Introduction to reference architectures for digital contact centers
For Dynamics 365 Contact Center, we provide reference architectures to help organizations get started with a contact center with Microsoft services.
Each reference architecture includes a diagram to illustrate the different components, and each main component is explained in the subsequent Dataflow section. Choose the magnifier icon for a more detailed view of each diagram.
In all Dynamics 365 Contact Center architectures, wherever possible, we assume that all or most solution components use the core capabilities of Microsoft Azure, including, but not limited to, compute, storage, identity, security, management, and compliance.
Browse the reference architectures
Microsoft has identified four scenarios for adding generative AI to the contact center, using a combination of Copilot for Service, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and Dynamics 365 Contact Center.
For example, if you want to use Microsoft as an "all-in" contact center solution, taking advantage of the way Copilots integrate across the entire solution. You want AI-infused unified intelligent routing, an improved agent experience, a rich set of analytics and reporting for supervisors and managers, and the full power of the Microsoft Graph in the Dataverse for knowledge management and business intelligence. In this scenario, we recommend the reference architecture with Dynamics 365 Customer Service Premium.
The following table lists the four scenarios with links to the recommended reference architecture for each scenario.
| Scenario | Microsoft products | Reference architecture |
|---|---|---|
| I want to consolidate vendors and modernize my contact center by infusing generative AI into my omnichannel, self-service, agent assist, and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. | Dynamics 365 Customer Service Premium | Contact center using Dynamics 365 Customer Service Premium |
| I want to replace my current CRM solution, within my existing contact center as a service (CCaaS) infrastructure. | Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise | Contact center using Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise |
| I want to replace my current CaaS solution, while retaining my existing CRM solution. | Dynamics 365 Contact Center | Contact center retaining existing CRM and using Dynamics 365 Contact Center |
| I want to improve my self-service offerings and agent productivity by adding generative AI to my existing CCaaS and CRM solution. | Copilot for Service or Copilot Studio. | Contact center using existing CRM and CCaaS solution with Copilot for Service and Copilot Studio |
Browse the scenarios and reference architectures and decide what's best for your organization. In addition, we've noted throughout these architectures the ways in which Outlook and Teams (Microsoft 365) can become a vital part of your contact center solution.