Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CONNECTED MACHINE INITIATED SERVICE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The following disclosure relates generally to communications between a device
and a contact center.
BACKGROUND
A communications system may provide interactions among a user device, a
contact
center, and registered devices to resolve events associated with the one or
more
register devices.
SUMMARY
In a general aspect, the subject matter described in this specification can be
embodied in methods that include the actions of receiving, by a contact
center,
event data that includes an identification of a registered device and a state
of the
registered device, where the registered device is different from the user
device;
determining, by the contact center and based on the event data, a resource
requirement for the communications session between the user device and the
agent device; and generating, by the contact center and based on the resource
requirement, routing information that enables the user device to establish a
communications session with the agent device without a need for a user of the
user
device to provide the identification of the registered device to an agent of
the agent
device.
Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For
example,
the routing information for determining an inbound routing decision may be
stored.
Contact information that includes a reserved contact for establishing the
communications session with the agent device may be transmitted from the
contact
center. A request to establish the communications session with an agent device
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may be received from the user device and by the contact center. The contact
center may determine that the request corresponds to the routing information.
In
response to determining that the request corresponds to the routing
information,
the request may be routed to establish the communications session between the
user device and the agent device.
To transmit the contact information, the contact information may be
transmitted to
the user device. To transmit the contact information, the contact information
may
be transmitted to a digital service interface that is different from the user
device.
The reserved contact may be a reserved telephone number. To determine that the
request corresponds to the routing information, the contact center may
determine,
based on a dialed number identification service (DNIS), that the request
includes
the reserved telephone number.
The identification of the registered device and the state of the registered
device
may be provided to the agent device. A dynamically generated message to be
presented to the user of the user device during the communications session
between the user device and the agent device may be determined by the contact
center based on the event data. In response to determining that the request
corresponds to the routing information, after establishing the communications
session between the user device and the agent device, the contact center may
communicate the dynamically generated message to the user device for
presentation to the user.
Contact information of the user device may be identified. A request to
establish
the communications session between the user device and the agent device may
be transmitted to the user device by the contact center. The contact center
may
determine that the request has been accepted by the user device. In response
to
determining that the request has been accepted by the user device, the contact
center may establish the communications session between the user device and
the
agent device based on the routing information. The identification of the
registered
device and the state of the registered device may be provided to the agent
device.
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One or more recommendations associated with the registered device may be
determined based on the event data by a recommendation server. The one or
more recommendations associated with the registered device may be provided to
the agent device.
Registered device profiles of one or more registered devices may be stored at
the
contact center. To determine the resource requirement for the communications
session between the user device and the agent device, it may be determined
that
the identification of the registered device matches with a particular
registered
device profile of the registered device profiles. The resource requirements
may be
determined based on the particular registered device profile.
To determine the resource requirement for the communications session between
the user device and the agent device, a service level agreement associated
with
the registered device may be retrieved based on the identification of the
registered
device. The resource requirement based on the service level agreement may be
determined. To generate the routing information, the routing information that
enables the user device to establish the communications session with the agent
device may be generated by the contact center and based on the resource
requirement without a need for a user of the user device to provide the state
of the
registered device to the agent of the agent device.
In another general aspect, the subject matter described in this specification
can be
embodied in methods that include the actions of determining, by a digital
service
interface, a state of a registered device that is different from the user
device;
transmitting, to the contact center and by the digital service interface,
first event
data that includes an identification of the registered device and the state of
the
registered device; and providing, to a user of the user device, second event
data
that includes the state of the registered device and information that enables
the
user to establish the communications session with the contact center.
Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For
example,
to determine the state of the registered device, data from the registered
device
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indicating the state of the registered device may be received. To determine
the
state of the registered device, it may be determined that data has not been
received
from the registered device within a predetermined time period.
To transmit the first event data to the contact center, the registered device
may be
communicated, using a first communications protocol, to obtain the state of
the
registered device. The first event data that includes the state of the
registered
device may be generated, based on a second communications protocol that is
different from the first communications protocol. The first event data to the
contact
center may be transmitted using the second communications protocol.
To provide the second event data to the user, the second event data may be
presented to the user via a display of the digital service interface. To
provide the
second event data to the user, the second event data may be transmitted to the
user device. To provide the second event data to the user, the information
that
enables the user to establish the communications session with the contact
center
may be received from the contact center.
After the communications session is established between the user device and
the
contact center, a request from the contact center to obtain additional data
associated with the registered device may be received by the digital service
interface. In response to receiving the request from the contact center, the
additional data may be obtained by the digital service interface from the
registered
device. The additional data to the contact center may be transmitted by the
digital
service interface.
The digital service interface may be embedded in the registered device. The
digital
service interface may be an application executed by the user device. The
digital
service interface may be implemented on a device that is different from the
.. registered device and the user device. The information that enables the
user to
establish the communications session with the contact center may include a
telephone number. The information that enables the user to establish the
communications session with the contact center may include scripts that are
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executable by the digital service interface or the user device to enable the
user to
establish the communications session with the contact center without dialing a
telephone number.
In one embodiment, there is provided a computer-implemented method for
establishing a communications session between a user device and an agent
device. The method involves receiving, by a processor associated with a
contact
center, prior to start of a communications session with the user device, event
data
that includes an identification of a registered device and a state of the
registered
device, wherein the registered device is different from the user device. The
method
further involves determining, by the processor, a resource requirement based
on
the event data, the determining of the resource requirement being in
anticipation
of an interaction establishing the communications session with the user
device.
The method further involves generating, by the processor, based on the
resource
requirement, routing information for routing the interaction to the agent
device,
wherein an agent associated with the agent device is identified as satisfying
the
resource requirement. The method further involves after generating the routing
information, identifying, by the processor, a request to initiate the
interaction and
determining, by the processor, whether the request is related to the generated
routing information. The method further involves, in response to determining
that
the request is related to the generated routing information, routing the
request to
the agent device, wherein the routing is without input from the user device,
during
the interaction, of the identification of the registered device, and wherein
the routing
establishes the communications session between the user device and the agent
device.
