Capability-based routing

• US 20020114278A1
• Filed: 03/06/2001
• Published: 08/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Coussement, Stefaan Valere Albert
• Granted Patent: US 7,801,111 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6018 Subscriber or terminal logon/logoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5237 Interconnection arrangements between ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/00 Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0069 comprising a residential gateway, e.g. those which provide an adapter for POTS or ISDN terminals

Abstract

In a communications network environment, a distributed software application for monitoring terminal and device capabilities of agents operating on the network and rendering data results of the monitoring to subscribing routing applications is provided. The software application comprises a first portion of the software for collecting and sending data about terminal and device capabilities of the target agents and a second portion of the software for receiving the capability data and for presenting the data in usable form to the subscribing routing applications.

Claims

1. An agent capability application for monitoring target agent resources and rendering capability information to routing applications, comprising:

a first portion for collecting data regarding capability of the target agent resources; and

a second portion for integrating the data and rendering the capability information to the routing applications.

2. The agent capability application of claim 1 wherein the target agent resources comprise one or more individual agent stations in at least one communication center, the agent stations equipped with one or more communication devices.

3. The agent capability application of claim 2 wherein multiple copies or versions of the first portion execute on platforms monitoring individual ones of the one or more communication devices, and provide data to at least one agent proxy server executing a copy of the second portion, the at least one agent proxy server dedicated to integrating the data for the one or more communication devices.

4. The agent capability application of claim 3 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute are computers in the agent stations.

5. The agent capability application of claim 3 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute comprise individual ones of the one or more communication devices.

6. The agent capability application of claim 3 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute comprise individual service proxy platforms also enabling services for one of the communication devices.

7. The agent capability application of claim 6 wherein the service proxy platform is a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) proxy enabling a VoIP telephone.

8. The agent capability application of claim 6 wherein the service proxy platform is a call-control gateway platform.

9. The agent capability application of claim 3 wherein the first portions provide data to more than one agent proxy server to provide redundancy.

10. The agent capability application of claim 3 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are all a part of a single communication center.

11. The agent capability application of claim 3 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are distributed over a plurality of communication centers.

12. The agent capability application of claim 3 wherein more than one first portion is dedicated each to distinct ones of the communication devices associated with a single agent station, and the data from the more than one first portion is aggregated for the single agent station at the agent proxy server associated with the single agent station.

13. The agent capability application of claim 3 comprising multiple sets of agent stations having communication devices monitored by the copies or versions of the first portion and multiple agent proxy servers executing copies of the second portion, wherein agent proxy servers are associated in a hierarchical fashion, such that higher-level agent proxy servers aggregate data from multiple lower-level agent proxy servers with which each higher-level server is associated, the aggregated data at the higher level servers comprising data from all of the agent stations associated with each of the lower-level servers.

14. The agent capability application of claim 13 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are all a part of a single communication center.

15. The agent capability application of claim 13 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are distributed over a plurality of communication centers.

17. The agent proxy system of claim 16 wherein the agent resources comprise one or more individual agent stations in at least one communication center, the agent stations equipped with communication devices.

18. The agent proxy system of claim 17 wherein multiple copies or versions of the first portion execute on platforms monitoring individual ones of the one or more communication devices, and provide data to at least one agent proxy server executing a copy of the second portion, the at least one agent proxy server dedicated to integrating the data for the one or more communication devices.

19. The agent proxy system of claim 18 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute are computers in the agent stations.

20. The agent proxy system of claim 18 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute comprise individual ones of the one or more communication devices.

21. The agent proxy system of claim 18 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute comprise individual service proxy platforms also enabling services for one of the communication devices.

22. The agent proxy system of claim 21 wherein the service proxy platform is a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) proxy enabling a VoIP telephone.

23. The agent proxy system of claim 21 wherein the service proxy platform is a call-control gateway platform.

24. The agent proxy system of claim 18 wherein the first portions provide data to more than one agent proxy server to provide redundancy.

25. The agent proxy system of claim 18 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are all a part of a single communication center.

26. The agent proxy system of claim 18 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are distributed over a plurality of communication centers.

27. The agent proxy system of claim 18 wherein more than one first portion is dedicated each to distinct ones of the communication devices associated with a single agent station, and the data from the more than one first portion is aggregated for the single agent station at the agent proxy server associated with the single agent station.

28. The agent proxy system of claim 18 comprising multiple sets of agent stations having communication devices monitored by the copies or versions of the first portion and multiple agent proxy servers executing copies of the second portion, wherein agent proxy servers are associated in a hierarchical fashion, such that higher-level agent proxy servers aggregate data from multiple lower-level agent proxy servers with which each higher-level server is associated, the aggregated data at the higher level servers comprising data from all of the agent stations associated with each of the lower-level servers.

29. The agent proxy system of claim 28 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are all a part of a single communication center.

30. The agent proxy system of claim 28 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are distributed over a plurality of communication centers.

16. An agent proxy system operable in at least one communication center, the system comprising:

agent resources enabling agents to process communication events;

one or more agent proxy servers;

one or more routing applications subscribing to one or more of the agent proxy servers;

a communication network connecting the agent resources, the applications and the one or more agent proxy servers; and

a capability application for monitoring capabilities of the agent resources and for rendering capability information to the subscribing routing applications, the capability application having a first portion for collecting information regarding capabilities of the target agent resources, and a second portion for integrating the information and rendering the capability information to the subscribing routing applications.

31. In a communication center system, a method for providing agent resource capabilities to subscribing routing applications, comprising the steps of:

(a) monitoring capabilities of individual agent resources by a first portion of a resource capability application; and

(b) integrating data from step (a) and rendering agent resource capabilities to the subscribing routing applications by a second portion of the agent resource capability application.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein, in step (a), the agent resources comprise individual agent stations equipped with one or more communication devices.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein multiple copies or versions of the first portion execute on platforms monitoring individual ones of the one or more communication devices, and provide data to at least one agent proxy server executing a copy of the second portion, the at least one agent proxy server dedicated to integrating the data for the one or more communication devices.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute are computers in the agent stations.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute comprise individual ones of the one or more communication devices.

36. The method of claim 33 wherein one or more of the platforms upon which the first portions execute comprise individual service proxy platforms also enabling services for one of the communication devices.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the service proxy platform is a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) proxy enabling a VoIP telephone.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the service proxy platform is a call-control gateway platform.

39. The method of claim 33 wherein the first portions provide data to more than one agent proxy server to provide redundancy.

40. The method of claim 33 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are all a part of a single communication center.

41. The method of claim 33 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are distributed over a plurality of communication centers.

42. The method of claim 33 wherein more than one first portion is dedicated each to distinct ones of the communication devices associated with a single agent station, and the data from the more than one first portion is aggregated for the single agent station at the agent proxy server associated with the single agent station.

43. The method of claim 33 comprising multiple sets of agent stations having communication devices monitored by the copies or versions of the first portion and multiple agent proxy servers executing copies of the second portion, wherein agent proxy servers are associated in a hierarchical fashion, such that higher-level agent proxy servers aggregate data from multiple lower-level agent proxy servers with which each higher-level server is associated, the aggregated data at the higher level servers comprising data from all of the agent stations associated with each of the lower-level servers.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are all a part of a single communication center.

45. The method of claim 43 wherein the platforms, agent stations and subscribing applications are distributed over a plurality of communication centers.