Abstract:
A rerouting system for Internet Prootocol Telephony calls between call centers adapted for processing such calls incorporates sequential series of addresses for rerouting to any specific point, wherein calls rerouted to that point are addressed to each succeeding address in order, so no one address in the pool is used a second time until all other addresses in the pool are used at least once. This system prevents rerouted calls from being sent to the same address within a certain period of time, and the pool of addresses may be virtual addresses, allowing calls to be queued at the destination and distributed to connected workstations as agents become available.
Abstract:
A system (33) for outbound dialing for call centers (11) place an outbound dialer (21) at network level (13), and client call centers provide destination number calling lists. The outbound dialer (21), upon completing a call to a destination number, connects the completed call to a routing point at a client call center. The system (33) may be CTI-enhanced, and can be hosted by a client of a network provider, or by the network provider. Clients may subscribe to the network provider for service, providing calling lists and routing points, and completed calls may be routed to call centers operated by different clients. The architecture and method of the system (33) minimizes the number of leased lines required by each call center taking advantage of the system (33).
Abstract:
A method for rerouting calls in a call-routing system having a routing processor storing information about the status of remote telephone stations involves setting a semaphore for station busy at the time a call is routed to the station, and timing the semaphore for a pre-programmed period of time known to be the latency period for returning a real-time signal that the routed call was actually completed. If the signal for call completion is not received in the pre-programmed time, the call is canceled and re-routed by reinserting the call in a routing queue. When the call is canceled the semaphore is reset to indicate the station is not busy. In a preferred embodiment the call is rerouted to the same destination as originally routed.
Abstract:
A computerized telephony call center for serving a customer base has a central switch connected to a plurality of telephones at operator workstations and adapted to route calls to individual ones of the telephones, and also connected to a public switched telephone network, and a first processor connected to the central switch by a high-speed data link and to the telephone network by a digital network connection. The first processor is adapted to monitor transactional activity of the central switch, to process the activity information according to selected routines in the processor, and to communicate processed information to a second processor over the digital network connection. The digital network connection may be a TCP\P connection. In a preferred embodiment the first processor is connected by a local area network (LAN) to network interfaces including a video display unit (VDU) and input apparatus proximate individual ones of the plurality of telephones connected to the central switch. In some embodiments the LAN is also connected to a data server running an instance of a database. In other embodiments the call center, and other similar call centers are all part of a call routing system wherein calls are routed from Service Control Points to call centers over telephone lines, and data is routed to the call centers over a separate digital network connection between processors coupled to the Service Control Points and to the call center central switches. In various embodiments aspects of the invention apply to Internet protocol network telephony (IPNT) calls as well as to conventional telephony calls.
Abstract:
A computerized telephony call center for serving a customer base has a central switch connected to a plurality of telephones at operator workstations and adapted to route calls to individual ones of the telephones, and also connected to a public switched telephone network, and a first processor connected to the central switch by a high-speed data link and to the telephone network by a digital network connection. The first processor is adapted to monitor transactional activity of the central switch, to process the activity information according to selected routines in the processor, and to communicate processed information to a second processor over the digital network connection. The digital network connection may be a TCP\IP connection. In a preferred embodiment the first processor is connected by a local area network (LAN) to network interfaces including a video display unit (VDU) and input apparatus proximate individual ones of the plurality of telephones connected to the central switch. In some embodiments the LAN is also connected to a data server running an instance of a database. In other embodiments the call center, and other similar call centers are all part of a call routing system wherein calls are routed from Service Control Points to call centers over telephone lines, and data is routed to the call centers over a separate digital network connection between processors coupled to the Service Control Points and to the call center central switches. In various embodiments aspects of the invention apply to Internet protocol network telephony (IPNT) calls as well as to conventional telephony calls.
Abstract:
An Internet Protocol Network Telephony call center having a plurality of agents for serving clients also processes e-mails addresses to the call center, but not to specific agents. An e-mail server receives and routes the e-mail, and includes a router and a database storing skill set information regarding agents. The router extracts information from the e-mails, matches key words in the extracted information with key words from the skill sets, and routes the e-mails to appropriate agents having the necessary skills to respond to the service requirements in the e-mails.
Abstract:
Systems and methods for the dynamic processing of royalties are disclosed. Sales records are processed on a transaction basis rather than in batch mode. This process also allows correction of information retroactively, rather than delaying the entire processing of the information. One embodiment includes a system comprising a message broker in communication with a plurality of clients and services, a state machine, a processor and a time manager. The message broker interacts with the processor to execute a common service based on events produced by the state machine. Another embodiment includes a method comprising providing a rate matrix, receiving a sales record from a database and calculating a royalty payment using the sales record and the rate matrix.
Abstract:
A telephone call distribution system for determining destination for an incoming telephone call in a telephony network including a service control point (SCP) operates with a plurality of workstations each comprising a telephone coupled to the telephony network and a proximate computer station having a video display unit (PC/VDU), the PC/VDO connected to the SCP via a wide area network (WAN), and a personal router associated with each PC/VDU. The SCP broadcasts data pertaining to the incoming telephone call and a request for a destination to individual ones of the PC/VDUs via the WAN, and the personal routers negotiate a destination based on individual routing rules and the data pertaining to the call. At least one of the individual routers responds to the SCP with a destination for the call. In some instances the workstations are associated with a call center, and the call center may be CTI-enhanced. Individual routers in this instance may be executed on a server on a local area network connecting workstations at the call center, the server providing individual routers to workstations in a client-server relationship.
Abstract:
A call center having agent stations comprising telephones connected to computer stations by a Telephone Application Programming Interface (TAPI)-compliant bridge has data pertaining to callers stored in a database on a local area network (LAN) to which the computer stations are also connected. Origination data for incoming calls, both conventional calls to the telephones and computer-simulated calls to the computer platforms, is used as a key to extract data pertaining to calls from the database for display on video display units (VDUs) of the computer workstations where the calls are terminated. In some cases, data is only extracted and displayed for calls from previously listed origination points.
Abstract:
An Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT) routing system has a call-routing processor to which original calls are routed, and the routing processor forwards incoming calls to remote computer stations. When forwarding a call, the routing processor sets a semaphore for a predetermined amount of time. If a signal is not received that the call is answered in that time, the call is canceled and re-routed.