In another embodiment there is provided a computer-implemented system. The
system includes one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-
readable storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one
or
more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform respectively
operations including: receiving, prior to start of a communications session
with a
user device, event data that includes an identification of a registered device
and a
state of the registered device; determining, based on the event data, a
resource
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requirement, the determining of the resource requirement being in anticipation
of
an interaction establishing a communications session with the user device;
generating, based on the resource requirement, routing information for routing
the
interaction to the agent device, wherein an agent associated with an agent
device
is identified as satisfying the resource requirement; after generating the
routing
information, identifying a request to initiate the interaction; determining
whether the
request is related to the generated routing information; and in response to
determining that the request is related to the generated routing information,
routing
the request to the agent device. The routing is without input from the user
device,
during the interaction, of the identification of the registered device. The
routing
establishes the communications session between the user device and the agent
device.
In another embodiment there is provided a computer-implemented method for
managing a communications session between a user device and an agent device
of a contact center. The method involves determining, by a digital service
interface,
a state of a registered device. The registered device is different from the
user
device. The method further involves transmitting to the contact center and by
the
digital service interface, event data that includes an identification of the
registered
device and the state of the registered device. In response to receipt of the
event
data, a server of the contact center is configured to: dynamically generate a
message; transmit the dynamically generated message to the digital service
interface; and prior to receipt by the contact center of a request for an
interaction
related to the event data from a user of the registered device, and in
anticipation of
the interaction for establishing the communications session: identify an agent
of
the contact center, the agent being identified as having skills for handling
the
interaction; and generate routing information for routing the interaction to
the agent.
The generating the routing information includes determining contact
information for
establishing a communications session between the user device and a device of
the identified agent. The method further involves receiving and displaying, by
the
digital service interface, the dynamically generated message for prompting
action
by a user of the user device. In response to the action, the request for the
interaction is transmitted to the contact center. The method further involves
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determining whether the request is related to the generated routing
information,
and in response to determining that the request is related to the generated
routing
information, routing the request to the device of the identified agent. The
method
further involves establishing the communications session between the user
device
and the device of the identified agent in response to the request.
In another embodiment there is provided a computer-implemented system
including one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-
readable storage devices storing instructions that when executed by the one or
more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations
including: determining a state of a registered device. The registered device
is
different from a user device. The operations further include transmitting, to
a
contact center, event data that includes an identification of the registered
device
and the state of the registered device. In response to receipt of the event
data, a
server of the contact center is configured to: dynamically generate a message;
transmit the dynamically generated message to a digital service interface; and
prior
to receipt by the contact center of a request for an interaction related to
the event
data from a user of the registered device, and in anticipation of the
interaction for
establishing a communications session, identify an agent of the contact
center, the
agent being identified as having skills for handling the interaction, and
generate
routing information for routing the interaction to the agent. The generating
the
routing information includes determining contact information for establishing
a
communications session between the user device and a device of the identified
agent. The operations further include receiving and displaying the dynamically
generated message for prompting action by a user of the user device. In
response
to the action, the request for the interaction is configured to be transmitted
to the
contact center. The operations further include determining whether the request
is
related to the generated routing information; in response to determining that
the
request is related to the generated routing information, routing the request
to the
device of the identified agent; and establishing a communications session
between
the user device and the device of the identified agent in response to the
request.
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In another embodiment there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable
storage device storing instructions that when executed by one or more
processors,
cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: determining
a
state of a registered device. The registered device is different from a user
device.
The operations further include transmitting, to a contact center, event data
that
includes an identification of the registered device and the state of the
registered
device. In response to receipt of the event data, a server of the contact
center is
configured to: dynamically generate a message; transmit the dynamically
generated message to a digital service interface; and prior to receipt by the
contact
center of a request for an interaction related to the event data from a user
of the
registered device, and in anticipation of the interaction for establishing a
communications session: identify an agent of the contact center, the agent
being
identified as having skills for handling the interaction; and generate routing
information for routing the interaction to the agent. The generating the
routing
information includes determining contact information for establishing a
communications session between the user device and a device of the identified
agent. The operations further include receiving and displaying the dynamically
generated message for prompting action by a user of the user device. In
response
to the action, the request for the interaction is transmitted to the contact
center. The
operations further include determining whether the request is related to the
generated routing information; in response to determining that the request is
related to the generated routing information, routing the request to the
device of
the identified agent; and establishing the communications session between the
user device and the device of the identified agent in response to the request.
In another embodiment there is provided a computer-implemented method for
establishing a communications session between a plurality of user devices. The
method involves the steps of: receiving, by a processor associated with a
contact
center, prior to the start of the communications session between the plurality
of
user devices, event data that includes an identification of a registered
device and
a state of the registered device from one of the plurality of user devices;
determining, by a digital service interface, a state of the registered user
device that
is different from another user device. The registered user device is machine-
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connected. The method further involves the steps of include determining, by
the
processor, a routing decision based on the event data, the routing decision
being
in anticipation of an interaction establishing the communications session;
automatically transmitting, to a contact center and by the digital service
interface,
first event data that includes the identification of the registered user
device and the
state of the registered user device; providing, to a user of the other user
device,
second event data that includes the state of the registered user device and
information that enables the user to establish a communications session with
the
contact center; and initiating a connection to the contact center, by the
user. The
user is automatically routed to an agent determined by the contact center
appropriate for handling based on the first event data received.
