Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RECORDING
IN A CUSTOMER CENTER ENVIRONMENT
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure is generally related to recording communications
and,
more particularly, is related to systems and methods for recording the
communications in a customer center.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A traditional passive tap recording technique includes recorders that
are
deployed along routes of communications. In this technique, each recorder
operates
similar to a "sniffer" by analyzing pass-by communication packets. The
recorder
records the packets corresponding to certain communication sessions based on
its
configuration. In an IP telephony environment, recorders are typically
deployed
either at the voice gateway, which interfaces between Internet Protocol (IP)
network
and public switched telephone network (PSTN), or at switches in order to stay
along
the routes of the communications. This technique has the advantages of (1)
minimum intrusion to a communication system, (2) cost effectiveness in
deployment
for companies with centralized office locations, and (3) easy scalability for
compliance recording. However, for companies with many distributed branch
offices,
the above advantages start to diminish. This is especially true if the purpose
of the
recorders is for quality monitoring.
[0003] With the growing usage of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
technology,
many telephony-based businesses, such as customer centers, are adopting
distributed telephony systems with local access to PSTN, which are still
controlled by
centralized soft switches. Many customer centers are using at-home agents with
soft-phones on their personal computers (PCs). Hence, some of the
communications
in the distributed telephony system may not be "along the communication route"
that
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CA 02600378 2007-09-28
is needed for passive tap recording. Secondly, network security has now become
a
concern. The deployment of encryption technology has made passive tap
recording
become even more problematic.
[0004] In addition, many customer centers deploy recorders for quality
monitoring
purposes, instead of compliance. In this regard, only a small percentage of
the
communications are recorded, monitored, and sampled. However, to assure the
accuracy of the sampling, communications are randomly selected for recording
across all branch offices. With passive tap recording, a large number of
recorders
are potentially required and each recorder may have low usage.
[0005] Described below is a typical IP-based customer center using the passive
tapping "sniffing" recording method. To communicate with any agents at the
customer center, a customer communication device, such as a time domain
multiplexing (TDM) or an IP phone, first sends communication signals to a call-
processing device of the customer center, such as a soft switch. The
communication
signals can be sent either directly to the call-processing device in case of
IP to IP
communications or via a media processing device, such as a voice gateway in
case
of TDM to IP. The communication network can be a PSTN network or IP-based
netwo, k. Once the communication signals have been received, the call-
processing
device then routes the communication signals to an agent phone.
[0006] After several rounds of communication signals exchange, media
communications between the agent's phone and customer's phone can proceed via
media processing device and distribution devices. The distribution devices are
network routers and switches. In order to record the media communications
using
passive tapping, recorders are deployed at the media processing device or
distribution devices using the network traffic monitoring or duplicating
features, such
as the Cisco's Switch Port Analyzer (SPAN) feature, on these devices. These
tapping
features are often available to the recorders that are directly connected to
the media
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processing device or distribution devices, namely to recorders deployed at
each
branch office. Hence, a large customer center having multiple branches, such
as a
branch in New York, a branch in Los Angeles, and a branch in Chicago, may need
multiple recorders in each branch to record the voice communications.
[0007] Data associated with communications are being increasingly recorded in
customer centers to be monitored for quality, performance, among others.
Recorders receive and process the communications data before recording the
communications data. The characteristics of the received communications data
may
reduce the performance of the recorders by causing excess processing of the
communications data.
SUMMARY
[0008] Systems and methods for recording in a customer center environment are
provided. In this regard, a representative method comprises: receiving data
related to
a communication; communicating with a recording system to determine the
capabilities of the recording system; determining whether to adjust the packet
size of
the data based on the processing capabilities of the recording system;
responsive to
determining that the packet size is to be adjusted, adjusting the packet size
of the
data based on the processing capabilities of the recording system; and
transmitting
the data with the adjusted packet size to the recording system.
[0009] Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the system, among
others, can be implemented as follows. In this regard, a representative system
comprises: a recording system that records communications data associated with
an
incoming call via a network; and a telephony component that is operable to
communicate with a recording system to determine the processing capabilities
of the
recording system. The telephony component is further operable to determine
whether to adjust packet size of the data based on the processing capabilities
of the
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recording system. Responsive to determining that the packet size is to be
adjusted,
the telephony component is further operable to receive the communications data
and
adjust the packet size of the data based on the processing capabilities of the
recording system. The telephony component is further operable to transmit the
communications data with the adjusted packet size to the recording system.
[0010] Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the system, among
others, can be implemented as follows. In this regard, a representative media
processing and distributing device comprises: logic for receiving data related
to a
communication; logic for communicating with a recording system to determine
the
processing capabilities of the recording system; logic for determining whether
to
adjust packet size of the data based on the processing capabilities of the
recording
system; logic for responsive to determining that the packet size are to be
adjusted,
adjusting the packet size of the data based on the processing capabilities of
the
recording system; and logic for transmitting the data with the adjusted packet
size to
the recording system.
[0010a] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method
for recording in a customer center environment, comprising:
capturing screen data and audio data related to a communication at a
telephony device, the screen data and audio data communicated as data from the
telephony device over a network infrastructure;
communicating with a recording system to determine the capabilities of the
recording system;
determining whether to adjust a packet size of the data based on the
processing capabilities of the recording system;
responsive to determining that the packet size is to be adjusted, adjusting
the
packet size of the data based on the processing capabilities of the recording
system;
and
transmitting the data with the adjusted packet size to the recording system.
