Virtual customer database

• US 8,527,421 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Gailey, Michael L., Portman, Eric A., Burgiss, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hewitt, II, Calvin Loyd
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHERR, CRISTINA O
• Application Number:
  US12/327,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20090083290A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 705 50- 59, 709201-203
• US Class Current: 705/50
• 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. A system for delivering personalized services to a consumer operating a communication device comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing executable instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps of;

receiving a request that is a pull request from a communication device of a consumer or a push request from a participating business, the pull request received over an electronic communication channel;

querying a communication provider database and determining a virtual key of the consumer based on an ID of the communication device, if the request is a pull request, or querying a database associated with the participating business and determining the virtual key based on a company ID and an ID of the consumer, if the request is a push request;

determining an authorization level of a transaction associated with the request;

based on the determined authorization level and the virtual ID, querying a database of a company and determining the ID of the consumer associated with the virtual key, if the request is a pull request, or identifying a communication provider and a corresponding communication channel to communicate with the consumer, if the request is a push request; and

sending the request and the ID of the consumer to the company via an interface component, if the request is a pull request, or querying the identified communication provider based on the company ID and the virtual key, determining an address of the communication device, and transmitting a response to the request to the communication device over the corresponding communication channel using the address if the request is a push request.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises stored executable instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps of:

determining an intent of the request for pull services; and

identifying the company based on the intent of the request for pull services.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises stored executable instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps of:

determining if the consumer has an appropriate level of authorization to make the pull request; and

generating a request denied message if the consumer is not authorized.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises stored executable instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps of:

determining if the participating business has an appropriate level of authorization to make the push request; and

generating a request denied message if the participating business is not authorized.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises stored executable instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps of:

querying a consumer internal profile to identify the communication provider and communication channel designated within the consumer internal profile.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises stored executable instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps of:

querying a consumer internal profile to identify the communication channel for transmission of a response to the request for pull services; and

defaulting to the electronic communication channel upon which the request for pull services was received if the consumer internal profile is silent regarding the communication channel for transmission of a response to the request for pull services.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual key is indicative of the consumer associated with the request for pull services and is associated with an internal customer identifier of the consumer in each of a plurality of participating businesses and one or more communication services providers.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication device is a wireless communication device.

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

receiving, with a request handling module included in a server computer, a request for pull services from a communication device of a consumer, and a request for push services from a requesting participating company, the request for push services to push content to an identified consumer;

identifying a virtual key with a service router component included in the server computer, the virtual key identified from a communication provider database based on an identifier of the communication device included in the request for pull services, and the virtual key identified from a participating company database based on a company identifier of the requesting participating company and an identifier of the identified consumer included in the request for push services;

determining, with the service authorizer component, a pull services authorization level of the consumer based on the identifier of the communication device included in the request for pull services, and determining, with the service authorizer component, a push services authorization level of the requesting participating company based on the company identifier and the identifier of the identified consumer included in the request for push services;

based on the determined pull services authorization level of the consumer and the virtual key, the service authorizer component querying the participating company database and determining a participating business, and an internal customer identifier of the participating business, the internal customer identifier being an identifier of the consumer associated with the virtual key;

sending the request for pull services and the internal customer identifier of the consumer to the participating business via an interface component included in the server computer;

based on the determined push services authorization level of the requesting participating company, the service authorizer component identifying a communication provider and a corresponding communication channel to communicate with the identified consumer;

querying the identified communication provider with the interface component based on the virtual key to identify an address of a communication device of the identified consumer; and

transmitting a response to the request for pull services with the interface component, the response transmitted to the communication device over the corresponding communication channel using the address.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the server computer forwarding a response to the request for pull services from the participating company to the communication device of the consumer as a function of a communication channel identified with the request.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving a request for push services from the requesting participating company comprises initiating a request for push services with at least one of a webserver and an automated request process of the participating company.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the communication device of the consumer comprises a wireless communication device.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising the server computer identifying from among a plurality of participating businesses the participating business as a function of the intent of the request for pull services.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the communication device is a wireless device and the communication services provider is a wireless services provider.