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

• US RE46,174 E1
• Filed: 12/12/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• 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:
  US14/569,587
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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:

an IM server in a communication center, the IM server connected to a public data-packet-network and to a private data-packet-network, the private data-packet-network further connecting computerized workstations used by agents of the communication center;

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 communication center, the data including agent availability and IM capability relative to one or more IM service protocols;

wherein the IM server receives IM messages from two or more external IM servers using, wherein the two or more external IM servers use at least two different IM service protocols, via the public data-packet-network, the IM messages representing desired communication between specific clients of the external IM servers and agents of the communication center, consults the communication center routing rules, IM service protocol capabilities the IM capability of the agents, and the stored agent data to select available agents with the needed based on the IM service protocols that is detected to be needed, and establishes IM communication between the specific clients and the selected agents via the private data-packet-network, for exchanging the IM messages between the specific clients and the agents, and

wherein the IM server in the communication center, in the event of receiving an IM notification from one of the specific clients, 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 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.

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

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

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one of the specific clients initiating the notification is re-directed to the IM server, and the IM server is configured to host the IM communication between the one of the specific clients and the agent.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the IM server is configured to interact with the one of the specific clients via IM.

6. The system or claim 5, wherein the IM server is configured to emulate interactive voice response technology for eliciting the information from the one of the specific clients.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the elicited information includes version and brand of an IM application used by the one of the specific clients initiating the notification.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein a particular external IM server selected from the two or more external IM servers is configured to host the IM communication between the one of the specific clients and the agent.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the IM server interacts with the one of the specific clients through the particular external IM server.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the IM notification is initiated upon detecting selection of a link accessible to the one of the specific clients.