METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND MANAGING MULTI-SOURCED CALL CENTERS

• US 20100246801A1
• Filed: 06/04/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Broadsoft Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Mukesh Sundaram, Prem Uppaluru
• Inventors: Uppaluru, Prem, Sundaram, Mukesh
• Granted Patent: US 8,699,689 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.90
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2254 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5234 Uniform load distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5237 Interconnection arrangements between ACD systems

Abstract

A mid-point call management node subject to monitoring through a workstation communicatively coupled thereto, provides call services (e.g., through extensible markup language (XML), and in particular call control extensible markup language (CCXML) and/or voice extensible markup language (VXML), instructions) for an inbound call received from an originating network at an originating point-of-presence (POP) associated with multiple, disparate call centers, the call services being provided in response to call management application instructions issued according to enterprise-specific strategies for optimizing call handling between the originating POP and domestic and/or international ones of the disparate call centers communicatively coupled thereto. Call center information (e.g., call load information) received at the management node from the multiple call centers may be used in connection with providing the call services. The enterprise-specific strategies may be instantiated as processes for: call routing, load balancing, work force management, and/or customer relationship management.

Claims

1. In a communications network that includes a call management node communicatively coupled to a point of presence (POP) and a call center, a method, comprising:

receiving, at the call management node, (i) information concerning an inbound call received at a media gateway of the POP, and (ii) information concerning current call processing at the call center;

determining, by the call management node, call parameter data for the inbound call based on the information concerning the inbound call and the information concerning the current call processing at the call center;

providing, from the call management node to a call control gateway communicatively coupled to the media gateway of the POP, call management instructions for the inbound call, the call management instructions being selected by the call management node according to the call parameter data and enterprise-specific strategies for optimizing call handling for the call center; and

monitoring attributes of the inbound call at a workstation communicatively coupled to the call management node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information concerning current call processing at the call center includes call load information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising connecting the inbound call to the call center according to the call management instructions.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the inbound call is directed to the call center as a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communication.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the inbound call is terminated into one of:

an automatic call distributor associated with the call center, or a private branch exchange associated with the call center.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the call management instructions comprise instructions for one or more of:

call routing, call transfer, call queuing, call reporting, call recording, and call monitoring.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the call management instructions comprise one of:

extensible markup language (XML) instructions, call control extensible markup language (CCXML) instructions or voice extensible markup language (VXML) instructions.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the enterprise-specific strategies are instantiated as processes for one or more of:

call routing, load balancing, work force management, and customer relationship management.

9. A call handling system, comprising:

a plurality of call centers;

a point of presence having a call control gateway and being communicatively coupled via a media gateway to receive an inbound call from a network; and

a midpoint call management node, communicatively coupled to receive (i) information concerning the inbound call from the call control gateway of the point of presence, and (ii) information concerning current call processing at each of the call centers,

wherein, the midpoint call management node is configured to provide call, network and agent object models representing embodiments of the call handling system to a session manager of the call control gateway of the point of presence for manipulation by said session manager, each call object model representing an inbound call received at the call handling system, each network object model providing state information concerning the call handling system, and each agent object model representing a state of a call center agent assigned to a call within the call handling system, and to provide the session manager with call-, network- and agent-related events from the call handling system; and

wherein the session manager of the point of presence is configured to retrieve instructions from the midpoint call management node for manipulating the call, network and agent objects and reacting to the call-, network- and agent-related events to connect the inbound call to one of the call centers accordingly.

10. The call handling system of claim 9, wherein the call control gateway further includes a network events manager configured to receive events indicative of whether or not particular network elements and links within the call handling system are either in service or out of service, the network event manager being communicatively coupled to the session manager through a call manager.

11. The call handling system of claim 9, wherein the call control gateway further includes an agent event manager communicatively coupled to receive events indicative of current states of identified call agents using the call handling system and to notify a call manager of the call control gateway of said states of the identified agents.

12. The call handling system of claim 11, wherein the agent event manager receives events over SIP (session initiation protocol) via Presence extensions and SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions).

13. The call handling system of claim 11, wherein said states of the identified agents comprise one or more of:

available to handle calls, busy handling a call, and unavailable between calls.

14. A call management server, comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing computer-executable instructions for instructing a call control gateway and a media server deployed within a point-of-presence (POP) of a call handling system to administer inbound calls to the call handling system in accordance with enterprise-specific strategies for call handling among call centers of the call handling system, said instructing including delivering, to a session manager of the POP, (i) call, network and agent object models representing embodiments of the call handling system for manipulation by said session manager, each call object model representing an inbound call received at the call handling system, each network object model providing state information concerning the call handling system, and each agent object model representing a state of a call center agent assigned to a call within the call handling system, and (ii) call-, network- and agent-related events from the call handling system.

15. The call management server of claim 14, wherein the memory further stores media and call management applications, which are instantiations of the enterprise-specific strategies for the call handling system.

16. A call management node, comprising a computer processor responsive to computer-readable instructions and communicatively coupled to a computer-readable medium storing said computer-readable instructions, which computer-readable instructions when executed by said computer processor cause said computer processor to provide call services for one or more inbound calls noticed to the call management node by a point-of-presence (POP) at which said inbound calls are received, said calls intended for call centers communicatively coupled to said call management node, the call services being provided in response to call management application instructions issued according to enterprise-specific strategies for optimizing call handling among the call centers.

17. The call management node of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the computer processor to direct the calls, in accordance with the call management application instructions, from the POP to selected ones of the call centers.

18. The call management node of claim 17, wherein the call services include one or more of:

call routing, call transfer, call queuing, call recording, and call monitoring.

19. The call management node of claim 17, wherein the call services are provided through one or more of:

extensible markup language (XML) instructions, call control extensible markup language (CCXML) instructions or voice extensible markup language (VXML) instructions to the POP.

20. The call management node of claim 19, wherein the enterprise-specific strategies are instantiated as processes executing on the computer processor for one or more of:

call routing, load balancing, work force management, and customer relationship management.