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[0010b] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a
system for recording communications at customer center environment,
comprising:
a recording system coupled to a network records communications data; and
a telephony component configured to capture screen data and audio data
related to a communication, the screen data and audio data communicated as
data
from the telephony component over a network infrastructure, the telephone
component operable to communicate with the recording system to determine
processing capabilities of the recording system, the telephony component being
further operable to determine whether to adjust packet size of the data based
on the
processing capabilities of the recording system, responsive to determining
that the
packet size is to be adjusted, the telephony component being further operable
to
receive the communications data and adjust the packet size of the data based
on the
processing capabilities of the recording system, the telephony component being
further operable to transmit the communications data with the adjusted packet
size to
the recording system.
[0010c] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a
media processing and distributing device for facilitating a recording in a
customer
center environment, comprising:
logic for capturing screen data and audio data related to a communication,
the screen data and audio data communicated as data from a telephony device
over
a network infrastructure;
logic for determining whether to adjust packet size of the data based on the
processing capabilities of the recording system;
logic for responsive to determining that the packet size is to be adjusted,
adjusting the packet size of the data based on the processing capabilities of
the
recording system; and
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logic for transmitting the data with the adjusted packet size to the recording
system.
[0010d] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a
method for recording a communication at a customer center environment
comprising:
communicating with a telephony component in a communications network
associated with a recording system to determine the telephony component's
capabilities, the telephony component capturing screen data and audio data
related
to a communication, the screen data and audio data communicated as data from
the
telephony component over a network infrastructure;
determining whether the telephony component can modify the
communications data associated with the communication based on the
capabilities of
the telephony component;
responsive to determining that the telephony component has the capabilities,
transmitting instructions to the telephony component to modify the
communications
data based on the capabilities of the telephony components;
receiving the modified communications data from the telephony component;
and
recording the received communications data.
[0010e] In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there
is
provided a method for recording in a customer center environment, comprising:
capturing screen data and audio data related to a communication at a
telephone device, the screen data and audio data communicated as data from the
telephony device over a network infrastructure;
communicating with a recording system to determine the capabilities of the
recording system;
determining whether to adjust a packet size of the data based on a customer
center communications infrastructure;
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responsive to determining that the packet size is to be adjusted, adjusting
the
packet size of the data based on the customer center communications
infrastructure;
and
transmitting the data with the adjusted packet size to the recording system.
[0011] Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of this disclosure
will be
or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the
following
drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional
systems,
methods, features, and advantages be included within this description and be
within
the scope of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the
following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to
scale,
emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the
present
disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate
corresponding parts throughout the several views. While several embodiments
are
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described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit the
disclosure
to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent
is to
cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system in which
communication can be recorded by a recorder located on an associated network;
FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an embodiment of a telephony
component that can be configured to facilitate recording of a communication in
a
communications network, such as that shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system in which a
communication can be recorded by a recorder in a customer center using a soft
switch, conference bridge, agent phone, media communication device, voice
gateway, capture control server, and/or media application server;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps that can be taken by a
telephony component for recording a contact in a communications network, such
as
that described in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps that can be taken during
conferencing, duplicate media streaming, and storing-forwarding for recording
communication in a communications network, such as that described in FIG. 3;
and
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps that can be taken for a
recorder in a communications network, such as that described in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Included in this disclosure are embodiments of integrated workforce
optimization platforms, as discussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication
No. 2002/0198322 filed on February 22, 2006, entitled "Systems and Methods
for Workforce Optimization." At least one embodiment of an integrated
workforce optimization platform integrates: (1) Quality Monitoring/Call
Recording - voice of the customer; the complete customer experience across
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
multimedia touch points; (2) Workforce Management - strategic forecasting and
scheduling that drives efficiency and adherence, aids in planning, and helps
facilitate
optimum staffing and service levels; (3) Performance Management - key
performance indicators (KPIs) and scorecards that analyze and help identify
synergies, opportunities and improvement areas; (4) e-Learning - training, new
information and protocol disseminated to staff, leveraging best practice
customer
interactions and delivering learning to support development; and/or (5)
Analytics -
deliver insights from customer interactions to drive business performance. By
way of
example, the integrated workforce optimization process and system can include
planning and establishing goals - from both an enterprise and center
perspective - to
ensure alignment and objectives that complement and support one another. Such
planning may be complemented with forecasting and scheduling of the workforce
to
ensure optimum service levels. Recording and measuring performance may also be
utilized, leveraging quality monitoring/call recording to assess service
quality and the
customer experience.
[0015] Exemplary systems are first discussed with reference to the figures.
Although
these systems are described in detail, they are provided for purposes of
illustration
only avid various modifications are feasible. After the exemplary systems are
described, examples of flow diagrams and sequence diagrams of the systems are
provided to explain the manner in which communications data can be recorded.
[0016] Referring now in more detail to the figures, FIG. 1 is a schematic
diagram of
an embodiment of a system in which communication at a company, e.g., a
customer
center, can be recorded by a recorder located on a network 119, such as an
Internet
Protocol (IP) Network, connected to the company. As used herein, a customer
center includes, but is not limited to, outsourced contact centers, outsourced
customer relationship management, customer relationship management, voice of
the
customer, customer interaction, contact center, multi-media contact center,
remote
office, distributed enterprise, work-at-home agents, remote agents, branch
office,
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back office, performance optimization, workforce optimization, hosted contact
centers, and speech analytics, for example.
[0017] The embodiments of systems and methods of recording media communication
via a recorder are discussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
2007/0258434 filed on March 31, 2006, entitled "Duplicate Media Stream," U.S.
Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0263786 filed on March 31, 2006,
entitled
"Systems and Methods for endpoint recording using phones," U.S. Patent
Application
Publication No. 2007/0263787, entitled "Systems and Methods for endpoint
recording
using a conference bridge," U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
2007/0230478
filed on March 31, 2006, entitled "Systems and Methods for endpoint recording
using
a media application server," U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
2007/0230444
filed on September 29, 2006, entitled "Systems and Methods for endpoint
recording
using gateways," and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0230446
filed on
September 29, 2006, entitled "Systems and Methods for endpoint recording using
recorders."
[0018] Referring back to FIG. 1, two branch offices 103, 106 are depicted that
may need
to record communication between employees and between employees and
customers. Customer communication devices 123, 136 connect to branch offices
103, 106 either via the network 119 or via a Public Switched Telephony Network
(PSTN) 116, 133, or both, respectively. The customer communication devices
123,
136 can include, but are not limited to, telephones, soft-phones on hand held
devices, or Personal Computers.
[0019] Recording device(s) 126 can be deployed on the network 119 connected to
the
branch offices 103, 106. Alternatively or additionally, the recording devices
126 can
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communicate with media controlling/processing/distributing devices 113, 131 in
a
secure encrypted environment, for getting communication events and for sending
instructions. For example, the recording devices 126 can communicate with
telephony components at the company premises 103, 106 to distribute recording-
related transcoding for desired recording performances or based on a business
policy. One advantage, among others, is that the recording devices 126 can
reduce
their processing load by having a telephony component, such as a handset,
store-
forward device, soft switch, gateway, conference bridge, and/or media
application
server, to adjust the packet size and/or change the codec of a communication
data
before the recording devices 126 receive the communication data. The modified
communication data can increase the performance of the recording devices 126
by
reducing the processing load of the recording devices 126.
[0020] Embodiments of a store-forward device are discussed in U.S. Patent
Application
Publication No. 2007/0263785 filed on March 31, 2006, entitled "Distributed
Voice
Over Internet Protocol Recording." In operation, embodiments of the store-
forward
device can include, but not limited to, communication devices 109, 129 and
media
controlling/processing/ distributing devices 113, 131. Screen capture of
various data
related to a communication can be implemented such that an application server
can
contact the capture daemon and obtain screen frames associated with a
communication. Similarly, for voice capture, many communications devices, such
as
IP telephones, generally include a small switching hub and can be wired in
between
a local network infrastructure and the media
controlling/processing/distributing
devices 113, 131 proximate to the communications devices 109, 129.
[0021] With the capability of the recording devices 126 to communicate with
the media
controlling/processing/distributing devices 113, 131, the recording device 126
can
request to modify data associated with communications at the customer center
before receiving and recording the communications data. Alternatively or
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additionally, if a recording device is a cluster of recording devices, the
recording
device can communicate with the media controlling/processing/distributing
devices
113, 131 to select which recording device from the cluster of recording
devices to
record the communications for load balancing purposes.
[0022] The media controlling/processing devices control the communication
between
customers and employees and between employees. The media
controlling/processing devices can include, but are not limited to, voice
gateways,
soft switches, conference bridges, and multi-media application servers. The
distributing devices can include, but are not limited to, routers and
switches. Based
on static configuration or instructions from the recording devices, the media
controlling/processing devices can duplicate and transmit on-going
communication
between communication devices 109, 129, 123, 136 to the recording devices via
the
network 119 using its media processing features. Alternatively or
additionally, the
media controlling/processing devices can also instruct a communication device
109,
129 at the company premises 103, 106, respectively, to duplicate and transmit
any
on-going communications to the recording devices 126 using media processing
features on the communication devices 109, 129.
[0023] FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an embodiment of a
telephony
component 109, 113, 126, 129, 131 that can be configured to facilitate
recording
communication in a communications network, such as that shown in FIG. 1.
Although
a wire-line device is illustrated, this discussion can be applied to any
device.
Generally, in terms of hardware architecture, as shown in FIG. 2, each
component 109,
113, 126, 129, 131 can include a processor 282, volatile and nonvolatile
memory 284,
a display interface 294, data storage 295, and one or more input and/or output
(I/O)
device interface(s) 296 that are communicatively coupled via a local interface
292.
The local interface 292 can include, for example, but not limited to, one or
more buses
or other wired or wireless connections. The local interface 292 may have
additional
elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers
(caches),
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CA 02600378 2007-09-28
drivers, repeaters, and receivers to enable communications. Further, the local
interface may include address, control, and/or data connections to enable
appropriate
communications among the aforementioned components.
[0024] The processor 282 can be a hardware device for executing software,
particularly software stored in the volatile and nonvolatile memory 284. The
processor
282 can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central
processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors
associated
with the telephony component 109, 113, 126, 129, 131, a semiconductor based
microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set), a macroprocessor, or
generally
any device for executing software instructions. Examples of suitable
commercially
available microprocessors are as follows: a PA-RISC series microprocessor from
Hewlett-Packard Company, an 80x86 or Pentium series microprocessor from
Intel
Corporation, a PowerPC microprocessor from IBM , a Sparc microprocessor from
Sun Microsystems , Inc, or a 68xxx series microprocessor from Motorola
Corporation.
[0025] The volatile and nonvolatile memory 284 can include any one or
combination
of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM), such as DRAM,
SRAM, SDRAM, etc.) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., read-only memory
(ROM), hard drive, tape, CDROM, etc.). Moreover, the memory 284 can
incorporate
electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that
the
volatile and nonvolatile memory 284 can have a distributed architecture, where
various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed
by
the processor 282.
