Amazon Connect Setup: Zero to Live in One Day

Prerequisites

• AWS account (free tier eligible)
• AWS CLI configured (optional, for automation)
• About 2-4 hours for initial setup
• A phone to test inbound/outbound calls

Step 1: Create Your Amazon Connect Instance

An Amazon Connect instance is your contact center environment. According to AWS documentation, each instance is isolated and contains all your configuration, users, and data.

1Navigate to Amazon Connect in the AWS Console

2Click 'Create instance' (or 'Get started' if first time)

3Choose identity management: Select 'Store users in Amazon Connect' for simplicity

4Enter an access URL (e.g., yourcompany.my.connect.aws) - this is permanent

5Configure admin: Create your first admin user with email and password

6Telephony options: Enable both inbound and outbound calling

7Data storage: Accept defaults (S3 bucket for call recordings, CloudWatch for logs)

8Review and create - takes about 5 minutes to provision

Important:

The access URL cannot be changed after creation. Choose carefully—it's how agents access the CCP (Contact Control Panel).

Step 2: Claim a Phone Number

You need at least one phone number for customers to call. Amazon Connect supports DID (Direct Inward Dial) and toll-free numbers in over 20 countries.

1Open your Amazon Connect instance

2Go to Channels → Phone numbers

3Click 'Claim a number'

4Select country (e.g., Australia +61) and type (DID or Toll-free)

5Choose a number from available options

6For now, assign it to the 'Sample inbound flow' (we'll change this later)

7Click 'Save' - number is active within minutes

Step 3: Create Your First Contact Flow

Contact flows define what happens when a customer calls. Think of them as visual flowcharts for call routing. According to AWS, flows support over 50 blocks for playing prompts, getting input, transferring, queuing, and more.

Basic IVR Flow Example

Let's create a simple flow: greet the caller, offer menu options, and route to the right queue.

1Go to Routing → Contact flows → Create contact flow

2Name it 'Main IVR'

3Drag 'Set voice' block - choose Amazon Polly voice (e.g., Joanna)

4Drag 'Play prompt' block - type 'Thank you for calling. Press 1 for sales, or 2 for support.'

5Drag 'Get customer input' block - configure for DTMF (keypad) input

6Add 'Set working queue' blocks for each option (Sales queue, Support queue)

7Add 'Transfer to queue' block to put caller in the assigned queue

8Add 'Disconnect' block for error handling

9Connect all blocks with arrows

10Click 'Save' then 'Publish'

Step 4: Create Queues and Routing Profiles

Queues hold waiting callers. Routing profiles determine which queues an agent can handle.

Create Queues

Go to Routing → Queues → Add new queue

Name: 'Sales Queue', set hours of operation, add outbound caller ID

Repeat for 'Support Queue'

Create Routing Profile

Go to Users → Routing profiles → Add new

Name: 'General Agent'

Add queues: Sales Queue (priority 1), Support Queue (priority 2)

Set channel: Voice, with concurrency of 1 (one call at a time)

Save the profile

Step 5: Add Agents

Agents are the users who handle calls. Each agent needs a user account and security profile.

1Go to Users → User management → Add new users

2Enter agent details: name, email (used for login)

3Set routing profile: 'General Agent' (created in step 4)

4Set security profile: 'Agent' (built-in profile for basic agent access)

5Create password or send setup email

6Save - agent can now log into the CCP

Step 6: Connect Phone Number to Flow

Now link your phone number to the contact flow you created.

Go to Channels → Phone numbers

Click on your claimed number

Change 'Contact flow / IVR' from sample flow to your 'Main IVR'

Save

Step 7: Test Your Contact Center

Time to make sure everything works.

Agent Login Test:

Have an agent log into the CCP at yourcompany.my.connect.aws/ccp-v2. Set status to "Available".

Inbound Call Test:

Call your claimed phone number from any phone. You should hear your IVR greeting. Press 1 or 2 to route to a queue. The agent should receive the call.

Outbound Call Test:

From the CCP, have the agent dial a number. Ensure caller ID shows your claimed number.

Next Steps

You now have a basic working contact center. Here's what to explore next:

Add Amazon Lex for voice bots

Replace DTMF with natural language understanding

Enable Contact Lens

Get real-time transcription and sentiment analysis

Integrate with CRM

Use Lambda to pull customer data during calls

Set up reporting

Create CloudWatch dashboards for call metrics

Configure callbacks

Let customers request a callback instead of waiting

Common Issues & Fixes

Agent not receiving calls

Check agent is set to 'Available', routing profile includes the queue, and queue is in the contact flow

No audio on calls

Ensure WebRTC ports are open (UDP 3478, TCP/UDP 443). Check browser permissions for microphone

Contact flow errors

Check CloudWatch logs for detailed errors. Ensure all blocks are connected, including error branches

Outbound calls failing

Verify outbound caller ID is set in queue. Check the number format includes country code

Amazon Connect Setup Guide: From Zero to Live in One Day