High availability (HA) relates to the uptime & reliability under load for a system. HA systems are typically multi-redundant, meaning that if a portion of the infrastructure or software code stops functioning, the system re-routes users to a working copy automatically without any downtime. You can say we’re huge fans.
Recent technology innovations, like Kubernetes, and containerization with solutions like Docker, dramatically simplify the infrastructure side of HA architecture creation. Modern patterns for software development have also contributed to high availability, especially with the microservices concept. A microservice architecture allows services to be spun up or down on-demand, and it creates redundancy in the software side of the equation. That means fewer performance issues and service interruptions.
So why does this matter for workforce optimization software? For call centers that enable customer experience, live monitoring, intraday forecasts, and other real-time features, HA is a must-have. In the case of voice-of-the-customer surveys, for instance, you need HA to guarantee that selected interactions receive a customer survey immediately after the call, chat, or email. Live monitoring solutions require high bandwidth and should be highly available as well so that supervisors can actively monitor agents in real-time. For the best in class WFO software, you need squeaky clean quality management functionality. No misses.
Can you live without HA? Certainly, if you are only creating post-interaction reviews, but, for everyone else, downtime comes at a cost — a loss in productivity that significantly exceeds the cost of an HA solution. Like an avocado, HA makes everything better.