[0026] The software in the volatile and nonvolatile memory 284 may include one
or
more separate programs, each of which includes an ordered listing of
executable
instructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of FIG. 2, the
software
in the volatile and nonvolatile memory 284 may include a communications
software
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
299, as well as an operating system 286. The communications software 299 can
include logic configured to adjust packet size, change codec type, and mix
communications data for transmission over a data network, as well as logic
configured to otherwise facilitate a communication. As a nonlimiting example,
embodiments of communications software 299 are configured to increase or
decrease the packet size, change codec type, and mix the communications data
to
improve performance of the recorders and network.
[0027] Similarly, with respect to operating system 286, a nonexhaustive list
of
examples of suitable commercially available operating systems is as follows:
(a) a
Windows operating system available from Microsoft Corporation; (b) a Netware
operating system available from Novell , Inc.; (c) a Macintosh operating
system
available from Apple Computer, Inc.; (d) a UNIX operating system, which is
available for purchase from many vendors, such as the Hewlett-Packard
Company,
Sun Microsystems , Inc., and AT&T Corporation; (e) a LINUX operating system,
which is a freeware that is readily available on the Internet; (f) a run time
Vxworks
operating system from WindRiver Systems, Inc.; or (g) an appliance-based
operating system, such as that implemented in handheld computers or personal
data
assistants (PDAs) (e.g., PaImOS available from Palm Computing, Inc., and
Windows CE available from Microsoft Corporation). The operating system 286
can be configured to control the execution of other computer programs and
provides
scheduling, input-output control, file and data management, memory management,
and communication control and related services.
[0028] A system component embodied as software may also be construed as a
source program, executable program (object code), script, or any other entity
comprising a set of instructions to be performed. When constructed as a source
program, the program is translated via a compiler, assembler, interpreter, or
the like,
which may or may not be included within the volatile and nonvolatile memory
284, so
as to operate properly in connection with the Operating System 286.
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[0029] The Input/Output devices (not shown) that can be coupled to the I/O
Interface(s) 296 can include input devices, for example, but not limited to, a
keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, headset, handset, microphone, earphone,
etc. Further, the Input/Output devices can also include output devices, for
example,
but not limited to, a printer, display, etc. Finally, the Input/Output devices
can further
include devices that communicate both as inputs and outputs, for example, but
not
limited to, a modulator/demodulator (modem; for accessing another device,
system,
or network), a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonic
interface, a
bridge, a router, etc.
[0030] If the telephony component 109, 113, 126, 129, 131 is a personal
computer,
workstation, or the like, the software in the volatile and nonvolatile memory
284 can
further include a basic input output system (BIOS) (omitted for simplicity).
The BIOS
is a set of software routines that initialize and test hardware at startup,
start the
Operating System, and support the transfer of data among the hardware devices.
The BIOS is stored in ROM so that the BIOS can be executed when the telephony
component 109, 113, 126, 129, 131 is activated.
[0031] When the telephony component 109, 113, 126, 129, 131 is in operation,
the
processor 282 is configured to execute software stored within the volatile and
nonvolatile memory 284, to communicate data to and from the volatile and
nonvolatile memory 284, and to generally control operations of the
communications
device 106 pursuant to the software. Software in memory, in whole or in part,
are
read by the processor 282, perhaps buffered within the processor 282, and then
executed.
[0032] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system 300 in which
communication can be recorded by a recorder 339, 343 in a customer center
using a
capture control server 303, soft switch 306, conference bridge 309, agent
phones
319, 323, 326, media communication devices 359, 363, voice gateway 313, and
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media application server 349, respectively, via an IP network 333 or any
communications network. The capture control server 303, soft switch 306,
conference bridge 309, agent phones 319, 323, 326, media communication devices
359, 363, voice gateway 313, and media application server 349 communicate with
each other in a telephony system 301 via a company network 316. The company
network 316 and IP network 333 can include, but are not limited to, a wide
area
network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a virtual private network (VPN) and
the
Internet.
SPANNING
[0033] In order to record the data associated with communications at the
customer
center using passive tapping, recorders are deployed at the media processing
device
or distribution devices using a SPAN feature on these devices. These tapping
features are often available to the recorders that are directly connected to
the media
processing device or distribution devices, namely to recorders deployed at
each
branch office. The devices using the SPAN features can include, but are not
limited
to switch 306, voice gateway 313, and media application server 349. The SPAN
devices can communicate with each recorder 339, 343 to determine whether the
SPAN devices can be configured to adjust the packet size of the communications
data. The recorder 339, 343 can request the SPAN devices to generate a certain
packet size of the communications data to improve, e.g., optimize, the
performance
of the recorder. For example, the packet size can be adjusted to be, for
example, 20
ms, 180 ms, or 1 second (s) of audio data in a single frame, which is then
transmitted
over the network using a real-time transport protocol (RTP) using, for
example, a
G.711 or G.729 - both are standards for audio coding. In general, a packet
size of
approximately greater than 160 millisecond (ms) of communications data
facilitates
reducing the number of times the recorder processes a packet of communications
data.
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[0034] Alternatively or additionally, the SPAN devices can obtain information
associated with the transmission bandwidth of the network via a network server
(not
shown). The SPAN devices can be configured to adjust the packet size of the
communications data to improve, for example, the transmission bandwidth of the
network. For example, at a central office of a customer center, the packet
size can
be increased because the transmission bandwidth of the network at the central
office
can sustain the increased packet size without diminishing the performance of
the
network. On the other hand, at a branch office with typically less
transmission
bandwidth than the central office, the packet size can be decreased to avoid
diminishing the performance of the network.
[0035] Alternatively or additionally, the SPAN devices can further be
configured to
change the codec type of the communications data to improve the performance of
the recorder. The type of codec includes, but is not limited to, G71 1 format,
G729
format, moving picture experts group audio layer 3 (MP3) and Windows media
audio (WMA), among others. Alternatively or additionally, the SPAN devices can
further be configured to mix at least two audio streams of the communications
data
into one stream and transmit the mixed audio stream to the recorder. This can
increase the performance of the recorder by enabling the recorder to focus on
recording the mixed audio stream rather than mixing the audio streams.
[0036] Alternatively or additionally, if the SPAN devices determine that the
audio
streams are to be processed for speech recognition based on a business policy,
the
SPAN devices may not mix the audio streams and transmits the two audio streams
to
a recorder from which the two audio streams can be retrieved by a speech
recognition server. An operation of the SPAN devices is further described in
relation
to FIG. 4.
CONFERENCING
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[0037] In another scenario, for example, each recorder 339, 343 can
communicate
with the conference bridge 309 to determine whether the conference bridge 309
can
be configured to adjust the packet size and/or change the codec type of the
communications data. In this embodiment, calls from the customer phone (not
shown) can be routed to a voice gateway 313, which can route the calls to the
soft
switch 306. The soft switch 306 receives incoming calls and routes the calls
to the
agent phones 319, 323, 326. The soft switch 306 communicates with the
conference
bridge 309 via the company network 316.
[0038] The soft switch 306 is operative to send a command to the agent phones
319,
323, 326 and voice gateway 306 via the company network 316, instructing the
agent
phones 319, 323, 326 and voice gateway 306 to transmit the communications data
associated with the calls through the conference bridge 309 via the company
network
316. The recorders 339, 343 can communicate with the conference bridge via the
IP
network 333 and the company network 316 to determine a desired, e.g., optimal,
packet size and codec type of the communications data based on the
capabilities of
the recorders 339, 343.
[0039] Once the conference bridge 309 determines the desired packet size and
codec type of the communications data for the recorders 339, 343, the
conference
bridge 309 receives the communications data from the agent phones 319, 323,
326
and voice gateway 306, adjusts the packet size and/or changes the codec type
according to the determined packet size and codec type, respectively.
Alternatively
or additionally, the conference bridge 309 can adjust the packet size of the
communications data to improve, for example, the transmission bandwidth of the
networks 316, 333. Alternatively or additionally, the conference bridge 309
can
further be configured to mix at least two audio streams of the communications
data
into one stream and transmit the mixed audio stream to the recorder.
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
[0040] Alternatively or additionally, the conference bridge 309 can determine
whether the agent phones 319, 323, 326 and voice gateway 313 can adjust the
packet size, change codec type and/or mix media streams. Responsive to
determining that the agent phones 319, 323, 326 and voice gateway 313 have the
capabilities, the conference bridge 309 can request the agent phones 319, 323,
326
and voice gateway 313 to adjust the packet size, change codec type and/or mix
media streams and transmit the modified communications data to the conference
bridge 309. The conference bridge 309 then transmits the modified
communications
data to the recorders 339, 343 to record the modified communications data in
optimal
fashion. An operation of the conference bridge 309 is further described in
relation to
FIG. 5.
DUPLICATE MEDIA STREAMING
[0041] In another scenario, for example, each recorder 339, 343 can
communicate
with a duplicate media streaming (DMS) device to determine whether the DMS
device can be configured to adjust the packet size and/or change the codec
type of
the communications data. In general, the DMS device can receive, duplicate and
transmit the communications data to the recorder 339, 343 without using the
conference bridge 309. The DMS device includes, but is not limited to, the
soft/IP
phone 319, 323, 326, soft switch 306, voice gateway 313, and media application
server 349, among others.
A. SOFT/IP PHONES
[0042] In one scenario, for example, each recorder 339, 343 can communicate
with
the agent phones 319, 323, 326 in a spanning environment to determine whether
the
phones can be configured to adjust the packet size of the communications data.
The
recorder 339, 343 can request the agent phones 319, 323, 326 to generate a
certain
packet size of the communications data to improve the performance of the
recorder.
16
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
[0043] Alternatively or additionally, the phones 319, 323, 326 can obtain
information
associated with the transmission bandwidth of the network via a network server
(not
shown). The phones 319, 323, 326 can be configured to adjust the packet size
of the
communications data to improve the performance of the network.
[0044] Alternatively or additionally, the agent phones 319, 323, 326 can
further be
configured to change the codec type of the communications data to improve the
performance of the recorder. Alternatively or additionally, the agent phones
319,
323, 326 can further be configured to mix at least two audio streams of the
communications data into one stream and transmit the mixed audio stream to the
recorder. An operation of the agent phone is further described in relation to
FIG. 4.
B. SOFT SWITCH
[0045] In general, calls from a customer phone can be routed to the voice
gateway
313, which can route the calls to the soft switch 306. The soft switch 706
receives
incoming calls and routes the calls to the agent phones 319, 323, 326. The
soft
switch 306 can duplicate and transmit the communications data associated with
the
calls to the recorders 339, 343 using the IP network 333. The recorders 339,
343
can communicate with the soft switch 306 via the IP network 333 and the
company
network 316 to determine the desired packet size and codec type of the
communications data based on the capabilities of the recorders 339, 343. The
recorders 339, 343 can use Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or a computer
telephony
integration (CTI) link to communicate with the soft switch 306.
[0046] Once the soft switch 306 determines the desired packet size and codec
type
of the communications data for the recorders 339, 343, the soft switch 306
receives
the communications data from the voice gateway 306, adjusts the packet size
and/or
changes the codec type according to the determined packet size and codec type,
respectively. Alternatively or additionally, the soft switch 306 can adjust
the packet
size of the communications data to improve, for example, the transmission
bandwidth
17
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
of the network. Alternatively or additionally, the soft switch 306 can further
be
configured to mix at least two audio streams of the communications data into
one
stream and transmit the mixed audio stream to the recorder.
[0047] Alternatively or additionally, the soft switch 306 can determine
whether the
voice gateway 313 can adjust the packet size, change codec type and/or mix
media
streams. Responsive to determining that the voice gateway 313 has the
capabilities,
the soft switch 306 can request the voice gateway 313 to adjust the packet
size,
change codec type and/or mix media streams and transmit the modified
communications data to the soft switch 306. The soft switch 306 then transmits
the
modified communications data to the recorders 339, 343 to improve the
performance
of the recorders 339, 343 to record the modified communications data. An
operation
of the soft switch 306 is further described in relation to FIG. 5.
C. MEDIA APPLICATION SERVER
[0048] In general, the media application server 349 receives incoming media
communications, identifies the type of media communications, and routes the
media
communications to media communication devices 359, 363 via the company network
316. The media application server 349 can send a command to the media
communication devices 359, 363 via the company network 316, instructing the
media
communication devices 359, 363 to transmit the media communications through
the
media application server 349 via the company network 316. The media
application
server 349 duplicates and transmits the media communications to the recorders
333,
343 using the IP network 333. The recorders 339, 343 can communicate with the
media application server 349 via the IP network 333 and the company network
316 to
determine the desired packet size and codec type of the communications data
based
on the capabilities of the recorders 339, 343.
[0049] Once the media application server 349 determines the desired packet
size
and codec type of the communications data for the recorders 339, 343, the
media
18
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
application server 349 receives the communications data from the media
communication devices 359, 363, adjusts the packet size according to the
determined packet size and/or changes the codec type according to the
determined
codec type. Alternatively or additionally, the media application server 349
can adjust
the packet size of the communications data to improve, for example, the
transmission
bandwidth of the network.
[0050] Alternatively or additionally, the media application server 349 can
determine
whether the media communication devices 359, 363 can adjust the packet size,
change codec type and/or mix media streams. Responsive to determining that the
media communication devices 359, 363 have the capabilities, the media
application
server 349 can request the media communication devices 359, 363 to adjust the
packet size, change codec type and/or mix media streams. The media
communication devices 359, 363 then transmit the modified communications data
to
the media application server 349. The media application server 349 then
transmits
the modified communications data to the recorders 339, 343 to improve the
performance of the recorders 339, 343 to record the modified communications
data.
An operation of the media application server 349 is further described in
relation to
FIG. 5.
D. VOICE GATEWAY
[0051] The voice gateway 313 can perform the functions of duplicating and
transmitting the communications data to the recorders 339, 343. For example,
the
voice gateway 313 receives instructions to record communications data from the
soft
switch 306. The voice gateway 313 receives, manages, and routes the
communications data to the agent phones 319, 323, 326 via the company network
316. The voice gateway 313 determines whether to record the received
19
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
communications data at the agent phones 319, 323, 326 according to the
received
instructions. If the voice gateway 313 determines that the communications data
are
to be recorded, the voice gateway 313 duplicates and transmits the
communications
data to the recorders 339, 343, using the networks 316, 333.
[0052] The recorders 339, 343 can communicate with the voice gateway 313 via
the
IP network 333 and the company network 316 to determine the desired packet
size
and codec type of the communications data based on the capabilities of the
recorders 339, 343. Once the voice gateway 313 determines the desired packet
size and codec type of the communications data for the recorders 339, 343, the
voice
gateway 313 receives the communications data from the agent phones 319, 323,
326, adjusts the packet size according to the determined packet size and/or
changes
the codec type according to the determined codec type.
[0053] Alternatively or additionally, the voice gateway 313 can adjust the
packet size
of the communications data to improve, for example, the transmission bandwidth
of
the network. Alternatively or additionally, the voice gateway 313 can
determine
whether the agent phones 319, 323, 326 can adjust the packet size, change
codec
type and/or mix media streams. Responsive to determining that the agent phones
319, 323, 326 have the capabilities, the voice gateway 313 can request the
agent
phones 319, 323, 326 to adjust the packet size, change codec type and/or mix
media
streams. The agent phones 319, 323, 326 then transmit the modified
communications data to the voice gateway 313. The voice gateway 313 then
transmits the modified communications data to the recorders 339, 343 to
improve the
performance of the recorders 339, 343 to record the modified communications
data.
[0054] Alternatively or additionally, the voice gateway 313 is operative to be
configured to duplicate the communications data and transmit the duplicated
communications data to a second voice gateway (not shown). The second voice
gateway transmits the duplicated communications data to a desired endpoint
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
component, such as the recorders 333, 343, using one of an endpoint component
name, an IP address, a SIP address, and a domain name system (DNS) name of the
desired endpoint component across the company and/or IP networks 316, 333. The
second voice gateway can modify the duplicated communications data similar to
the
operations of voice gateway 313 explained above. An operation of the voice
gateway 313 is further described in relation to FIG. 5.
