Management and control of call center and office telephony assets
First Claim
1. A call center or office telephony asset for being managed over a network by a remote system, the asset comprising:
- a memory storing an electronic identifier mappable to a network address;
a network connection adapted to communicate with a network; and
a network interface communicatively coupled to the network connection, the network interface adapted to communicate over the network with the remote system using the network address;
wherein the asset is at least one member selected from the group consisting of;
a headset, a component associated with a headset, and a device adapted to operatively couple to a headset.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Call center and office telephony assets, including telephones, headsets, on-line indicators (OLI), and handset lifters, are managed and controlled over a network by a remote computer system. Each asset has associated therewith one or more network addresses, in some cases the network addresses mapped from an electronic identifier stored within the particular asset or determined by a proxy. In one embodiment, an asset'"'"'s network address is mapped from the asset'"'"'s unique media access control (MAC) address. The computer system communicates with the assets over the network to manage and control the assets.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A call center or office telephony asset for being managed over a network by a remote system, the asset comprising:
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a memory storing an electronic identifier mappable to a network address;
a network connection adapted to communicate with a network; and
a network interface communicatively coupled to the network connection, the network interface adapted to communicate over the network with the remote system using the network address;
wherein the asset is at least one member selected from the group consisting of;
a headset, a component associated with a headset, and a device adapted to operatively couple to a headset. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A call center or office telephony asset assembly for being managed over a network by a remote system, the assembly comprising:
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an asset having an electronic identifier stored therein, the electronic identifier mappable to a network address;
a network interface communicatively coupled to the asset and adapted to communicatively couple with the remote system over a network using the network address; and
a management module, the management module operatively coupled to the asset for performing a management task thereon. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A call center or office telephony asset assembly for being managed over a network by a remote system, the assembly comprising:
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an asset;
a proxy device operatively coupled to the asset, the proxy device having a network interface adapted to assign a network address for the asset and communicatively couple with the remote system over a network using the network address; and
a management module, the management module operatively coupled to the asset for performing a management task thereon. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A call center comprising:
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a plurality of call center assets;
a plurality of network interfaces, each network interface associated with at least one asset and adapted to communicate over a network for the asset;
a central management system adapted to communicate with the network interfaces over the network to perform at least one management task related to the assets. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A proxy device to facilitate the management of a call center or office telephony asset by a remote system, comprising:
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a network interface adapted to communicatively couple to the remote system over a network, the network interface further adapted to assign an identifier to the asset, the identifier being mappable to a globally unique network address associated with the asset; and
a management module communicatively coupled to the network interface, the management module adapted to facilitate a management task for the asset in response to receiving a management instruction communication from the remote system that is associated with the asset'"'"'s globally unique network address. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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31. A method of addressing a call center or office telephony asset on a network, comprising:
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determining a network address for the asset using an electronic identifier; and
using the network address to communicate with a remote system over a network;
wherein the asset is selected from the group consisting of;
a headset, an on-line indicator (OLI), and a handset lifter. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. A method of monitoring the utilization a call center or office telephony asset, comprising:
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establishing communication with the asset over a network using a network address, the network address determined using an electronic identifier associated with the asset;
transmitting a request to the asset over the network; and
receiving a response to the request from the asset, the response indicating the utilization of the asset. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of determining the location of a call center or office telephony asset, comprising:
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establishing communication with the asset over a network using a network address, the network address determined using an electronic identifier associated with the asset;
transmitting a message to the asset over the network, the message passing intermediate devices on the network;
receiving an echo message, the echo message including identification information associated with the intermediate devices; and
determining the location of the asset using the identification information of the intermediate devices.
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38. A method of updating the software or firmware for one or more call center or office telephony assets, comprising:
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establishing communication with the asset over a network using a network address, the network address determined using an electronic identifier associated with the asset; and
transmitting a software or firmware update to the asset over the network. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification