Common customer interface for telecommunications operational support

• US 7,539,764 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2003
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bagsby, Denis L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair; Douglas B
• Application Number:
  US10/402,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20040201611A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,251 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

In a particular embodiment, the disclosure is directed to an interface for federated access to customer data. The interface includes an application service. The application service has access to customer data through an integration service object. The integration service object represents data associated with a plurality of resource systems. In another embodiment, the disclosure is directed to a distributed computer system for providing a common customer interface. The distributed computer system includes an application service, an integration service, and a plurality of distributed resource systems. The application service provides the common customer interface. The integration service is coupled to the application service and includes an object. The plurality of distributed resource systems are coupled to the integration service. The application service requests data associated with the common customer interface from the integration service. The object represents data associated with the plurality of distributed resource systems.

Claims

1. A method of providing a common customer interface, the method comprising:

receiving, at a business integration server via a business application server, transaction data related to a transaction, wherein the business application server receives the transaction data and an access key via one or more of a plurality of customer channels and provides the transaction data and the access key to a plurality of reusable infrastructure system services, wherein a security service of the reusable infrastructure system services validates the access key, wherein a directory service of the reusable infrastructure system services looks up distributed service registrations, and wherein the transaction data is routed to the business integration server based on workflow rules at a policy management service of the plurality of reusable infrastructure system services;

instantiating a domain object based on the transaction data at the business integration server that has a business logic layer that has a plurality of modules for use in instantiating the domain object, wherein the modules are individually validated by the security service prior to instantiating the domain object and after transfer of the transaction data from the business application server;

sending a request, based on interaction of the domain object with a resource connection layer, from the business integration server to a telecommunication resource system to perform the transaction;

receiving data at the business integration server from the telecommunication resource system, the data corresponding to a result associated with the performed transaction;

translating the result data at the business integration server into the domain object; and

providing the result data, via the domain object, to the common customer interface.

2. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the transaction includes a database query, a facility assignment, a resource allocation, or any combination thereof.

3. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the telecommunication resource system includes a database, a usage system, a Preservation Metadata Implementation Strategies (PREMIS) system, an Automatic Switched Optical Network (ASON) system, a trunk inventory system, a Service Order Retrieval Distribution (SORD) system, a Customer Record Information System (CRIS), or any combination thereof.

4. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the business integration server and the business application server communicate via a common integration bus.

5. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the telecommunication resource system is operated by a competitor of an entity that operates the business integration server.

6. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the telecommunication resource system is operated by a vendor of an entity that operates the business integration server.

7. A method of providing a common customer interface, the method comprising:

receiving a communication at a reusable module of an infrastructure system services from a business application server, wherein the communication is related to information stored at a telecommunication resource system, wherein the business application server receives information from a plurality of telecommunication resource systems of various local exchange carriers, various vendors, various competitors, various trading partners, or any combination thereof via a business integration server coupled to the infrastructure system services;

validating the communication at a security service of the infrastructure system services;

looking up distributed service registrations associated with the communication at a directory service of the infrastructure system services; and

sending transaction data related to the communication to the business integration server based on workflow rules at a policy management service of the infrastructure system services;

wherein the business integration server instantiates at least one domain object in response to receiving the transaction data, wherein the at least one domain object is associated with the information stored at one or more of the plurality of the telecommunication resource systems, wherein the business integration server has a business logic layer with a plurality of modules for use in instantiating the at least one domain object, wherein the modules are individually validated by the security service prior to instantiation of the at least one domain object and after transfer of the transaction data from the business application server; and

wherein the business integration server sends a request to the one or more telecommunication resource systems, wherein the request is related to accessing the information stored at the one or more telecommunication resource systems.

8. The method, as recited in claim 7, wherein the information stored at the one or more telecommunication resource systems includes telephony usage data, subscriber information, service request data, or any combination thereof.

9. The method, as recited in claim 7, wherein the business integration server pre-fetches the at least one domain object according to a rule before receiving the communication.

