System and method for data collection and update utilizing surrogate e-mail addresses using a server

• US 20030200272A1
• Filed: 04/18/2003
• Published: 10/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Campise, Leon, Leftwich, Mike
• Granted Patent: US 8,032,592 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A system and method for data collection and update utilizing surrogate e-mail addresses using a server. An e-mail client generates an e-mail message comprising a surrogate e-mail address and data elements conveyed within standard fields of the e-mail message. The surrogate e-mail address also comprises data and instructions directed to a specialized software program. A message server parses the surrogate e-mail address and the e-mail content. Information relating to a specialized software program is extracted and translated into instructions and data elements. The specialized software program operates on the data elements based on the instructions obtained from the e-mail message.

Claims

1. A system for data collection comprising:

a surrogate e-mail address; and

a message server, the message server adapted to;

receive the surrogate e-mail address;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address one or more instructions directed to a specialized software program;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program.

2. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

3. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

4. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command 5. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

6. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

7. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

8. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

9. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

10. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

11. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

12. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

13. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

14. The system of data collection of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises an e-mail message, the e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address, and wherein the message server is further adapted to:

extract from the e-mail message instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extract from the e-mail message data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program.

15. The system of data collection of claim 14, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions extracted from the e-mail message for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

16. The system of data collection of claim 15, wherein to receive the surrogate e-mail address comprises receiving the e-mail message from an e-mail server via a network.

17. The system of data collection of claim 15, wherein to receive the surrogate e-mail address comprises receiving the e-mail message from an e-mail server connected to the message server and wherein providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program comprises sending the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program via a network

18. The system of data collection of claim 15, wherein the e-mail message comprises a meeting invitation message.

19. A system for data collection comprising:

a surrogate e-mail address;

a data server; and

a message server, the message server adapted to;

receive the surrogate e-mail address;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address one or more instructions directed to a specialized software program,

extract from the surrogate e-mail address one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

send the instructions and data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address to the data server; and

wherein the data server is adapted to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program.

20. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

21. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

22. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

23. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

24. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

25. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

26. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

27. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

28. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

29. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

30. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

31. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

32. The system of data collection of claim 19, wherein the system further comprises an e-mail message, the e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address, and wherein the message server is further adapted to:

extract from the e-mail message instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extract from the e-mail message data elements directed to the specialized software program;

send the instructions and data elements extracted from the e-mail message to the data server; and

wherein the data server is further adapted to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program.

33. The system of data collection of claim 32, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions extracted from the e-mail message for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

34. The system of data collection of claim 32, wherein the e-mail message comprises a meeting invitation message.

35. A system for data collection comprising:

an e-mail server;

a surrogate e-mail address; and

a message server, the message server adapted to;

monitor the e-mail server for activity reportable to a specialized software program, wherein a reportable activity comprises associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record;

in-the event reportable activity is detected, receive the surrogate e-mail address and the information record;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program.

36. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

37. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

38. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

39. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

40. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

41. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

42. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

43. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

44. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

45. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

46. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record comprises saving an e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address.

47. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record comprises saving a meeting invitation message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address.

48. The system of data collection of claim 35, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

49. A system for data collection comprising:

an e-mail server;

a surrogate e-mail address;

a data server; and

a message server, the message server adapted to;

monitor the e-mail server for activity reportable to a specialized software program, wherein a reportable activity comprises associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record;

in the event reportable activity is detected, receive the surrogate e-mail address and the information record;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program;

send the instructions and data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record to the data server; and

wherein the data server is adapted to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for use by the specialized software program.

50. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

51. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

52. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

53. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

54. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

55. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

56. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

57. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

58. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

59. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

60. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

61. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record comprises saving an e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address.

62. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record comprises saving a meeting invitation message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address.

63. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, and a customer relationship management application.

64. The system of data collection of claim 49, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions extracted from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

65. A method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program, the method comprising:

receiving a surrogate e-mail address;

extracting from the surrogate e-mail address one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extracting from the surrogate e-mail address one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program.

66. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

67. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

68. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

69. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

70. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

71. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

72. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

73. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

74. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

75. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

76. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

77. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions from the surrogate e-mail address for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

78. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 65, wherein receiving a surrogate e-mail address comprises receiving an e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address and wherein the method further comprises:

extracting from the e-mail message one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extracting from the e-mail message one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program.

79. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 78, wherein processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions from the e-mail message for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

80. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 79, wherein receiving the surrogate e-mail address comprises receiving the e-mail message from an e-mail server via a network.

81. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 79, wherein receiving the surrogate e-mail address comprises receiving the e-mail message from an e-mail server connected to the message server and wherein providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program comprises sending the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program via a network.

82. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 78, wherein the e-mail message comprises a meeting invitation message.

83. A method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program, the method comprising:

monitoring an e-mail server for activity reportable to the specialized software program, wherein a reportable activity comprises associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record;

in the event reportable activity is detected, receiving the surrogate e-mail address and the information record;

extracting from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extracting from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for use by the specialized software program.

84. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

85. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

86. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

87. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

88. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

89. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

90. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

91. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

92. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

93. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

94. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

95. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record comprises saving an e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address.

96. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein associating a surrogate e-mail address with an information record comprises saving a meeting invitation message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address.

97. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 83, wherein processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements from the surrogate e-mail address and the information record for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

98. A system for data collection comprising a message agent and a message server, wherein:

the message server is adapted to;

receive one or more data elements from a specialized software program;

generate a surrogate e-mail address from at least one of the one or more data elements; and

send the surrogate e-mail address to the message agent; and

the message agent is adapted to;

receive the surrogate e-mail address; and

store the surrogate e-mail address in a directory.

99. The system for data collection of claim 98, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

100. A system for execution of commands in a specialized software program, the system comprising:

a surrogate e-mail address; and

a message server, the message server adapted to;

receive the surrogate e-mail address;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program.

101. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

102. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

103. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

104. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

105. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

106. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

107. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

108. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

109. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

110. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

111. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

112. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

113. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 100, wherein the system further comprises an e-mail message, the e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address, and wherein the message server is further adapted to:

extract from the e-mail message instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extract from the e-mail message data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program.

114. The system for execution of commands in a specialized program of claim 113, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions extracted from the e-mail message for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

115. The system of data collection of claim 113, wherein the e-mail message comprises a meeting invitation message.

116. A method for executing commands in a specialized software program, the method comprising:

receiving a surrogate e-mail address;

extracting from the surrogate e-mail address one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extracting from the surrogate e-mail address one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program.

117. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

118. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

119. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

120. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

121. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

122. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

123. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

124. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

125. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

126. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

127. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

128. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions from the surrogate e-mail address for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

129. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 116, wherein receiving a surrogate e-mail address comprises receiving an e-mail message addressed at least to the surrogate e-mail address and wherein the method further comprises:

extracting from the e-mail message one or more instructions directed to the specialized software program;

extracting from the e-mail message one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program.

130. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 129, wherein processing the instructions and the data elements extracted from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program comprises:

translating the instructions from the e-mail message for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements from the e-mail message for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

131. The method of collecting data directed to a specialized software program of claim 129, wherein the e-mail message comprises a meeting invitation message.

132. A system for data collection comprising:

a message server, the message server adapted;

to monitor an e-mail server for e-mail messages addressed at least to a surrogate e-mail address; and

to process the e-mail message according to a template; and

to send the e-mail message to a data server; and

the data server, the data server adapted to;

receive the e-mail message;

extract from the surrogate e-mail address and the e-mail message one or more instructions directed to a specialized software program,

extract from the surrogate e-mail address and the e-mail message one or more data elements directed to the specialized software program; and

process the instructions and the data elements extracted from the surrogate e-mail address for use by the specialized software program.

133. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an add command.

134. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises a delete command.

135. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more instructions comprises an update command

136. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a start time value.

137. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a stop time value.

138. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a duration time value.

139. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a client identifier value.

140. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a project identifier value.

141. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a task identifier value.

142. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein one of the one or more data elements comprises a narrative description value.

143. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein to process the e-mail message according to a template comprises blocking the e-mail message.

144. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein to process the e-mail message according to a template comprises removing content from the e-mail message.

145. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein to process the e-mail message according to a template comprises adding content to the e-mail message.

146. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein the specialized software program is selected from the group consisting of a time entry application, an accounting application, a human resources application, and a customer relationship management application.

147. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein to process the instructions and the data elements comprises:

translating the instructions for execution by the specialized software program;

translating the data elements for use by the specialized software program; and

providing the translated instructions and translated data elements to the specialized software program.

148. The system of data collection of claim 132, wherein the e-mail message comprises a meeting invitation message.