STORING AND FORWARDING
[0055] In another scenario, for example, each recorder 339, 343 can
communicate
with the capture control server 303 to determine whether a computing device
having
the capabilities of capturing screen and audio of the communications data can
be
configured to adjust the packet size and/or change the codec type of the
communications data.
[0056] The media communication device 359, 363 can include, but not limited
to, a
computing device. The computing device 359, 363 can be coupled to the agent
phone 319, 323, 326 via the network 316. Alternatively or additionally,
although not
shown, computing device 359, 363 can be directly coupled to the agent phone
319,
323, 326 without using the company network 316. The computing device 359, 363
is further configured to send at least a portion of communications data to the
recorders 339, 343. The computing device 359, 363 includes a screen capture
daemon configured to facilitate capture of visual data related to the
communications
data, a capture control daemon configured to assemble communications data into
data streams, and a voice capture daemon configured to facilitate capture of
audio
data. A capture control server 303 communicates with the computing device 359,
363 and is configured to provide a command to the computing device. The
recorders
339, 343 can communicate with the capture control server 303 via the IP
network
333 and the company network 316 to determine the desired packet size and codec
type of the communications data based on the capabilities of the recorders
339, 343.
21
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
[0057] Once the capture control server 303 determines the desired packet size
and
codec type of the communications data for the recorders 339, 343, the capture
control server 303 communicates with computing device 359, 363 to determine
whether the computing device 359, 363 can adjust the packet size, change codec
type and/or mix media streams. If the computing device 359, 363 has the
capabilities, the capture control server 303 transmits a command associated
with the
determined packet size and codec type of the communications data. Responsive
to
receiving the command, the computing device 359, 363 receives the captured
communications data from the agent phones 319, 323, 326, voice gateway 306 and
media application server 349, adjusts the packet size according to the
determined
packet size and/or changes the codec type according to the determined codec
type.
[0058] Alternatively or additionally, the computing device 359, 363 can adjust
the
packet size of the communications data to improve the capabilities of the
network,
e.g., transmission bandwidth. Alternatively or additionally, the computing
device
359, 363 can determine whether the agent phones 319, 323, 326, voice gateway
313, and media application server 349 can adjust the packet size, change codec
type
and/or mix media streams.
[0059] Responsive to determining that the agent phones 319, 323, 326, voice
gateway 313, and media application server 349 have the capabilities, the
computing
device 359, 363 can request the agent phones 319, 323, 326, voice gateway 313,
and media application server 349 to adjust the packet size, change codec type
and/or mix media streams and transmit the modified communications data to the
computing device 359, 363. The computing device 359, 363 then captures the
modified communications data and transmits the captured communications data to
the recorders 339, 343 to improve the performance of the recorders 339, 343 to
record the modified communications data. Alternatively or additionally, the
computing device 359, 363 can forward the stored communications data from one
22
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
recording system to another recording system. An operation of the computing
device
359, 363 is further described in relation to FIG. 5.
[0060] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps that can be taken by
a
telephony component for recording a contact in a communications network, such
as
that described in FIG. 3. Beginning with Step 410, the telephony component
communicates with a recorder to determine the capabilities of the recorder.
Step
415 obtains information associated with the transmission bandwidth of the
communications network. In general, the telephony component can obtain
information associated with the customer center's communications
infrastructure.
For example, the telephony component obtains not only information associated
with the transmission bandwidth, but also, bandwidth allocation, network usage
and network traffic, among others.
[0061] Step 420 determines whether the telephony component can be configured
to
adjust the packet size of data associated with communications at a customer
center,
change the codec type of the communications data, and mix at least two media
streams associated with the communications data into one stream. If the packet
size is determined to be adjusted, step 425 adjusts the packet size of the
communications data based on the capabilities of the communications
infrastructure
and/or recorder. If the codec type is determined to be changed, step 430
changes
the codec type of the communications data based on the capabilities of the
recorder.
[0062] If the media streams associated with the incoming call is determined to
be
mixed into one stream, step 435 mixes the media streams into one stream based
on
business policy. For example, if the audio streams are not processed for
speech
recognition, then the audio streams are mixed and transmitted to the recorder
to be
recorded. If the audio streams are to be processed for speech recognition,
then the
two audio streams are not mixed and transmitted as two separated audio streams
to
a speech recognition server. Step 440 transmits the communications data with
the
23
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
adjusted packet size, changed codec type, and/or mixed media streams to the
recorder to be recorded.
[0063] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps that can be taken
during
conferencing, duplicate media streaming, and storing-forwarding for recording
a
contact in a communications network, such as that described in FIG. 3. Step
510
communicates with a recorder to determine the capabilities of the recorder.
Step
515 obtains information associated with the transmission bandwidth of the
communications network.
[0064] Step 520 determines whether telephony components, conference bridge,
DMS device and store-forward devices can be configured to adjust the packet
size
of data associated with the communications at a customer center, change the
codec
type of the communications data, and/or mix at least two media streams
associated
with the communications data into one stream. The telephony components that
transmit communications data to the conference bridge include, but are not
limited to,
agent phones 319, 323, 326 and voice gateway 313. The telephony components
that transmit communications data to the DMS device include, but are not
limited to,
agent phones 319, 323, 326, media communication device 359, 363, voice gateway
313 and customer phones, among others. The telephony components that transmit
communication data to the store-forward device include, but are not limited
to, agent
phones 319, 323, 326, voice gateway 306 and media application server 349. In
general, the telephony components transmit communications data to the
conference
bridge, DMS device, and store-forward device, which, in turn, transmit the
communications data to the recorders 339, 343.
