at options for our on prem Purecloud solution. As a side, we use a VM for everything for our Development environment, and I think the mac restrictions were removed after CIC2018, but i could be mistaken.

    1) I have heard going to the Cloud Genesys solution will not support custom handlers. Paul has seen the madness of my implementation in class, it is mostly 64 custom handlers, so I have ruled this out as an option as it would require an entire rework.
    2) this will not be a typical EOL, where the system will continue to work but we just have no support. The way i have understood EOL is July 2025, the current solution will not work.

    I am not entirely ruling out Cloud, but see it as 'since i have to reinvent the wheel, look at all options.'

    Any insight is appreciated

    ------------------------------
    Christopher Becker
    State of Michigan - Oakland County - WRC
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-18-2022 10:17
    Thanks Christopher for the reply.  It sounds like we are in similar situations as to where are are now - and where we'd like to go.  We have been pushing hard to move to Genesys Cloud and would also have to convert the functionality in many custom handlers to processes in Genesys Cloud.  In our case I think that we could retire some of the old processes that use these custom handlers and utilize new and better processes in Genesys Cloud.  Our business however may not be ready to take on this migration in the near future - and that is why they are looking at options on how to extend the life of PureConnect in an AWS environment because we are also in the process of transitioning out of some data centers that currently host our PureConnect environment.

    Thanks,

    Ken

    ------------------------------
    Kenneth Shea
    CITRIX SYSTEMS, INC.
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-18-2022 10:50

    Christopher,

    I wasn't aware that the Host ID restrictions had been removed - that's interesting. I wonder how they are now tying the license to the instance?

    Everyone, 

    Regarding Handlers. I think it's important to realize that Genesys Cloud isn't simply PureConnect moved to the Cloud. (That's what CaaS / PureConnect Cloud is / was!) Genesys Cloud is a completely different beast that works in a different way.

    Obviously, a great deal depends on what the Handlers actually do and where they are patched in to the overall system. Much of what they do can be achieved with creative use of the API and Data Actions. This may also require the use of external code that access the API. Architect is a much richer programming environment that Attendant and, when again combined with Data Actions, it is capable of achieving much of what was done using Handlers in PureConnect.

    My suggestion is to post here with specific requests concerning requirements. ("When a call comes in, we need XYZ to happen....") and I will help if I can (as I'm sure many others will!) I have seen some amazingly creative solutions implemented in Genesys Cloud! That being said, there are bound to be situations where it's a case of "Sorry, can't be done..." That's when the Ideas Portal becomes pretty much your only option.

    I know that I am not saying anything that you three are not already well aware of (I've seen you all around / met you in class enough to know that you know what you are talking about!) but I figured this needed to be said for context for others who may stumble across this thread ;-)



    ------------------------------
    Paul Simpson
    Eventus Solutions Group
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-18-2022 11:25
    I had heard the same thing about HostID and tested last month as we were migration to a new ESXI Host. We moved our CIC Server but it failed to come back up because of the HOSTID on the license didn't match the new HOSTID.So looks like its still ther

    We have not ruled out Genesys Cloud, but it is not at the top of our list. Like Christopher we have a large number of Customized handler and while we were told that Genesys hasn't found a handler they can't turn into API, knowing Genesys that professional services will be pricy.

    We have other concerns with support. We have been told only Genesy Cloud Support will be able to have visibility to the logs, which means we are 100% reliant on Genesys Cloud Support. PureConnect support has been horrible the past few years and my limit experience with Genesys Cloud support when we moved to their SMS service hasn't done much to reassure me the support will be better.

    Our last Hurdle is FedRamp, while Genesys Cloud is going through or is FedRamp its not something we are automatically approved for. We would still submit a request with the Government Agency we work for and we have found in the past they have denied us on system even though those system were Fedramp.

    ------------------------------
    Scott Williams
    Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-18-2022 11:37
    Paul,

    My bigger concern is for all these larger PureConnect sites, company executives / stakeholders, will push to extend PureConnect.  IMHO that is the worst option!
    If you have not committed to moving to Genesys Cloud CX, selecting your new CCaaS provider should be the TOP priority (i guess there maybe 1 or 2 premise options out there?)  If Genesys Cloud CX is your roadmap, then migration plans & contracts should be in place by the end of this year.
    I spent a lot of time on this at my last company, when I left, they had it narrowed done to 2 vendors, one being Genesys.  They will have contracts in place by end of year!

    I am very new to GCcx, just got my certification, working diligently to become proficient on this platform.  I have already identified 4 or 5 features that are  inferior to PureConnect.  I have found solutions for 2  via the AppFoundry, but they add significant "per user" cost!!  The other topics are in the "Ideas" portal, but most are over 2 years old.   Note with 28 years in the BPO industry, my perspective on functionality leans heavily to that industry

    PureConnect is dead like it or not!
    If any of these sites added (or will add) licenses via the "Subscription" model (subscription model is only option as of February 2022),  these systems will cease to function July 31, 2025
    Sale of Licenses stops Jan 1, 2024
    https://all.docs.genesys.com/Special:Repository/PureConnect_EOL_Announcement_-_Customer_Facing.pdf?page=/EOL/

    Again IMHO,  any efforts aimed at extending the life/use of PureConnect is a waste of time & effort.    Focus your efforts on finding a replacement!


