VIRTUAL CUSTOMER DATABASE

• US 20090083290A1
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Gailey, Michael L., Portman, Eric A., Burgiss, Michael J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,527,421 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The present invention includes a virtual customer database system for delivering personalized services to a consumer operating a communication device. The virtual customer database system includes an administrator and a distributed database. The distributed database may be selectively loaded by the administrator with customer related information extracted from participating businesses. The distributed database includes secure databases associated with each participating business and a public participant database. The administrator may process push and pull service requests by selectively querying the distributed database. Sensitive customer specific information may remain with each corresponding participating business while responses to the requests may include personalized customer specific information provided via a common interface standard.

Claims

1-51. -51. (canceled)

52. A method of delivering personalized services to a consumer operating a communication device, the method comprising:

receiving a request for one of pull services and push services with a server computer;

the server computer identifying a virtual key from a database based on information included in the request, the virtual key indicative of a consumer associated with the request and associated with an internal customer identifier of the consumer in each of a plurality of participating businesses and one or more communication services providers;

the server computer identifying, from among the plurality of participating businesses, a participating business and the internal customer identifier of the consumer within the participating business as a function of the virtual key and the intent of the request when the request is for pull services;

the server computer identifying from among the one or more communication service providers a communication services provider, a communication channel and a communication device address as a function of the virtual key when the request is for push services;

the server computer forwarding the request and the internal customer identifier to the participating business when the request is for pull services; and

the server computer forwarding the request over the communication channel to a communication device as a function of a device address when the request is for push services.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the server computer identifying from among the plurality of participating businesses and the server computer identifying from among the one or more communication service providers comprises the server computer verifying an authorization level of the consumer associated with the virtual key.

54. The method of claim 52, further comprising the server computer forwarding a response to the request for pull services from the participating business to a communication device as a function of a communication channel identified with the request.

55. The method of claim 52, wherein receiving a request comprises initiating a request for push services with at least one of a webserver and an automated request process of the participating business.

56. The method of claim 52, wherein receiving a request comprises initiating a request for pull services with a wireless communication device.

57. The method of claim 52, wherein the server computer identifying a virtual key comprises the server computer identifying the virtual key as a function of a device address included in the request for pull services.

58. The method of claim 52, wherein the server computer identifying from among the plurality of participating businesses comprises the server computer identifying the participating business with a company identifier as a function of the intent of the request.

59. The method of claim 52, wherein the communication device is a wireless device and the communication services provider is a wireless services provider

60. A method of delivering personalized services to a consumer operating a communication device, the method comprising:

a server computer extracting customer information from a database of at least one participating business;

the server computer selectively associating the customer specific information with a virtual key, wherein the virtual key identifies a corresponding consumer and is cross-referenced to the at least one participating business;

the server computer receiving a request for at least one of customer information from a consumer operating a communication device, or customer notification to the consumer from the at least one participating business;

the server computer identifying the virtual key of the consumer from the database based on an identifier of the consumer included in the request;

the server computer directing the request to the at least one participating business as a function of the virtual key and the intent of the request when the request is a pull services request for customer specific information; and

the server computer directing the request to the communication device as a function of the virtual key when the request is a push services request for customer notification.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein extracting customer information comprises the server computer identifying customer information corresponding to a list of subscribing consumers.

62. The method of claim 60, wherein customer information comprises a name, an address and an internal customer identifier.

63. The method of claim 60, wherein the server computer selectively associating the customer specific information with a virtual key comprises the server computer associating the virtual key with a plurality of company identifier'"'"'s in a public customer record.

64. The method of claim 63, further comprising the server computer loading the public customer record into a consumer/company cross reference database that is shared by a plurality of participating businesses.

65. The method of claim 60, wherein the server computer selectively associating the customer specific information with a virtual key comprises the server computer associating the virtual key with an internal customer identifier in a private customer record.

66. The method of claim 65, further comprising the server computer loading the private customer record into a secure database that is one of a participating communication provider database or a participating company database.

67. The method of claim 60, wherein the server computer directing the request to the at least one participating business comprises the server computer identifying the intent of the request from one of natural language processing, keywords and menu choices.