10. The method, as recited in claim 7, wherein the business integration server receives data corresponding to the requested information from the one or more telecommunication resource systems, translates the data, and sends the translated data to the business application server.

11. The method, as recited in claim 10, wherein the business integration server sends the translated data to a billing functionality module of the business application server, a fulfillment functionality module of the business application server, an assurance functionality module of the business application server, or any combination thereof.

12. The method, as recited in claim 7, wherein the communication is related to additional information stored at an additional telecommunication resource system, and wherein the business integration server sends a second request to the additional telecommunication resource system, wherein the second request is related to accessing the additional information.

13. The method, as recited in claim 12, further comprising:

aggregating the information and the additional information; and

sending a communication to the business application server, the communication including the aggregated information.

14. The method, as recited in claim 13, wherein the aggregated information include fulfillment data related to telecommunication services provided by two or more of the various local exchange carriers, various vendors, various competitors, or various trading partners.

15. The method, as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

receiving fielded data from the business integration server, wherein the business integration server receives the information stored at the one or more telecommunication resource systems and translates the information into the fielded data; and

sending the fielded data to the business application sever for presentation via a common customer interface.

16. The method, as recited in claim 15, wherein the common customer interface comprises a billing interface and wherein the fielded data comprises billing information related to a plurality of diverse communication services provided by independent service providers associated with the plurality of telecommunication resource systems.

17. The method, as recited in claim 15, wherein the common customer interface comprises a fulfillment interface and wherein the fielded data comprises fulfillment information related to a plurality of diverse communication services provided by independent service providers associated with the plurality of telecommunication resource systems.

18. The method, as recited in claim 15, wherein the common customer interface comprises an assurance interface and wherein the fielded data comprises assurance information related to a plurality of diverse communication services provided by independent service providers associated with the plurality of telecommunication resource systems.

19. A system to provide a common customer interface, the system comprising:

a computer that is a business integration server, the business integration server comprising;

an interface services layer to receive a communication from a business application server via infrastructure system services, wherein the communication is related to information stored at telecommunication resource systems;

a business logic layer to control process flow and enforce enterprise business rules relative to communications with the telecommunication resource systems and to interact with a domain object layer to instantiate at least one domain object, wherein the business logic layer has a plurality of modules that are capable of interacting with the domain object layer to instantiate the at least one domain object, wherein the modules are individually validated prior to instantiation of the at least one domain object and after transfer of the communication from the business application server; and

the domain object layer to instantiate the at least one domain object in response to receiving the communication, wherein the at least one domain object is associated with the information stored at the telecommunication resource systems, to send a request to at least one of the telecommunication resource systems via a resource connector layer, wherein the request is related to accessing the information stored at the at least one telecommunication resource system, to receive a response from the at least one telecommunication resource system via the resource connection layer, and to transform the response into the at least one domain object.

20. The system, as recited in claim 19, wherein the interface services layer communicates with the business application server via a plurality of adaptors.

21. The system, as recited in claim 20, wherein the plurality of adaptors includes an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) adaptor, a Java Messaging Service (JMS) adaptor, a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) adaptor, a web services adaptor, an internal middleware adaptor, a Message Queue (MQ) Series adaptor, or any combination thereof.

22. The system, as recited in claim 19, wherein the business logic layer modules communicate with a business integration services workspace.

23. The system, as recited in claim 19, wherein the resource connector layer is configured to translate the response to the request into fielded data.

24. The system, as recited in claim 19, wherein the resource connector layer is configured to communicate with the at least one telecommunication resource system via a plurality of adaptors.

25. The system, as recited in claim 19, wherein the interface services layer, the business logic layer, the domain object layer, and the resource connector layer communicate with each other via a respective JAVA interface.

26. The system, as recited in claim 19, wherein the business integration server is configurable to integrate a new telecommunication resource with a common customer interface by addition of an adaptor for the new telecommunication resource to the resource connector layer.