Method and apparatus for intelligent routing of instant messaging presence protocol (IMPP) events among a group of customer service representatives

• US RE46,625 E1
• Filed: 12/12/2014
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Petrovykh, Yevgeniy
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH DIEU T
• Application Number:
  US14/569,586
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 29/06027 Protocols for multimedia communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4007 Services involving a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel sessions real time messaging, e.g. instant messaging, interacting with other applications or services H04L51/046; multichannel or multilink protocols H04L69/14; services and arrangements where telephone services are combined with data services H04M7/0024
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/24 Presence management use and manipulation of presence information in instant messaging H04L51/043
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/327 whereby the routing of a service request to a node providing the service depends on the content or context of the request, e.g. profile, connectivity status, payload or application type
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5141 Details of processing calls and other types of contacts in an unified manner unified messaging in packet-switching networks H04L51/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 : Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 : interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5231 : with call back arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 : with waiting time or load prediction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 : Click to dial services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 : for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1305 : Software aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13072 : Sequence circuits for call signaling, ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 : Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13164 : Traffic (registration, measurement,...)
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13335 : Simulation, emulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13349 : Network management

Abstract

A routing system is provided for intelligent routing of instant messages between clients connected to a data network and customer service representatives connected to the network. The system comprises at least one instant message server and at least one intermediate server connected to and addressable on the network, the intermediate server capable of routing and accessible to the instant message server. Clients connecting to the instant message server through instant message software assert a connection link advertised by the instant message server to establish bi-directional communication between the client machine and the intermediate server. In preferred application, the intermediate server interacts with the client for identification of client and client software. The client request is then routed to an appropriate customer service representative running compatible software according to enterprise rules establishing an active instant message connection between the client and the selected customer service representative.

Claims

1. An Instant Messaging (IM) Communication system, comprising:

two or more proprietary IM servers in a data-packet-network, each providing a different IM service and different IM protocol to specific clients;

an IM server in a communication center, the IM server connected to the data-packet-network and to a Local Area Network (LAN), the LAN connecting computerized workstations used by agents of the communication center;

a first data storage device storing a set of routing rules for the communication center; and

storeda second data storage device storing agent data for the agents of the communication center, the data including agent availability of the agents and IM capability capabilities of the agents relative to one or more of the different IM protocols;

wherein the IM server in the communication center receives IM messages from the two or more proprietary IM servers in the data-packet-network, the IM messages representing desired communication between the specific clients of the proprietary IM servers in the data-packet-network and an agent selected from the agents of the communication center, each of the IM messages adhering to a specific IM protocol, wherein the IM server in the communication center consults the communication center routing rules, IM protocol capabilities the IM capability of the agents, and the stored agent data to determine an available agent with the the needed the IM protocol capability that is detected to be needed, and establishes IM communication between one of the specific clients and the determined available agent determined to be available and to have having the needed IM protocol capability IM capability for exchanging one of the IM messages from the first one of the specific clients and the determined available agent, and

wherein the consulting of the IM capability of the agents includes determining whether an agent device of the determined available agent has IM software adhering to the specific IM protocol corresponding to the IM messages.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the IM server in the communication center, in the event of receiving an IM notification, conducts IM communication with the specified client initiating the notification, elicits information from the client, and uses the elicited information along with the agent data and availability to determine the capable and available agent with whom to establish the IM communication for the client.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the data-packet network data-packet-network is the Internet network.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the IM server in the communication center is in the data-packet-network and connects to the LAN via a computer-telephony-integration (CTI) processor at the communication center.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the IM server in the communication center, in response to receiving an IM notification, conducts IM communication with one of the specific clients initiating the notification, elicits information from the one of the specific clients, identifies parameters relating to an IM application used by the one of the specific clients, and uses the elicited information along with the identified parameters relating to the IM application, the agent data, and availability, to determine a capable and available agent with whom to establish the IM communication for the one of the specific clients.