In another embodiment there is provided a computer-implemented system
including one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-
readable storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one
or
more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform respectively
operations. The operations include receiving, by a processor associated with a
contact center, prior to the start of the communications session between the
plurality of user devices, event data that includes an identification of a
registered
device and a state of the registered device from one of the plurality of user
devices,
and determining, by a digital service interface, the state of a registered
user device
that is different from an other user device. The registered user device is
machine-
connected. The operations further include determining, by the processor, a
routing
decision based on the event data, the routing decision being in anticipation
of an
interaction establishing the communications session; automatically
transmitting, to
a contact center and by the digital service interface, first event data that
includes
the identification of the registered user device and the state of the
registered user
device; providing, to a user of the other user device, second event data that
includes the state of the registered user device and information that enables
the
user to establish a communications session with the contact center; initiating
a
connection to the contact center, by the user. The user is automatically
routed to
an agent determined by the contact center appropriate for handling based on
the
first event data received. The operations further include receiving, by the
digital
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service interface, a request from the contact center to obtain additional data
associated with the registered user device; obtaining, by the digital service
interface, the additional data from the registered user device; and
transmitting, by
the digital service interface, the additional data to the contact center.
The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying
drawings and the description below. Other potential features and advantages
will
become apparent from the teachings herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communications system that enables interactions
among a user device, a contact center, and one or more registered devices to
resolve events associated with the one or more registered devices.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communications system that illustrates a stand-
alone
digital service interface providing interactions among a user device, a
contact
center, and a registered device.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communications system that illustrates a
digital
service interface embedded in a registered device to provide interactions
among a
user device, a contact center, and the registered device.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a communications system that illustrates a
digital
service interface being installed as an application running on a user device
to
provide interactions among the user device, a contact center, and a registered
device.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process for a contact
center to
determine routing information for establishing a communications session
between
a user device and an agent device based on an event associated with a
registered
device.
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FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process for a contact
center to
contact a user device in response to an event associated with a registered
device.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process for a digital
service
interface to provide an interface for managing a communications session
between
a user device and a contact center.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A company (or an enterprise, which is used in this description
interchangeably)
may wish to enable its customers to contact it through use of a contact center
via
any of multiple different communications channels (e.g., phone, email, chat,
SMS
or another communications channel that supports communications between a
customer and a service/product provider). For example, a failure tied to a
defective
product that the company has sold to a customer may lead the customer to
engage
a customer service call with an agent through the contact center. A contact
center
may be a department within an organization or enterprise that is responsible
for
handling user-interactions for service and/or sales, such as (but not limited
to), a
contact center, branch store, administrative office, etc. ¨ hereafter referred
to as
"contact center." Critical in this process is the ability of the customer
and/or the
contact center to identify the product through some unique "product
identifier' (e.g.,
a brand or product name, a model or serial number, a version number, etc.).
There
are several conventional ways to communicate the product identifier to a
contact
center prior to the service call. A first approach is to have paper warranty
cards
filled out and submitted to the company when a new product (e.g., an
industrial
furnace, AC unit, or enterprise server) is purchased or installed. This
process could
also be completed by paper or electronically. In either case, after sending in
the
warranty card or submitting the information electronically, there is no longer
any
physical association with the purchased/installed product. Therefore, later on
when service or sales support is required for that particular product, the
customer
must spend significant time conveying the identification of the product to the
contact center.
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A second approach is to attempt to automate capturing the unique product
identifying information, for instance through an interactive voice response
(IVR)
automated voice system. However, due to the complex and highly varied format
of a product's unique identifier, this information typically cannot be entered
using
touchtone-only (e.g., using dual-tone multi-frequency signaling). Some
enterprises
attempt to address this by providing a speech-recognition enabled interface,
so
that the caller can speak the product identifier (e.g., product name, model or
serial
number, etc.). However, depending on the complexity of the product identifier
(e.g.,
alphanumeric string of variable lengths and patterns, proper names used in
brand
and model names, etc.), state-of-the-art speech recognition systems may still
struggle to deliver good usability and high accuracy in capturing this
information.
This technology limitation, along with the fact that most customers do not
know this
unique product identifier information to begin with, makes the second approach
inadequate for many product support situations.
A third approach is a connected-machine that gives indications about itself to
a
diagnostic tool or series of diagnostic monitoring services. A connected-
machine
may be a product, device, system, or apparatus that is embedded with
electronics,
software, sensors, and/or network connectivity to enable the machine to
connect
to a network and to collect and exchange data with another product, device,
system, or apparatus through the network. When multiple connected-machines
are connected through a public or a private network, they may be referred to
collectively as the "Internet of Things (loT)." For example, an enterprise
server
may be embedded with a temperature sensor, where the enterprise server may
send a warning to an administrator in the event that the temperature sensed by
the
temperature sensor exceeds a threshold value. The administrator may then
contact the contact center for further assistance. This method can be more
efficient, but would still fail when the product itself cannot function
properly to
deliver diagnostic information. Moreover, when a product sends indications to
another device or to a contact center, the contact center may still not get
any
warning regarding the customer service call that may occur later, and may
still route
the customer service call blindly to a wrong agent or play a series of IVR
prompts
to collect information in order to route the call to the appropriate agent. In
addition,
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this approach requires changes to the product itself to implement this tool or
service
and may not be done retroactively after the product has been sold or deployed.
As described above, without specific input by the customer, in many instances
there is little or no electronic data readily available for the contact center
to identify
the product and/or to determine the most appropriate resources available to
address the problem. In other words, the customer has to answer questions
about
the registered product before the customer is able to be connected the most
appropriate agent. The product information may be difficult to identify
because (i)
the customer may not have this product information memorized, (ii) the
customer
may not have the product information readily at hand at the moment the
customer
contacts the company trying to trouble-shoot a problem or get sales support,
(iii)
the product information may be printed on a label hidden inside the body of
the
product, (iv) there may be several sets of numbers on the label, or (v) the
product
information may be on a warranty card instead of on the product. Moreover,
oftentimes the format and content of the product-identifying information is
very
complex and arbitrary (e.g., alpha-numeric strings of various lengths and
patterns,
proper names of brands or models, version numbers, etc.). Furthermore, even
when the customer does know this information, technical limitations may make
it
difficult to accurately and easily convey this information to the contact
center when
contacting the company for support, due to the complex and arbitrary format of
the
product identifier. Relatedly, the customer may not have sufficient
information to
identify the issue with the product, as the customer may not understand the
current
state of the product or the error codes being displaying. Thus, even after the
.. customer is connected to an agent, the agent may not have the right skill
set to
resolve the issue, or the agent may not have sufficient information to present
to the
customer additional cross-sell or up-sell opportunities. These situations may
create poor usability, high effort and low satisfaction for the customer, as
well as
inefficiency, high cost-to-serve, and diminished incremental revenue potential
for
the company or enterprise.