    ------------------------------
    Pete Schroeder
    HMC3 LLC
    Senior Contact Center Engineer (Technical Lead)
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-20-2022 08:08
    Pete,

    May I ask what the 4 or 5 downfalls you've found are?  We use Pure Connect only for self service and REFER calls to a different platform for agent work. However, we are in the same boat as many with 564 custom handlers to run our BPO business. As soon as the EOL announcement came out we began the process of finding a replacement. We're currently engaged with three providers, Genesys Cloud being one of them, and I'd love to hear if what you've found relates to only agents or both IVR and agents.

    We explored moving to AWS, because we're closing data centers as well, but we were told that it's not a good option and the Media servers would require the move to subscription licensing. The other 'got ya' we're facing is that most of our server OS versions are EOL in 2023 and to remain PCI compliant we must upgrade them. I'm 100% certain that we aren't able to be up and running on a new CCaaS by June, given the complexity of our environment. So, we're having to go through an On Prem Pure Connect upgrade, while searching for it's replacement and figuring out where the servers are going to live. 

    Please don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or whining. I know it's the nature of software and we were extremely lucky to have the 20+ years we had with Pure Connect! Change is tough and forums like these makes a person realize they aren't alone, and for that I'm grateful :)

    ------------------------------
    LaDonna Brown
    CDS GLOBAL
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-21-2022 10:23

    Hi LaDonna,

     

    Completely understand the need to upgrade, hopefully the powers to be will maintain space in some Data Centers for the PureConnect servers.  From my perspective, an upgrade is a "known" (for the most part) entity but moving to AWS in my opinion would be a much bigger "lift", with many unknowns and support that is not ideal.

     

    What I have found to date is mostly agent facing.

    • Interaction Utilization is configured globally or by agent, NOT by Queue.
    • ACW / Wrap Up - While there are significant improvements here, see below, one significant concern is no functionality for agent to manually extend ACW. In the BPO shops I have worked at, we would never use "Optional" or "Discretionary" and very unlikely would use "Time Boxed, No early Exit"

    We would use Mandatory, time boxed – STATUS(PC) configured with ACW and set the Time-Out to 10% of the average ACW, and tweak as needed for new call types.  The reasoning is agents would abuse Discretionary and waste time.  We would create an alternate STAUS(PC) configured with ACW, when agents needed more ACW time, they would select the other status.  Supervisors did not have time to screen watch for ACW abuse, but with the alternate status, it was easily identified by reports, and alerts could be set on the alternate status

     

    Four types of Wrap-Up/ACW in GCcx

    OPTIONAL

    allows the agent to opt out of selecting a wrap-up code after a call.  The Optional ACW feature is useful if your organization does not use wrap-up codes and your agents do not need after call work time. It does not limit the amount of time an agent spends in ACW before going back to being available to receive the next interaction, so, supervisors need to monitor ACW metrics closely for their agents.

    MANDATORY, DISCRETIONARY

    For this option, the agent chooses how long to remain in ACW status but is required to enter a wrap-up code before finishing and becoming available again.

    As with the Optional setting, there is no limit on how long the agent can spend in ACW.

    MANDATORY, TIME-BOXED

    You set the maximum amount of time that agents may remain in the ACW state to complete their after-call work.

    If an agent finishes the work early, the agent can receive new interactions by entering a wrap-up code.

    The agent automatically becomes available at the end of the time specified.

    The system assigns a wrap-up code of ININ-WRAP-UP-TIMEOUT if the agent did not select a code.

    MANDATORY, TIME-BOXED NO EARLY EXIT

    The behavior is the same as the Time-boxed setting except the agent cannot become available for the next interaction until the specified time elapses.

    This feature is useful to give the agent a "cool down" period between interactions.

     

     

    The above leads to the next two topics:

    • Status – GCcx does not associate ACW with Status. There are 9 primary statuses; 7 allow 10 secondary statuses to each primary Status.   Statuses are org wide, cannot filter by role, division, group, queue, etc.   Cannot delete secondary (custom) Status, maybe via API, still investigating

    In my last role we had 450+ status, but rarely did any one agent have access to more than 20 Status

    • Alerts – appear to be Global, no filter (by queue, etc.) delivery via SMS, email, and GCcx GUI inbox only, nothing more intrusive i.e., toast pop up, audible alerts, etc. For certain compliance environments mobile devices should not be on the desk, so SMS is limited.

    I have yet to find "Time in Status" alerts and the metrics available to trigger alerts appear to be very limited compared to PureConnect.

    • ACD Voicemail and / or FAX:

    ACD Voicemail appears to be combined / replaced with "Callback"

    ACD Fax, I have yet to find and a couple "Beyond" instructors could not answer for certain, still looking. 

