Contact centers are no longer just call centers. They are becoming a source of data for cities: where complaints are rising, what topics are recurring, in which areas tension is building, and where a breakdown could escalate into a crisis.
These issues were discussed at a conference on new contact center technologies, attended by employees of the Almaty City Development Center JSC.
One of the key focuses is artificial intelligence. It already makes it possible not only to record calls but also to analyze their content: decipher calls, group complaints, track negative trends, and identify recurring problems. This is important for the city: such signals can indicate in advance the risk of utility failures, social tensions, or other emergencies.
The very logic of working with residents is also changing. While contact centers were previously evaluated based on response time, now something more important is whether the issue is resolved on the first call and how much effort it took. Professionals use FCR and CES metrics for this.
Another trend is omnichannel. Calls are no longer the only means of communication. City residents are using chats, messengers, and social media, and sending video messages. For emergency and city services, this isn't a matter of convenience, but rather a matter of sustainability: the more active channels, the higher the chance of quickly receiving a signal from the scene.
Knowledge bases are particularly important. Regulations, instructions, and the accumulated experience of employees can be compiled into a single digital system that will quickly prompt operators or specialists to the right solution. This is especially important for emergency services such as 109, situation centers, civil defense, and emergency response.
According to Daulet Imanaliev, Acting Director of the Public Communications Department of Almaty City Development Center JSC, global practice is moving toward a model where the contact center, situation center, analytical platform, and coordination point operate as a single system.
For Almaty, this approach could strengthen city governance. In this model, the contact center is not a help desk, but a tool that helps identify problems earlier and more quickly connect the appropriate services.