A connected-machine initiated routing, like that described in more detail
below,
may allow a contact center to use an event associated with a connected-machine
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to determine the appropriate resources for handling a communications session
between a user and an agent before the communications session starts. For
example, based on event data received from a connected-machine, a contact
center may identify the connected-machine and the associated event, and may
determine a routing decision to route a customer's call to one of the agents
that
have the appropriate skills to resolve the issues related to the event.
Moreover,
based on the event data, the contact center may generate a personalized
greeting
that is associated with both the customer and the event generated by the
connected-machine. In doing so, several advantages may be achieved. First, the
reduced agent or technician time required to identify the product may save
costs
for the company. Second, the user experience with a contact center may improve
because when the customer calls the contact center, the call will be
automatically
routed to an agent that is skilled to resolve the issues related to the event
without
additional customer inputs. Third, a higher first contact resolution (FCR),
improved
.. sales closure rates, decreased transfers, and fewer repeat calls may be
achieved
by being able to get the customer interaction to the best skilled agent per
product
specialization. Fourth, the enterprise may benefit from improved customer
satisfaction as well as the potential to capture cross-sell or up-sell
opportunities.
Fifth, pre-registered device profile data allows services to be delivered
"just in time"
to the customer service and/or sales operations, enabling the owner of the
enterprise product to reduce the amount of time necessary to identify the
product
in need of service and/or sales.
However, even if a contact center may be configured to determine a routing
decision based on an event associated with a connected-machine, the contact
center still may not be configured to process many different protocols across
the
many different types of connected-machines to process the users' demands
effectively. Moreover, a means to proactively and dynamically interact with
the
customer is also desirable to complement the connected-machine initiated
routing
capability. A digital service interface, like that described in more detail
below, may
act as an automated concierge at the customer's end to proactively inform the
customer about events associated with connected-machines, and to facilitate
communications among one or more connected-machines, the customer, and the
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contact center. For example, when an enterprise product is installed, the
digital
service interface may be delivered alongside and may be set-up to register
information about the enterprise product (e.g., model number, serial number,
machine name, owner name, etc.) with the contact center. Alternatively, a
downloadable application may be downloaded onto a mobile device, and the
product information could be registered through this mobile application.
The digital service interface is connected to the customer service environment
(and
thus can ascertain resource availability, skill, skill level, service and/or
sales
priority, estimated wait times, etc.) of a contact center, and can be
configured to
provide relevant service and/or sales options (e.g. service/sales need,
priority,
channel choice, phone number, call back, service appointment, etc.) for the
customer back through its display. Lastly, the digital service interface could
also
be set up and configured for a product that has previously been
purchased/deployed. This allows the digital service interface to support a
much
larger addressable market than alternative approaches that are currently
available.
In doing so, several additional advantages may be achieved. First, the user
experience with a contact center may further improve because issues associated
with an event may be resolved in a timely and effective manner. Second,
revenue
for the company may improve due to higher cross-/up-sell opportunities that
could
be delivered through the digital service interface associated with a
particular
product. Third, the addressable market may increase, since the digital service
interface can be used not only to support new products, but also can be
applied to
existing products that have already been sold/deployed into the market Fourth,
a
physical and intelligent representative of the product that is separate from
the
product itself may be enabled, which ensures a robust representative that can
maintain continuity when the product loses communications with the network.
This service/method thus enables the deployment of interaction-enabled
solutions
between communications devices and a contact center. In some implementations,
the service/method enables users to interact with a multi-channel application.
The
application is referred to as multi-channel in that it enables users to
contact and
interact with a multi-channel interaction platform via any of multiple
different
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communications channels (e.g., phone, email, chat, Short Message Service
(SMS), or another communications channel that supports communications
between the user and the interaction site). For example, the user may contact
the
multi-channel platform (e.g., by phone) and provide information to the multi-
channel platform by speaking and may receive information from the multi-
channel
platform by hearing. Alternatively, the user may instead choose to contact the
multi-channel platform (e.g., by SMS, chat room, or email) and provide the
same
information to the multi-channel platform by typing text and receive the same
information from the multi-channel platform by reading text.
Alternatively, the user may instead choose to contact the multi-channel
platform by
video. The video may be interactive (e.g., with an agent), or pre-recorded
(e.g., a
video demonstrating how to fix malfunctioning device or a sales/marketing
video).
In some implementations, the user may contact the multi-channel platform using
bundled channels. For example, the user may use a combination of text and
voice
to communicate with the multi-channel platform. In some implementations,
channels may be switched during a communications session. For example, a
request to communicate with the multi-channel platform may be made by an
email,
and a response for establishing the communications session may be made by
voice.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communications system 100 that provides
interactions among a user device 110, a contact center 102, and one or more
registered devices 130-1 to 130-n to resolve events associated with the one or
more register devices 130-1 to 130-n. The term interaction is used generally
to
refer to any real-time and non-real time interaction that uses any
communication
channel including, without limitation telephony calls (PSTN or VolP calls),
emails,
vmails (voice mail through email), video, chat, screen-sharing, text messages,
social media messages, web real-time communication (e.g. WebRTC calls), and
the like. The communications system 100 includes a user device 110, a
communications network 120, a contact center 102, a web server 122, one or
more
registered devices 130-1 to 130-n, and a digital service interface 140.
