Aggregated subscriber profile based on static and dynamic information

• US 8,583,642 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2009
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gupta, Amit, Tien, Ginger, Truffat, Marcelo D., McNeill, Thomas, Xia, Li Qing, Shtiegman, Eran, Rollin, Kelly
• Primary Examiner(s): Casanova, Jorge A
• Application Number:
  US12/351,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20100185677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 379/88.12
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Static user information such as address, title, phone number(s), email address(es) and dynamic user information such as location, calendar, current phone number(s), etc. are combined in a dynamically updateable subscriber contact card for publishing to other applications. The subscriber contact card also includes user defined access controls for restricting access to portions of the information by select users. Other applications provide services such as communication services based on up-to-date information through the subscriber contact card.

Claims

1. A method to be executed at least in part in a computing device for providing up-to-date subscriber information to one or more applications, the method comprising:

receiving static information associated with a subscriber;

receiving additional static information from a local data store including a personal contacts list of an electronic mail application and a hierarchy of source applications;

receiving dynamic presence information associated with the subscriber from the hierarchy of source applications;

selecting at least one of the source applications from the hierarchy to retrieve the additional static user and dynamic presence information according to a preference determined by a registry key setting;

combining the static, additional static, and dynamic presence information in a dynamically updateable subscriber contact card at a subscriber information management server;

providing the subscriber contact card to an application executed on another computing device such that the application is enabled to provide services based on up-to-date information associated with the subscriber;

enabling activation of at least one application other than the application in conjunction with each dynamic presence information in the subscriber contact card; and

sharing the subscriber contact card through a unique identifier including a session initiation protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier (URI) to pull the static and dynamic information from the subscriber contact card.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at least one access control rule from the subscriber; and

including the at least one access control rule in the subscriber contact card such that access to disseminated information associated with the subscriber is limited based on the at least one access control rule.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one access control rule is applicable to both the static information and the dynamic presence information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic presence information is actionable.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic presence information includes at least one from a set of:

location, current phone number, calendar information, alternative contacts, presence and availability information, idle time, remote time, capabilities, and notes associated with the subscriber.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the static information includes at least one from a set of:

a role, an address, an organization, an email address, a phone number, a name, a name pronunciation, a department, an office, a SIP address, and an image associated with the subscriber.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic presence information is updated by at least one from a set of:

the subscriber, an administrator, and another application.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber contact card is displayable by other applications to provide services based on actionable links associated with a portion of the combined information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the subscriber contact card is configured to display a current availability status of the subscriber with an action link to displaying a relevant portion of a calendar of the subscriber.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the subscriber contact card is further configured to display a current location of the subscriber with an action link to displaying a map associated with the current location of the subscriber.

11. A server in a unified communication (UC) system for providing up-to-date subscriber information to one or more applications, the server comprising:

a memory for storing computer-executable instructions;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute instructions to cause actions including;

receive static information associated with a subscriber from a directory service;

receive dynamic information associated with the subscriber from a presence server;

receive additional static and dynamic user information from a hierarchy of source applications;

select at least one of the source applications from the hierarchy to retrieve the additional static and dynamic information according to a preference determined by a registry key setting;

receive access control rules from the subscriber;

combine the static, dynamic, additional static, and additional dynamic information in a dynamically updateable subscriber profile by aggregating the static, dynamic, additional static, and additional dynamic information based on predefined business rules for the static and dynamic information;

include the access control rules in the subscriber profile such that access to combined information associated with the subscriber is limited based on the access control rules;

provide the subscriber profile to an application executed on another computing device associated with the UC system such that the application is enabled to provide services based on up-to-date information associated with the subscriber;

enable activation of at least one application other than the application in conjunction with each dynamic information in the subscriber profile; and

provide customizable action items from the subscriber profile for a pop-up menu associated with the application according to a format of a menu template of the application.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to provide the dynamically updateable subscriber profile to federated users, and update at least a portion of the subscriber profile by sending federated data on a presence channel.

13. The server of claim 11, wherein the access control rules define an accessible portion of the combined information in the subscriber profile for each receiving user.

14. The server of claim 11, wherein the directory service is an Active Directory service.

15. The server of claim 11, wherein the application includes at least one from a set of:

a communication application, an instant messaging application, an electronic mail application, a calendaring/scheduling application, a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, and a database application.

16. A computer-readable memory device with instructions stored thereon for providing up-to-date user information to one or more applications, the instructions comprising:

receiving static user information from a directory server;

receiving actionable dynamic presence information from a presence server;

receiving additional static user and dynamic presence information from a hierarchy of source applications;

selecting at least one of the source applications from the hierarchy to retrieve the additional static user and dynamic presence information according to a preference determined by a registry key setting;

adding local static user information to the additional static user information from a local data store including a personal contacts list of an electronic mail application;

receiving user updates to the dynamic presence information and access control rules for the dynamic presence information;

combining the static user information, the additional static user information, the additional dynamic presence information and the dynamic presence information as an aggregated user profile by aggregating the static user information, the additional static user information, the additional dynamic presence information and the dynamic presence information based on predefined business rules for the static user information and dynamic presence information;

sharing the aggregated user profile through a unique identifier including a session initiation protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier (URI) to pull the static and dynamic information from the aggregated user profile;

forwarding the aggregated user profile to an application such that at least a portion of the aggregated user profile is displayed with the actionable links enabling activation of at least one application other than the application in conjunction with each dynamic information in the subscriber profile;

providing customizable actionable links from the aggregated user profile for a pop-up menu associated with the application according to a format of a menu template of the application; and

enabling other users to call the user from one of the actionable links through a single action.

17. The computer-readable memory device of claim 16, wherein the aggregated user profile is employed by a communication application to determine a communication mode, a timing of communication, and an alternative contact for the user.

18. The computer-readable memory device of claim 16, wherein the aggregated user profile and updates to the profile are forwarded to the one or more applications such that a consistent dissemination of up-to-date user information across a plurality of applications and federated users is ensured.