     

    I have found enhancements / add-ons in the AppFoundry for managing Utilization and for Alerting tools, I have only done a cursory review but look to be significant improvements.   But at a "COST" per agent.

     

    Architect (IVR) I am just beginning to train on Architect, appears to be much more powerful and robust compared to PureConnect, and is the primary place to configure flows for Emails, Chat, SMS, Messages (FB Messenger, WhatsApp, etc.).  I have yet to see any deficiencies!

     

    Lastly the API library appears to be very robust. (API work is not my strong suit, but…)  I can see and understand why Genesys touts that most any Handler feature can be re-created in GCcx via APIs & related

     

     

    DISCLAIMER:  As I mentioned, I am new to Genesys Cloud CX, I am far from an expert, YET!  And there is always something more / new to learn.  I welcome any input / corrections from our community!

      

    I would love to know what other vendors you are evaluating along with what system you currently hand of agent calls to.  If you are willing to share, we should take the conversation offline, feel free to email me.

    Pete.Schroeder@hmcthree.com

     

     

     

     



    ------------------------------
    Pete Schroeder
    HMC3 LLC
    Senior Contact Center Engineer (Technical Lead)
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 11-22-2022 11:48
    I guess I am missing something. What is the value to migrate the PureConnect CIC to AWS infrastructure if this system will simply stop working in July 2025?

    ------------------------------
    Christopher Becker
    State of Michigan - Oakland County - WRC
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 12-02-2022 01:51
    Hello,

    I'd like to give my thoughts on your question. The short answer is 'Yes' you can migrate your Pureconnect Servers to AWS. There would be risks but I suggest tackling each risk one by one and giving which are a high priority for the business and which ones are okay with you to be left as a risk. With that said I would be in the same boat as you but our servers are not spread to different regions. I've been researching AWS Cloud Architecture and same as their offerings, if you can consult with a Solutions Architect or if your company has one grab the opportunity to talk with them about this situation.

    Based on my research, since Pureconnect's license is tied to hardware there are two offerings that AWS has that would apply to Pureconnect. The standard EC2 instances are VMs and are always moved by AWS in the background to improve performance and increase the availability of resources. EC2 instances are hosted to resources that are shared by a pool of customers. That would impact the licensing process with Pureconnect but you can either use Dedicated Hosts or Baremetal.

    It really depends on what the business needs. Dedicated Hosts are similar to EC2 Instances they are also VMs but they are not moved around in the background as these resources are dedicated to your business only. If your Servers are VMs you can import them in AWS the same as EC2 instances you can save cost on Windows Licenses as you can bring your own license. Or you can just spin up Dedicated Instances from your Dedicated Host in AWS, by this method you just have to migrate the configuration and settings of Pureconnect.

    Baremetal offering is the most cost-effective as your renting an actual server from AWS. This will remove the risk of Pureconnect licenses being tied to hardware.
    Media Servers can also be installed with Bare metal in AWS. You have to look at AWS's machine specifications offerings for Baremetal and you are allowed to install the OS you want or hypervisor.

    The good thing about these offerings is that the ownership goes to AWS, you only mind the OS and Software you install. Backup of the machines is AWS Job now for you.
    By the way, AWS also has SBCs (Ribbon is listed) in its Marketplace, you can spin up instances of Virtual SBCs. Also, latency in AWS is less as it has edge connections, since you will be at the backbone of AWS's network it will be faster, just know how much is Networking DATA (Ingress/Egress) used by these servers. You have to estimate that as well.

    You can also do a hybrid setup by making Media Servers/SBCs at the data center and all other Servers in AWS. A hybrid setup is somewhat cloud however, you are still paying operating costs for Media Servers/SBCs hosted in other data centers.

    I've been reading a lot from the AWS website, documents, and white papers as I'm trying to have a career path toward Cloud Architecture. You can use the AWS calculator to see costs and savings if reserved for 1 year or 3 years. I'm sure you have a Dev environment, you can try the free tier of AWS for this or contact AWS sales if you can try using Dedicated hosts / Bare metal on a trial basis. Reach out to an AWS Solutions Architect to help you in migrating. Either you do what they call "lift and shift" meaning moving all servers to the cloud with the same configuration. (This is applicable to bare metal or if they are VMs then dedicated hosts) Or spin up new systems and install the software then migrate the configuration.

    Hope this helps,




    ------------------------------
    Gideon Val Villorente
    iSelect Limited
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Migrating a PureConnect 2021R3 environment from Premise to AWS

    Posted 12-02-2022 12:53
    Gideon - 

    Thank you very much for taking the time to give such a detailed response - and thanks everyone else for the thoughtful conversations on this thread.  This is a lot of great information - and it's been a great help to pass this on to our leadership teams to consider.  At this point we're still looking at all options - including a heavy recommendation to migrate to Genesys Cloud.  I'll be sure to update you all when we decide what direction we end up taking.

    Thanks,

    Ken Shea

    ------------------------------
    Kenneth Shea
    CITRIX SYSTEMS, INC.
    ------------------------------



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