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Customers, potential customers, employees, staff, students, members of an
organization, patients of a healthcare system, citizens interacting with a
government agency, or other end users (collectively referred to as customers)
desiring to request services and/or sales from the contact center 102 may
initiate
a communications session through any one available channel of the multiple
channels via a user device 110. The service may be, for example, a request to
service a defective product. The user device 110 may be a communications
device
conventional in the art, such as, for example, a telephone, wireless phone,
smart
phone, personal computer, electronic tablet, a wearable device, an implanted
device, and/or the like. The user device 110 may also be a computer that
includes
one or more software or hardware applications for performing communications
between the user device 110 and the contact center 102. The user device 110
may have various input/output devices with which a user may interact to
provide
and receive audio, text, video, and other forms of data. A user operating the
user
device 110 may initiate, manage, and respond to telephone calls, emails,
chats,
text messaging, web-browsing sessions, and other multi-media transactions. As
an example, a customer may make a telephony call by inputting, via manual
selection or otherwise, a telephone number associated with the contact center
into
the user device 110 to contact the contact center 102. Additionally or
alternatively,
the user may indicate a desire to request a service from the contact center by
selecting a graphically displayed icon on a graphical user interface (GUI) of
the
user device 110 to thereby invoke an application stored in the user device 110
with
which the user can interact to initiate a service and/or sales request.
Additionally
or alternatively, the user may indicate a desire to request a service and/or
sales by
inputting and sending, via manual selection or otherwise, a SMS message that
includes a short code and a keyword associated with the contact center into
the
user device 110. Additionally or alternatively, the user may indicate a desire
to
request a service and/or sales by inputting, via manual selection or
otherwise, a
uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the contact center into the
user
device 110 to initiate a chat session with the customer service and/or sales
department. Additionally or alternatively, the user may indicate a desire to
request
a service and/or sales by inputting and sending, via manual selection or
otherwise,
an email that includes an email address associated with the contact center
into the
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user device 110. Additionally or alternatively, the user may indicate a desire
to
request a service and/or sales via a communications channel not listed in the
above
examples.
Inbound and outbound telephony calls from and to the user device 110 may
traverse a telephone, cellular, and/or data communications network 120
depending
on the type of device that is being used. For example, the communications
network
120 may include a Ovate or public switched telephone network (PSTN), local
area
network (LAN), private wide area network (WAN), Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN), Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL), radio, television, cable,
satellite,
a public wide area network such as the Internet, and/or any other delivery or
tunneling mechanism for carrying data. The communications network 120 may
also include a packet-switched data network based on the Internet protocol
(IP) or
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and may support voice using, for example,
Voice-over-IP, Voice-over-ATM, or other comparable protocols used for voice
data
communications. The communications network 120 may also include a wireless
carrier network including a code division multiple access (COMA) network,
global
system for mobile communications (GSM) network, or any wireless
network/technology conventional in the art, including but to limited to 3G,
4G, LTE,
and the like.
In general, the contact center 102 manages resources (e.g. agents, computers,
and telecommunication equipment) to enable delivery of services via telephone
or
other communication mechanisms. Such services may vary depending on the type
of contact center, and may range from customer service to help desk, emergency
response, telemarketing, order taking, and the like. In some implementations,
the
contact center 102 may be an in-house facility to an enterprise (e.g., a
business or
corporation) for serving the enterprise in performing the functions of sales
and
service relative to the products and services available through the
enterprise. In
some other implementations, the contact center 102 may be a third-party
service
provider that hosts the functions for an enterprise. The contact center 102
may be
deployed in equipment dedicated to the enterprise or third-party service
provider,
and/or deployed in a remote computing environment such as, for example, a
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private or public cloud environment with infrastructure for supporting
multiple
contact centers for multiple enterprises. In some implementations, the various
components of the contact center 102 may be centralized in a single computing
environment and may be interconnected by a local area network 162. In some
other implementations, the various components of the contact center 102 may be
distributed across various geographic locations and computing environments and
not necessarily contained in a single location, computing environment, or even
computing device. The contact center 102 may include a switch/media gateway
104, an interactive media response (IMR) server 106, a communication server
108,
a routing server 112, a statistics server 114, a reporting server 116, an
interaction
(iXn) server 152, a contact center database 154, one or more agent devices 166-
1 to 166-k, an event server 168, and a recommendation server 160.
The switch/media gateway 104 is coupled to the communications network 120 for
receiving and transmitting telephony calls between end users and the contact
center 102. In some implementations, the switch/media gateway 104 may include
a telephony switch configured to function as a central switch for agent level
routing
within the contact center. The telephony switch may be a hardware switching
system or a soft switch implemented via software. For example, the
switch/media
gateway 104 may include an automatic call distributor, a private branch
exchange
(PBX), an IP-based software switch, and/or any other switch with specialized
hardware and software configured to receive Internet-sourced calls and/or
telephone network-sourced calls from a customer, and route those calls to, for
example, an agent device. The switch/media gateway 104 may establish a
communications session between the calling customer and the agent device, by
establishing, for example, a telephony connection between the user device 110
and one of the agent devices 156-1 to 166-k. The switch/media gateway 104 may
also include an inbound call queue, an outbound call request queue, an
automatic
call distributor ("ACD") administrator, and/or contact information of a
plurality of
agents associated with the agent devices 156-1 to 156-k.
The communication server 108 is coupled to the switch/media gateway 104, and
in general serves as an interface between the switch/media gateway 104 and the
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remainder of the routing, monitoring, and other call-handling components of
the
contact center 102. The communication server 108 may be configured to process
PSTN calls, VolP calls, and the like. For example, the communication server
108
may be configured with computer-telephony integration (CTI) software for
interfacing with the switch/media gateway 104 and contact center equipment. In
some implementations, the communication server 108 may include a session
initiation protocol (SIP) server for processing SIP calls. In some
implementations,
the communication server 108 may extract data about the customer interaction
such as the callers telephone number, often known as the automatic number
identification (ANI) number, or the customer's intemet protocol (IP) address,
or
email address, or location data, or environmental data (e.g., temperature,
humidity,
time of day, time-zone of device/product, etc.), and communicate with other
contact
center components such as the routing server 112 in processing the call.