[0065] If the telephony components are determined to have the capabilities,
step 521
requests the telephony components to modify the communications data based on
the
capabilities of the network and/or recorder. If the telephony components do
not have
the capabilities, then the conference bridge, DMS device, and/or store-forward
24
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
device, as in step 523, receive the communications data and modify the
communications data based on the capabilities of the network and/or recorder.
The
conference bridge, DMS device, and/or store-forward device can modify the
recorder's streams and/or all streams associated with the communications data.
[0066] Alternatively or additionally, the conference bridge, DMS device,
and/or store-
forward device can receive modified communications data from one source and
non-
modified communications data from another source. In this case, the conference
bridge, DMS device, and store-forward device directly transmit the modified
communications data to the recorder. However, the conference bridge and/or DMS
device can modify the non-modified communications data and then transmit the
modified communications data to the recorder.
[0067] Either with the telephone components, conference bridge, DMS device,
and/or store-forward device, if the packet size is determined to be adjusted,
step 525
adjusts the packet size of the communications data based on the capabilities
of the
network and/or recorder. If the codec type is determined to be changed, step
530
changes the codec type of the communications data based on the capabilities of
the
recorder. If the media streams associated with the incoming call is determined
to be
mixed into one stream, step 535 mixes the media streams into one stream based
on
business policy. Step 540 transmits the communications data with the adjusted
packet size, changed codec type, and/or mixed media streams to the recorder to
be
recorded.
[0068] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps that can be taken
for a
recorder in a communications network, such as that described in FIG. 3. Step
610
communicates with a telephony component to determine the capabilities of the
telephony component through, for example, SIP using Session Description
Protocol
(SDP). Step 615 obtains information associated with the transmission bandwidth
of the communications network.
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
[0069] Step 620 determines whether the telephony component can be configured
to
adjust the packet size of data associated with the communications at a
customer
center, change the codec type of the communications data, and/or mix at least
two
media streams associated with the communications data into one stream. If the
telephony component is determined to have the capabilities, step 621 requests
the
telephony component to modify the communications data based on the
capabilities of
the network and/or recorder. Step 630 receives the communications data with
the
adjusted packet size, changed codec type, and/or mixed media streams to the
recorder to be recorded. If the telephony components do not have the
capabilities,
then step 623 receives the communications data that have not been modified by
the
telephony component.
[0070] It should be noted that the telephony component can include a static
and/or
dynamic configuration. For example, the dynamic configuration can be based on
adaptive learning. That is, the telephony component with adaptive learning can
modify the communications data based on the characteristics of the recorder,
characteristics of the network, business rules, and/or geographical locations.
For
example, the telephony component can modify the communications data at a
certain
time, such as, for example, at 2:00 pm of the weekdays, on certain days of the
week,
on a certain week of the month, on a holiday of the year, and at a certain
season of
the year, among others. In yet another example, the telephony component can
modify the communications data associated with a certain type of calls, such
as,
billing service, technical service, new customer service, among others. In yet
another example, the telephony component can modify the communications data
based on the current network performance. That is, the telephony component can
modify the communications data at a first time period when the network
performance
is optimal; but the telephony component does not modify the communications
data at
a second time period when the network performance is unsatisfactory.
26
CA 02600378 2007-09-28
[0071] Alternatively or additionally, the recorder can have a dynamic
configuration
associated with modifying the communications data. That is, the recorder can
instruct a telephony component to modify the communications data according to
the
different scenarios explained above, such as, predetermined time,
predetermined
bandwidth and predetermined packet size, among others. For example, the
recorder
determines that the network performance is optimal at a first time period and
instructs
the telephony component to modify the communications data during the first
time
period. However, the recorder determines that the network performance is
unsatisfactory at a second time period and instructs the telephony component
not to
modify the communications data at the second time period.
[0072] The static configuration associated with modifying the communications
data
can be manually set for the telephony components. For example, the telephony
components related to, such as, but not limited to, conference bridge, DMS
device,
and/or store-forward device, can be set to increase the packet size to 160 ms
and
change the codec type to G711 for all communications data before the
communications data are transmitted to the recorder. Alternatively or
additionally,
the static configuration can involve streams associated with the conference
bridge,
DMS device, and/or store-forward device, apart from the streams associated
with the
headset.
[0073] Alternatively or additionally, although the recording system can
communicate
with the conference bridge via the soft switch as mentioned above, the
recording
system can communicate with other telephony component via the soft switch.
Alternatively or additionally, the recording system can communicate with any
telephony component via a proxy server.
[0074] One should also note that the flowcharts included herein show the
architecture, functionality, and operation of a possible implementation of
software. In
this regard, each block can be interpreted to represent a module, segment, or
portion
27
CA 02600378 2010-03-02
of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing
the
specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some
alternative
implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order.
For
example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially
concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order,
depending upon the functionality involved.
[0075] One should note that any of the programs listed herein, which can
include an
ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions,
can be
embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an
instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based
system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the
instructions
from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the
instructions. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable medium"
can be
any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the
program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system,
apparatus,
or device. The computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited
to, an
electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor
system,
apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a nonexhaustive list) of the
computer-
readable medium could include an electrical connection (electronic) having one
or
more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory
(RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical
fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM)
(optical). In
addition, the scope of the certain embodiments of this disclosure can include
embodying the functionality described in logic embodied in hardware or
software-
configured mediums.
28
CA 02600378 2010-03-02
[0076] It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely
possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear
understanding of
the principles of this disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be
made to
the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the
spirit
and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are
intended to
be included herein within the scope of this disclosure.
29
