8x8 Contact Center disaster recovery rerouting options
8x8 Contact Center provides built-in disaster recovery options that allow administrators to quickly reroute calls during service disruptions. These disaster recovery options help maintain business continuity when the contact center, network, or infrastructure becomes unavailable.
To prepare for a disruption, admins must configure the following disaster recovery mechanisms:
- Voice Channel Rerouting (VCR) via call queues: Redirects Contact Center calls to 8x8 Work call queues or external destinations via an Alternate plan. This option requires agents to have access to 8x8 services. For more information, see Contact Center Channels and rerouting.
- Emergency schedule for disaster recovery: Redirects calls using pre-defined scheduled routing rules. We recommend using this option only when your physical location or local infrastructure is compromised (e.g., power outage, building evacuation) and agents cannot access 8x8 services. For more information, see how to Set up an emergency schedule for disaster recovery in 8x8 Contact Center.
Organizations must continue adhering to applicable regulations even during disaster scenarios. Your disaster recovery plan should account for regulatory requirements that apply to your contact center operations.
Choosing the right disaster recovery option
During a Contact Center system disruption, the most effective backup strategy depends on the type of outage. The table below compares VCR and emergency scheduled routing across common disaster recovery scenarios.
| Issue | Activate Voice Channel Rerouting —Alternate plan | Activate emergency schedule for disaster recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Inbound calls are not routing to the Contact Center (call fails, busy tone) | Yes |
No. We recommend activating VCR instead. |
| Agents are unable to log in to the Contact Center app but can log in to 8x8 Work apps. | Yes |
No. We recommend activating VCR instead. |
|
Internet outage Note: For an internet outage agents can also use the 8x8 Work for Mobile application to sign into call queues. |
No. We recommend using the emergency schedule for disaster recovery instead. | Yes |
| Agents are unavailable due to a site emergency such as a building evacuation. | No. We recommend using the emergency schedule for disaster recovery instead. | Yes |
Limitations
- Access issues during SSO failures: VCR is activated through the 8x8 Admin Console. If a service disruption includes an SSO failure, you may not be able to access the console to activate VCR. In that case, contact 8x8 Support to request carrier-level intervention.
- Limited features during failover: 8x8 Work failover is intended for emergency use. It does not support high-volume queuing, advanced monitoring features (like barge or whisper), or detailed Contact Center reporting.
- PBX requirements for call queue failover: To support call queue failover, your PBX must be sized at Enterprise 2000 or higher. Smaller configurations may lead to instability during disaster recovery.
- Disaster recovery requires business approval: Activating disaster recovery depends on your organization’s Business Continuity Plan. This plan should always inform your decision. Consider whether disaster recovery aligns with your business priorities before initiating it during an incident.
- When not to use VCR: Avoid using VCR when the primary service is expected to recover more quickly than the time needed to activate and roll back VCR. In such cases, triggering disaster recovery may increase overall downtime rather than reduce it.
