August 28, 2025

How NiCE Won a 40,000-Agent Contact Center Deal with DWP

By Dave Michels

Dave Michels is the founder and principal analyst at TalkingPointz, where he provides independent research and commentary on enterprise communications, collaboration, and customer experience technologies.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending NiCE Interactions International in London. This event typically takes place a couple of weeks after the US version, and while the keynotes and major announcements were consistent, several nuances differentiate the UK event. The London version strongly emphasized international momentum, felt more intimate due to its smaller scale, and, naturally, featured a predominantly European contingent of partners and customers.

Before Interactions, the UK government’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) selected NiCE CXone Mpower to replace its Genesys Multicloud system. DWP is responsible for administering government health benefits, and that effort involves one of Europe’s largest contact centers with approximately 40,000 agents. At Interactions, I wanted to learn more about what drove their decision.

Route 101 is the partner responsible for closing the deal, so i headed over to their stand. I had incorrectly assumed that Route 101 was a California-based firm, the only Route 101 I know of, but I quickly learned that they are UK-based specialists in customer service operations. Its services include Cloud Contact Centre solutions, AI and Automation, Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) solutions, analytics, UCaaS, and Microsoft Teams integrations. They perform sales, consulting, design, implementation, training, and ongoing support. Route 101 clients include large enterprises, government entities, and BPOs.

Unfortunately, the Route 101 booth staff did not have much to say. They confirmed their involvement with DWP but were tight-lipped about account specifics. However, it didn’t take long to run into employees of DWP. The organization sent about 40 employees to Interactions. That may seem generous, but NiCE doesn’t charge admission, which helped Interactions London draw about 1000 attendees.

DWP’s primary motivation was to replace and modernize its current platform. DWP received 30 responses to its lengthy RFP with over 1500 requirements. The bids were narrowed first to seven, and then to three, before selecting Route 101 and Nice. The top three bids were Cisco Webex bid by BT, Odigo bid by Cap Gemini, and NiCE bid by Route 101. Among the requirements were a number of security, compliance, and automation requirements, including data UK sovereignty. DWP staff emphasized that accurate intent detection was critically important given the complex and emotional nature of its interactions.

DWP was looking to replace its Genesys Multicloud system. BT, which had been assisting DWP with its Multicloud implementation, bid Cisco Webex. Genesys has alienated some of its partners by offering its Multi-cloud customers a direct path to Genesys Cloud. DWP had concerns about the future of its Multicloud implementation and expressed concerns about the migration without a local partner. The project was viewed as a new purchase, not an upgrade, which meant that Genesys did not have an incumbent advantage under the government’s purchasing process. Genesys directly bid its CCaaS offering.

Six factors that DWP found compelling about the NiCE solution?

• Elegant, Comprehensive Design: The integrated nature of NiCE CXone Mpower provided a unified and well-thought-out approach.
• Single Vendor for CCaaS and WEM: This was a significant advantage, streamlining operations and simplifying vendor management.
• Strong Partner with Route 101: DWP sought a full-service partner with “feet on the street” – a local presence and strong support capabilities. Route 101 fit this perfectly.
• UK Sovereign Cloud: This was a non-negotiable requirement for DWP, and NiCE’s ability to meet this was crucial.
• Proven Results with AI: DWP sought evidence of AI’s effectiveness, and NiCE demonstrated this.
• How NiCE Tunes Its AI in Europe: The ability to localize and optimize AI for European specificities was also a very important factor.

It’s a big win for NiCE and appears to be on track. In a recent financial briefing, NiCE CFO Beth Gaspich stated, “We’re excited about a second significant win with DWP in the EMEA region, where we expect revenue contribution to begin ramping in Q2 of 2026. Our international revenue contribution increased from last year, and we expect this trend to continue. EMEA revenue increased 11% and 15% yearly on a constant currency basis.”

The contact center world continues to evolve at a breathtaking pace, and this DWP win underscores several key trends. A big part of the messaging at Interactions was how to use AI to transform the customer experience, how NiCE is expanding its reach with partnerships, and a call to action to modernize CX. NiCE recently announced a 42% year-over-year growth in AI and Self-service annual recurring revenue, a six-fold year-over-year increase in Copilot deals, and strong growth in countries that require a sovereign cloud – all direct echoes of what drove the DWP decision.

The DWP deal signals where the CCaaS market is heading. This win also validates NiCE’s strategy, its technological prowess in AI and sovereign cloud capabilities, and the critical role of strong, localized partners. The contact center space is rapidly shifting. AI is breaking language barriers, but new borders are forming around data. Partner-supported solutions can triumph over established incumbents.