68. A method of delivering personalized services to a consumer operating a communication device, the method comprising:

receiving, from the communication device, a first request and a second request with an administrative server;

the administrative server identifying from a database a single universal virtual key that is unique to a consumer operating the communication device based on a unique identifier of the communication device that is included in the first request and the second request;

the administrative server identifying a first participating business server that can respond to the first request based on an intent of the first request being for pull services, and a second participating business server that can respond to the second request based on an intent of the second request being for push services;

the administrator server transmitting the identified single universal virtual key and the first request to the first participating business server and the identified single universal virtual key and the second request to the second participating business server; and

the administrator server receiving from the first participating business server, based on the single universal virtual key and the first request, a first response that includes first participating business information comprising sensitive information specific to the consumer, and receiving from the second participating business server, based on the single universal virtual key and the second request, a second response comprising sensitive information specific to the consumer.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the communication device is a wireless mobile communication device and receiving, from a communication device, a first request and a second request comprises a wireless communication provider receiving the first request and the second request and forwarding the first request and the second request to the administrative server.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the administrative server identifying a single universal virtual key associated with a consumer operating the communication device comprises the administrative server querying the database of the wireless communication provider based on a unique identifier of the communication device included in the first request and the second request, and receiving the single universal virtual key in response.

71. The method of claim 68, wherein the administrative server identifying a single universal virtual key associated with a consumer operating the communication device comprises the administrative server querying the database that is a shared participant database based on a unique identifier of the communication device included in the first request and the second request, and receiving the single universal virtual key in response.

72. The method of claim 68, wherein the administrative server identifying a first participating business server that can respond to the first request based on an intent of the first request, and a second participating business server comprises the administrative server deciphering each of the first request and the second request to determine a respective intent.

73. The method of claim 68, wherein the single universal virtual key is associated with sensitive information of the consumer that is different in each of the first participating business server and the second participating business server and a respective internal identifier that is unique to each of the respective first participating business server and the second participating business server.

74. A system for delivering personalized services to a consumer operating a communication device, the system comprising:

a server computer operable to process a plurality of requests that include a pull services request from a communication device and a push services request to notify a consumer based on an internal customer identifier;

a first database in communication with the server computer, wherein the first database includes a virtual key associated with the communication device;

a second database in communication with the server computer, wherein the second database includes the virtual key associated with the internal customer identifier; and

a third database in communication with the server computer, wherein the third database includes the virtual key associated with a company identifier indicative of a participating business.

75. The system of claim 74, wherein the server computer, in response to the pull services request, is operable to query the first database for the virtual key associated with the communication device and the second database for an internal customer identifier as a function of the virtual key queried from the first database and the intent of the pull services request, wherein the server computer is operable to forward the pull services request and the internal customer identifier to a corresponding participating company to obtain a response.

76. The system of claim 74, wherein the server computer, in response to the push services request, is operable to query the second database for the virtual key associated with the internal customer identifier, the third database for a company identifier associated with the virtual key queried from the second database, and the first database for a device address of the communication device as a function of the company identifier queried from the third database, wherein the server computer is operable to forward a notification message to the communication device with the device address.

77. The system of claim 74, wherein the first database is a participating communication provider database of private customer records, wherein the private customer records include information extracted from a participating communication provider and associated with the virtual key.

78. The system of claim 74, wherein the second database is a participating company database of private customer records, wherein the private customer records include information extracted from a participating company and associated with the virtual key.

79. The system of claim 74, wherein the third database is a public participant database of public customer records, wherein the public customer records include information extracted from a participating communication provider and a participating company and associated with the virtual key.

80. The system of claim 74, wherein the third database includes a consumer-company cross reference database and a consumer internal profile database, wherein the consumer internal profile database includes consumer specific contact information and pre-determined contact information associated with the company identifier and the virtual key.

81. The system of claim 74, wherein the server computer includes a load and scrub processing module, a request-handling module, and a transaction monitoring module.

82. The system of claim 74, wherein the internal customer identifier is assignable to the consumer by one of a plurality of participating companies.

83. The system of claim 82, wherein the virtual key is a universal anonymous identifier of the consumer that is available to the participating companies.