The interactive media response (IMR) server 106 may be referred to as a self-
help
system, virtual assistant, or the like. The IMR server 106 may be similar to
an
interactive voice response (IVR) server, except that the IMR server 106 is not
restricted to voice, but may cover a variety of media channels including
voice.
Taking voice as an example, however, the IMR server 106 may be configured with
an IMR script for querying calling customers on their needs. For example, a
contact
center for a bank may tell callers, via the IMR script, to "press 1" if they
wish to get
an account balance. The IMR script may be written in a scripting language such
as, for example, voice extensible markup language (VoiceXML) or speech
application language tags (SALT). Through continued interaction with the IMR,
customers may complete service and/or sales without needing to speak with an
agent. The IMR server 106 may also ask an open ended question such as, for
example, "How can I help you?" and the customer may speak or otherwise enter a
reason for contacting the contact center. The customers response may then be
used by the routing server 112 to route the call to an appropriate contact
center
resource.
In some implementations, the IMR server 106 may additionally include a SMS
handling system configured to handle a request to interact with a contact
center
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using a SMS channel. The SMS handling system may receive user SMS
messages from or place SMS messages to communications devices, such as the
user device 110, and respond to the SMS messages in accordance with a SMS
program. The SMS program may be a script written in a scripting language such
as, for example, extensible markup language (XML). In some implementations,
the IMR server 106 may additionally include an email handling system
configured
to handle a request to interact with a contact center using an email channel.
The
email handling system may receive user emails from or place emails to
communications devices, such as the user device 110, and respond to the emails
in accordance with an email program. The email program may be a script written
in a scripting language such as, for example, extensible markup language
(XML).
In some implementations, the IMR server 106 may additionally include a chat
handling system configured to handle a request to interact with a contact
center
using a chat channel. The chat handling system may receive user message from
or places messages in a chat session to communications devices, such as the
user
device 110, and respond to the messages in accordance with a chat program. The
chat program may be a script written in a scripting language such as, for
example,
extensible markup language (XML).
.. The routing server 112 is configured to interact with the communication
server 108
to select an appropriate agent for processing the call if a call is to be
routed to an
agent. Each agent may be assigned to one of the agent devices 166-1 to 156-k,
where k is an integer. The selection of an appropriate agent for routing an
inbound
call may be based, for example, on a combination of routing strategies
employed
by the routing server 112, and further based on information about agent
availability,
skills, agent performance metrics, information known about the inbound or
outbound call, and other routing parameters provided, for example, by a
statistics
server 114. For example, a routing strategy may be based on a data-driven
strategy, where customer information related to existing back-end data (e.g.,
purchase history, or collected IVR data) may be used to determine a routing
decision. As another example, a routing strategy may be based on a business
priority routing strategy, where the routing server 112 may query a contact
center
database 164 to retrieve business information such as contact information and
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service level agreement (SLA) requirements associated with the caller to
determine
a routing decision. As another example, a routing strategy may be based on a
revenue-based routing, where the revenue potential of a caller is used to
determine
a routing decision. As another example, a routing strategy may be based on a
least cost routing, where the cost for an enterprise to establish a
communications
session is used to determine a routing decision. As another example, a routing
strategy may be based on a last agent routing, where an identity of a caller
may be
identified through information such as the ANI number, and previous agent
interactions with the caller is used to determine a routing decision. As
another
example, a routing strategy may be based on agent profile and skills based
routing,
where resource requirements for handling the call is used to determine a
routing
decision. Any other routing strategies not described here may also be used to
determine a routing decision. Once an identified agent is available to handle
a call,
the communication server 108 may establish a connection between the user
device
110 and the agent device of the identified agent. In some implementations,
collected information about the caller (e.g. via interactions with the IMR
server 106)
and/or the caller's historical information may also be provided to the agent
device
for aiding the agent in better servicing the call.
Each agent device of the agent device 166-1 to 166-k may include a telephone
adapted for regular telephone calls, VolP calls, and the like. The agent
device 156-
I to 166-k may also include a computer for communicating with one or more
servers of the contact center 102 and performing data processing associated
with
contact center operations, and for interfacing with customers via voice and
other
multimedia communication mechanisms. In some implementations, in addition to
real-time interactions, deferrable (also referred to as back-office or
offline)
interactions/activities may also be routed to the contact center agents. Such
deferrable activities may include, for example, responding to emails,
responding to
letters, or any other activity that does not entail real-time communication
with a
customer. The interaction (iXn) server 162 may be configured to interact with
the
routing server 112 for selecting an appropriate agent to handle the deferrable
activity. Once assigned to an agent, the iXn server 162 may push the activity
to
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the agent, where the activity may appear in the agent's device as a task to be
completed by the agent.
In general, the contact center database 164 may store one or more databases
relating to agent data (e.g. agent profiles, skills, schedules, etc.),
business rule data
(e.g. customer profiles, service level agreement, etc.), interaction data
(e.g. details
of each interaction with a customer, including reason for the interaction,
disposition
data, time on hold, handle time, etc.), registered device profile data (e.g,
serial
numbers of registered device, model numbers of registered devices, etc.), and
the
.. like. In some implementations, some of the data may be maintained in a
customer
relations management (CRM) database hosted at a remote location. The contact
center database 164 may take form of a hard disk or disk array as is
conventional
in the art, and may be implemented using for example, Cassandra or any NoSQL
database. The contact center database 164 may also be a SQL database and may
be managed by any database management system such as, for example, Oracle,
IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL server, Microsoft Access, PostgreSQL, MySQL, FoxPro,
and SQLite. The contact center database 164 may provide data in response to a
query from a contact center component. For example, the routing server 112 may
query customer information from the contact center database 164 based on an
ANI
number or other information collected by the IMR server 106.
The statistics server 114 is configured to collect and aggregate statistics
associated
with the contact center 102, such as, for example, average waiting time,
abandonment rate, agent occupancy, and the like. The reporting server 116 is
configured to generate reports from data aggregated by the statistics server
114.