5. A communication center Instant messaging (IM) server connected to a data-packet-network and to a Local Area Network (LAN) also connecting computerized workstations used by agents of the communication center, the server comprising:

at least one bi-directional data port for receiving data thereto and sending data there from;

at least one version of instant messaging software executable therein for generating, sending and receiving instant messages;

wherein the communication center IM server receives IM messages from the two or more IM servers in the data-packet-network providing IM services to specific clients, the IM messages from the two or more IM servers in the data-packet-network providing IM services to the specific clients representing desired communication between the specific clients of the two or more IM servers in the data-packet-network and an agent selected from the agents of the communication center, each of the IM messages adhering to a specific IM protocol, wherein the communication center IM server consults communication center routing rules, IM protocol capabilities and stored agent data to determine an available agent with the a needed IM protocol capability selected from the IM protocol capabilities, required by the IM messages, and establishes IM communication between the specific clients and the agent determined to be available and to have the needed IM protocol capability for exchanging the IM messages between the specific clients and the determined available agent, and

wherein the consulting of the IM capability of the agents includes determining whether an agent device of the determined available agent has IM software adhering to the specific IM protocol corresponding to the IM messages.

6. The IM server of claim 5 wherein, in the event of receiving an IM notification, the IM server of the communication center conducts IM communication with the specified client initiating the notification, elicits information from the client, and uses the elicited information along with the agent data and availability to determine the capable and available agent with whom to establish the IM communication for the client.

7. The system server of claim 5 wherein the data-packet network data-packet-network is the Internet network.

8. The server of claim 5 wherein the communication center IM server is in the data-packet-network and connects to the LAN via a computer-telephony-integration (CTI) processor at the communication center.

14. The system of claim 5, wherein, in response to receiving an IM notification, the IM server of the communication center conducts IM communication with the one of the specific clients initiating the notification, elicits information from the one of the specific clients, identifies parameters relating to an IM application used by the one of the specific clients, and uses the elicited information along with the agent data and availability, to determine a capable and available agent with whom to establish the IM communication for the one of the specific clients.

9. A method for establishing an instant message communication channel over a data-packet-network between a client and a customer service representative an agent representing an enterprise based on returned results of at least one executed routine comprising the steps of:

(a) client establishment of a network connection;

(b) establishing a client-to-server connection with an Instant Messaging (IM) server operating in a communication center using an instant messaging software application;

(c) receiving at the IM server of the communication center IM messages from two or more IM servers in the data-packet-network, the IM messages representing desired communication between specific clients of the IM servers in the data-packet-network and an agent of the communication center, each of the IM messages adhering to a specific IM protocol;

(d) the IM server of the communication center consulting the communication center routing rules and IM protocol capabilities for the agent and stored communication center agent data to determine an available agent with the a required IM protocol capability of the IM messages, wherein the consulting of the IM capabilities for the agent includes determining whether an agent device of the determined available agent has IM software adhering to the specific IM protocol corresponding to the IM messages;

(e) the PA IM server establishing IM communication between the specific clients and the agent determined to be available and to have the required IM protocol capability for exchanging IM messages between the specific clients and the determined available agent.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein in step (c), in the event of receiving an IM notification, the IM server of the communication center conducts IM communication with the specified client initiating the notification, elicits information from the client, and uses the elicited information along with the agent data and availability to determine the capable and available agent with whom to establish the IM communication for the client.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the data-packet network data-packet-network is the Internet network.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the IM server of the communication center is in the data-packet-network.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein in response to receiving an IM notification, the IM server of the communication center conducts IM communication with one of the specific clients initiating the notification, elicits information from the one of the specific clients, identifies parameters relating to an IM application used by the one of the specific clients, and uses the elicited information along with the identified parameters relating to the IM application, the agent data, and availability, to determine a capable and available agent with whom to establish the IM communication for the one of the specific clients.