Method and apparatus for operating a computer-telephony system

• US 9,679,034 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2007
• Issued: 06/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vonage Business Limited (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: NewVoiceMedia Limited (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Phipps, Dan, Unitt, Ashley, Pickering, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Jagannathan, Melanie
• Application Number:
  US12/444,115
• Publication Number:
  US 20100128717A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,542 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6018 Subscriber or terminal logon/logoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42017 Customized ring-back tones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet

Abstract

One embodiment of the invention provides a method of operating a computer-telephony system. The method comprises providing computer-telephony support for a plurality of customers. Each customer maintains customer relationship management (CRM) data. The CRM data is uploaded from the plurality of customers into a computer-telephony database. The uploading includes transforming the CRM data from an original format maintained by the respective customer into a standardized format for the computer-telephony database. Telephone calls can then be handled using the transformed CRM data in the computer-telephony database.

Claims

1. A method of operating a computer-telephony system, the method comprising:

providing computer-telephony support, comprising at least receiving a telephone call from a customer of a first call center at a computer-telephony system located in a telephone network facility remotely from a plurality of call centers and making information about the call available to software applications, using a computer-telephony integration interface, to the first call center with the computer-telephony system, wherein each of the plurality of call centers maintains customer relationship management (CRM) data;

uploading heterogeneous CRM data from the plurality of call centers into a computer-telephony database component of the computer-telephony system resident in the telephone network, wherein said uploading includes transforming the heterogeneous CRM data from an original format maintained by the respective call center into a standardized format for the computer-telephony database; and

handling with the computer-telephony system the telephone call for the first call center by using the transformed CRM data for the first call center in the computer-telephony database, wherein handling the telephone call comprises at least routing the telephone call to an agent of the first call center.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said computer-telephony database further includes a configuration database describing the CRM data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said transforming is performed in accordance with information in the configuration database.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said configuration database includes a web interface, and wherein said information in the configuration database can be provided or modified via the web interface.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising uploading one or more script questions into the computer-telephony database, wherein said one or more script questions are to be used in the handling of telephone calls.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the uploaded heterogeneous CRM data includes spreadsheet data.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a call database, wherein information about telephone calls handled by the computer-telephony system is stored into the call database.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising using the stored information about the handling of a previous telephone call to determine the handling of a current call.

9. A computer-telephony system for providing computer-telephony support for a plurality of call centers, wherein each call center maintains customer relationship management (CRM) data, the system comprising:

a computer-telephone system located in a telephone network remotely from the plurality of call centers and adapted to receive a telephone call for a first call center and to make information about the telephone call available to software applications of the first call center using a computer-telephony integration interface;

a computer-telephony database resident in the telephone network and adapted for storing heterogeneous CRM data from the plurality of call centers in a standardized format; and

an interface software module executing on a network-attached computing device and adapted for uploading heterogeneous CRM data from the plurality of call centers into the computer-telephony database;

wherein said uploading includes transforming the heterogeneous CRM data from an original format maintained by the first call center into said standardized format for the computer-telephony database;

wherein the system is configured to handle the telephone call for the first call center by using the transformed CRM data for the first call center in the computer-telephony database, wherein handling the telephone call comprises routing the telephone call to an agent of the first call center.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a configuration database describing the CRM data.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said transforming is performed in accordance with information in the configuration database.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said configuration database includes a web interface, and wherein said information in the configuration database can be provided or modified via the web interface.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein said system is configured for one or more script questions to be uploaded into the computer-telephony database for use in the handling of telephone calls.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the uploaded CRM data includes spreadsheet data.

15. The system of claim 9, further comprising a call database, wherein information about telephone calls handled by the computer-telephony system is stored in the call database.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the system is configured to use the stored information about handling of a previous telephone call to determine the handling of a current call.