Business rule web service

• US 8,667,052 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alvaria Cayman
• Original Assignee: Aspect Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Dezonno, Anthony J., Biggam, Sandy
• Primary Examiner(s): Gorney, Boris
• Application Number:
  US11/017,457
• Publication Number:
  US 20060147024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,361 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 379/265.02
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2854 Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/527 Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing transaction services to one of a plurality of organizations where such transaction services are provided for servicing contacts with clients of the organization through an independently operated contact processing system having a communication connection with the organization through the Internet. The method includes the steps of a contact controller of the organization providing contact control instructions for servicing the contacts to a control interface of the contact processing system and a web services publisher exchanging control information between the organization and contact controller through the Internet for the servicing the contacts with the clients of the organization.

Claims

1. A method of providing transaction services to a plurality of different subscribing organizations where such transaction services are provided for servicing contacts with clients of the plurality of subscribing organizations through an independently operated contact processing system having a communication connection with the subscribing organizations through the Internet, such method comprising the steps of:

a respective contact controller, of a plurality of contact controllers, within each of a plurality of exclusive web service engines, each controller exclusive to a respective one of the plurality of subscribing organizations and each controller providing exclusive control instructions for servicing the contacts of each respective subscribing organization, the control instructions provided through a control interface of the contact processing system, the contact processing system operated independently of the subscribing organizations and each exclusive web service engine serving as a private interface with the contact processing system with exclusive access by the respective subscribing organization; and

a web services publisher, of a plurality of web service publishers, within each of the plurality of exclusive web service engines, exchanging contact control information bidirectionally between the respective subscribing organization and the respective contact controller through the Internet, including publishing queue information to a respective subscriber website, for the exclusive servicing of the contacts with the clients of each respective subscribing organization such that activities of each of the plurality of subscribing organizations are kept confidential from every other subscribing organization of the plurality of subscribing organizations.

2. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising a real time controller of each respective subscribing organization collecting contact information about a client of the respective subscribing organization from the control interface of the contact processing system.

3. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 2 further comprising the web services publisher exchanging control information with the real time controller.

4. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 3 further comprising defining the exchanged control information as remote procedure calls.

5. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 4 further comprising sending the remote procedure calls to a web services engine containing the contact controller, real time controller and web services publisher.

6. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 5 further comprising the plurality of web services engines each simultaneously operating as a virtual private network for a respective one of the plurality of subscribing organizations to maintain confidentiality of each of the plurality of subscribing organizations.

7. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising a second organization receiving transaction services through the contact processing system through a respective second virtual private network.

8. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising the web services publisher exchanging information with the subscribing organizations under one of the group consisting of a hypertext transfer protocol, a simple mail transfer protocol, a file transfer protocol and a blocks extensible exchange protocol.

9. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising the real time controller retrieving agent group information from the contact processing system.

10. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising the real time controller retrieving contact status information from the contact processing system.

11. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising the real time controller retrieving real time information from the contact processing system.

12. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising the real time controller retrieving queuing information from the contact processing system.

13. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising the subscribing organizations transferring a make call instruction to the real time controller.

14. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 1 further comprising the organization transferring a contact type to the real time controller.

15. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 2 further comprising the real time controller collecting DNIS and ANI information from contacts detected on the real time control interface.

16. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 15 further comprising the real time controller comparing the collected DNIS information with a predetermined DNIS identifier and discarding any contact information with DNIS information that does not match the predetermined DNIS information.

17. The method of providing transaction services as in claim 2 further comprising the real time controller transferring the collected information of a contact to a host of the respective subscribing organization.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a processor perform a method for providing transaction services to a plurality of different subscribing organizations where such transaction services are provided for servicing contacts with clients of the plurality of subscribing organizations through an independently operated contact processing system having a communication connection with the subscribing organization through the Internet, comprising the steps of:

a respective contact controller, within each of a plurality of web service engines, each exclusive to a respective one of the plurality of subscribing organizations, providing control instructions to a control interface of the independently operated contact processing system for servicing the contacts of the subscribing organizations and wherein each respective web service engine serves as a private interface with the contact processing system with exclusive access by a respective one of the subscribing organizations; and

a web service publisher, within each of the plurality web service engines, exchanging control information bidirectionally between the respective organization and the respective contact controller through the Internet including queue information, for the exclusive servicing of the contacts with the clients of the respective subscribing organization.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium as in claim 18 further comprising instructions for implementing the step of a real-time controller, associated with each web service engine, collecting contact information about clients of respective subscribing organization from the control interface of the contact processing system.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium as in claim 19 further comprising instructions for causing the web service publisher to exchange control information with the real-time controller.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium as in claim 20 further comprising instructions for defining the exchanged control information as remote procedure calls.

22. An apparatus for providing transaction services to a plurality of different subscriber organizations where such transaction services are provided for servicing contacts with clients of the subscriber organizations through an independently operated contact processing system having a communication connection with the subscriber organizations through the Internet, such apparatus comprising:

a plurality of exclusive web service engines and a respective contact controller within each of the plurality of exclusive web service engines, each exclusive to a respective one of the plurality of subscriber organizations that provides contact control instructions for servicing the contacts of each respective subscriber organization to a control interface of the contact processing system, the contact processing system operated independently of the subscriber organizations and wherein each respective web service engine serves as a private interface with the contact processing system with exclusive access by the respective subscriber organization; and

a web services publisher, of a plurality of web service publishers, within each of the plurality of exclusive web service engines, that exchanges contact control information bidirectionally between the respective subscriber organization and the respective contact controller through the Internet, including queue information, for exclusive servicing of the contacts with the clients of the respective subscriber organization, such that activities of each of the plurality of subscribing organizations are kept confidential from every other subscribing organization of the plurality of subscribing organizations.

23. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising a real time controller of each respective subscriber organization collecting contact information about a client of the clients of the respective subscriber organization from the control interface of the contact processing system.

24. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 23 further comprising the web services publisher exchanging control information with the real time controller.

25. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 24 further comprising defining the exchanged control information as remote procedure calls.

26. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 25 further comprising sending the remote procedure calls to a web services engine containing the contact interface, contact controller and web services publisher.

27. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 26 further comprising each web services engine operating as a virtual private network of the respective subscriber organization.

28. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising a second organization receiving transaction services through the contact processing system through a respective, second virtual private network.

29. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising the web services publisher exchanging information with the subscriber organizations under one of the group consisting of a hypertext transfer protocol, a simple mail transfer protocol, a file transfer protocol and a blocks extensible exchange protocol.

30. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising agent group information retrieved by the real time controller from the contact processing system.

31. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising contact status information retrieved by the real time controller from the contact processing system.

32. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising real time information retrieved by the real time controller from the contact processing system.

33. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising queuing information retrieved by the real time controller from the contact processing system.

34. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising a make call instruction transferred by the organization to the real time controller.

35. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 22 further comprising a contact type transferred by the organization to the real time controller.

36. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 23 further comprising DNIS and ANI information collected by the real time controller from contacts detected on the real time control interface.

37. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 36 wherein the real time controller further comprising programming features that compares the collected DNIS information with a predetermined DNIS identifier and discarding any contact information with DNIS information that does not match the predetermined DNIS information.

38. The apparatus for providing transaction services as in claim 23 wherein the real time controller further comprising programming features that transfer the collected information of a contact to a host of the respective subscriber organization.