Such reports may include near real-time reports or historical reports
concerning the
state of resources. The reports may be generated automatically or in response
to
specific requests from a requestor (e.g. agent/administrator, contact center
application, and/or the like).
In general, the event server 168 is configured to determine, based on data
representing an event associated with a registered device, actions for
assisting a
customer to resolve the event. The data representing an event associated with
a
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registered device may be received via the switch/media gateway 104 or another
media gateway. For example, after the switch/media gateway 104 receives the
data representing an event associated with a registered device, the
switch/media
gateway 104 may work with the iXn server 162 to forward the data to the event
server 158 based on a business rule. In some implementations, the event server
168 may interact with the routing server 112 and/or the contact center
database
164 to select one or more agents that are appropriate for handling the request
to
resolve the event based on the event data, agent availability, agent skills,
agent
performance metrics, and other suitable parameters. In some implementations,
after selecting the appropriate agents, the event server 168 may interact with
the
iXn server 162 to determine contact information for establishing a
communications
session between the user device 110 and the selected agent device. For
example,
the contact information may be a reserved telephone number, such that when the
user calls the contact center using the reserved telephone number, the call
can be
routed directly to the selected agent device.
In some implementations, after selecting the appropriate agents, the event
server
168 may interact with the communication server 108 to place a call in the
outbound
queue to proactively reach the customer. For example, upon learning that a
registered device (e.g., an enterprise server) has failed, the event server
168 may
allocate the necessary resources (e.g., agent and information needed to handle
the issue) and then interacts with the communication server 108 to place a
call to
the customer notifying the issue.
In some implementations, the event server 168 may be configured to dynamically
generate a message for the customer that is uniquely associated with the
registered device and the associated event. For example, upon learning that a
water filter of a refrigerator needs to be replaced, the event server 168 may
generate a message "Thank you for calling the enterprise. Your refrigerator
informed us that your water filter needs to be replaced. Are you calling to
order a
new water filter?" that is to be presented to the customer. The dynamically
generated message may be added to an automated phone script, where the
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automated phone script will be played based on the ANI or other identifying
information of the caller.
The recommendation server 160 is configured to determine one or more
recommendations for a customer based on the event data and data associated
with the customer that is stored in the contact center database 154. The
recommendations may include up-sell or cross-sell opportunities. For example,
if
an enterprise server has been experiencing elevated temperatures in a data
center,
based on data and business rules stored in the contact center database 164,
the
recommendation server 160 may identify a data-center temperature management
solution that the enterprise has recently released, so that the agent may
timely
present this solution to the customer during the communications session. As
another example, the recommendation server 160 may identify a product that
directly related to the registered device, such as a replacement filter for a
refrigerator or HVAC system. As another example, the recommendation server
160 may identify another product and/or service that is outside of the scope
of the
registered device, as such a similar product that other customers have
purchased.
In some implementations, the recommendation server 160 may push a
recommendation to an agent device, such that the agent of the agent device may
proactively contact the customer on the recommendation at a later time.
The registered devices 130-1 to 130-n are connected-machines that have been
registered with the companies that have manufactured or have been contracted
to
service these devices or products. A registered device (e.g., 130-1) may be a
household appliance (e.g., a smart refrigerator), an enterprise product (e.g.,
an
enterprise server), a consumer electronics product (e.g., a smart watch), a
communications device (e.g., user device 110), or any other suitable products.
The
companies may service these registered products using the contact center 102.
Each of the registered devices 130-1 to 130-n, where n is any integer, may be
a
.. connected-machine that is embedded with electronics, software, sensors,
and/or
network connectivity to enable the registered device collect and exchange data
with another registered device 130-1 to 130-n, the digital service interface
140, the
user device 110, and/or or the contact center 102. The inter-connections among
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the registered devices 130-1 to 130-n and other devices, systems, and
apparatuses may sometimes be termed collectively as the "Internet of things"
(loT).
In some implementations, a registered device may communicate with another
device via the communications network 120. For example, the registered device
130-n may communicate with the contact center 102 via the communications
network 120. In some implementations, a registered device may communicate with
another device directly. For example, the registered device 130-n may
communicate with the registered device 130-1 and/or the user device 110
directly
via the Bluetooth standard, the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MOTT)
protocol, the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) protocol, or any other
suitable device-to-device communications protocol. In some implementations, a
registered device may communicate with another device via the digital service
interface 140. For example, the registered device 130-1 may communicate with
the contact center 102 and/or the user device 110 via the digital service
interface
140. The data transmitted by the registered devices 130-1 to 130-n may include
an identification of the registered device, a state of the registered device,
a time-
stamp associated with an event, data generated by sensors embedded in the
registered device, or any other applicable data. The data communicated by the
registered devices 130-1 to 130-n may be encoded in one or more protocols that
may be public or proprietary to an enterprise.
In general, the digital service interface 140 provides a communications
interface
for the user device 110, the registered devices 130-1 to 130-n, and the
contact
center 102. In some implementations, the digital service interface 140 may be
embedded in a registered device. For example, the digital service interface
140
may be integrated to a smart home appliance that is a registered device. In
some
other implementations, the digital service interface 140 may be a device that
is
peripheral to a registered device. For example, the digital service interface
140
may be implemented on a single-board computer (e.g., Raspberry Pi) that co-
locates with a rack of enterprise servers that are registered devices. In some
other
implementations, the digital service interface 140 may be an external digital
device
that is not co-located with a registered device. For example, the digital
service
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interface 140 may be installed as a downloadable application that is running
on the
user device 110.
The digital service interface 140 includes a communications interface 142 and
a
registered device profile store 144. The communications interface 142 may
include
input means (e.g., keyboard, touch-screen, microphone, data receiver, barcode
reader, scanner, and/or any other suitable input means) and output means
(e.g.,
display, speakers, LED indicators, data transmitter, and/or any other suitable
output means). In some implementations, the communications interface 142 may
be configured to receive data from the user device 110, the registered devices
130-
1 to 130-n, and/or the contact center 102. For example, the communications
interface 142 may receive an indication from a registered device that the
registered
device is malfunctioning. In some implementations, the communications
interface
142 may be configured to transmit data to the user device 110, the registered
devices 130-1 to 130-n, and/or the contact center 102. For example, in
response
to receiving an indication from a registered device that the registered device
is
malfunctioning, the communications interface 142 may transmit event data to
the
contact center 102 to initiate a connected-machine-initiated routing for a
communications session between the user device 110 and an agent device.
In some implementations, the communications interface 142 may be configured to
convert data from a first data format to a second data format. For example,
the
communications interface 142 may receive data from a registered device, where
the data may be formatted in a proprietary format that is used by the
enterprise.
The communications interface 142 may convert the received data into a second
data format that can be stored in the contact center database 154 before
transmitting the data to the contact center 102.
In some implementations, the communications interface 142 may be configured to
communicate data using multiple communication protocols. For example, the
communications interface 142 may be configured to communicate with a
registered
device using Bluetooth communication protocol, and the communications
interface
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142 may be configured to communicate with the contact center 102 using the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol.
In some implementations, the communications interface 142 may be configured to
probe a state of a registered device. For example, the communications
interface
142 may send a ping message to an enterprise server at a predetermined
frequency (e.g., once an hour) to determine that the server is still alive. In
the case
that the server does not respond to the ping message, the communications
interface 142 may send event data to the contact center indicating a potential
failure of the server.
The registered device profile store 144 is configured to store profile
information
associated with one or more registered devices of the registered devices 130-
Ito
130-n. In general, data sent from a registered device may include limited
identification information about the registered device such as a hardware
address
of the registered device. Based on the received identification information,
the
digital service interface 140 may access the registered device profile store
144 to
retrieve more information about the registered device such as the model
number,
the serial number, the date of purchase, any service plan associated with the
registered device, customer contact information, event history of the
registered
device, and/or any other contextual information. The digital service interface
140
may then present the retrieved information or send the retrieved information
to the
contact center 102 and/or the user device 110.
In some implementations, the digital service interface 140 may be configured
to
receive an indication of an event from one or more of the registered device
130-1
to 130-n. In response to receiving the indication, the digital service
interface 140
contacts the contact center 102 to obtain contact information that a user may
use
to contact the contact center 102.
As an example described in more details below in reference to FIG. 3, a smart
refrigerator may send an indication to the digital service interface 140
alerting on a
need for a water filter replacement. In response to receiving the indication
from
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the server, the digital service interface 140 may transmit event data that
includes
an identification and a state of the registered device to the contact center
102. After
receiving the reserved contact information from the contact center 102, the
digital
service interface 140 may present the reserved contact information to a user
such
that the user may use the user device 110 to establish a communications
session
between the user device 110 and the contact center 102.
In some implementations, the digital service interface 140 may be configured
to
contact the contact center 102 without receiving an indication of an event
from one
or more of the registered device 130-1 to 130-n. For example, a server may go
offline and cannot provide further communications with the digital service
interface
140. In response to determining that the server has not responded to ping
messages sent by the digital service interface 140 over a predetermined period
of
time, the digital service interface 140 may transmit event data that includes
an
identification and a state of the registered device to the contact center 102.
In some implementations, the digital service interface 140 may be configured
to
contact the user device 110 before contacting the contact server 102. For
example,
based on information stored in the registered device profile store 144, the
digital
.. service interface 140 may determine that a service call is due for a HVAC
system.
The digital service interface 140 may present or send a message to the user
notifying a need to schedule the service call, where the message may include
contact information for contacting the contact center 102 and/or information
related
to the HVAC system such as the serial number and the current state of the HVAC
system.
In some implementations, after the communications session between the user
device 110 and an agent device (e.g., 156-1) has been established, the digital
service interface 140 may be configured to provide the contact center 102
further
information on the registered device. For example, after a communications
session
between the user device 110 and an agent device 156-1 to fix a malfunctioning
server has been established, the agent may wish to obtain a current
temperature
sensor reading of the server. The agent may use the agent device to send a
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request to the digital service interface 140. In response to receiving the
request,
the digital service interface 140 may communicate with the server to obtain
the
current temperature sensor reading of the server. After the digital service
interface
140 obtains the current temperature sensor reading of the server, the digital
service
interface 140 then sends the agent device 156-1 a message reporting the
current
temperature sensor reading to help the agent to further assist the user.
The web servers 122 may include, for example, social interaction site hosts
for a
variety of known social interaction sites to which an end user may subscribe,
such
as, for example, Facebook, Twitter, and the like. The web servers 122 may also
provide web pages for the enterprise that is being supported by the contact
center
102. For example, end users may browse web pages and get information about
the enterprise's products and services. The web pages may also provide a
mechanism for contacting the contact center 102, via, for example, web chat,
voice
call, email, web real time communication (WebRTC), or the like.
The various servers of FIG. 1 may each include one or more processors
executing
computer program instructions and interacting with other system components for
performing the various functionalities described herein. The computer program
instructions are stored in a memory implemented using a standard memory
device,
such as, for example, a random access memory (RAM). The computer program
instructions may also be stored in other non-transitory computer readable
media
such as, for example, a CD-ROM, flash drive, or the like. Also, although the
functionality of each of the servers is described as being provided by the
particular
server, a person of skill in the art should recognize that the functionality
of various
servers may be combined or integrated into a single server, or the
functionality of
a particular server may be distributed across one or more other servers
without
departing from the scope of the embodiments described herein.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communications system 200 that illustrates a
stand-
alone digital service interface 140 providing interactions among a user device
110,
a contact center 102, and a registered device 230. A use case scenario is
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described below to provide an example of the interactions among the user
device
110, the contact center 102, and the registered device 230.
A customer, XYZ Corporation, has purchased several racks of enterprise servers
in its data centers. One of these servers is the registered device 230, and a
technical engineer is assigned to monitor these servers. Attached to or nearby
each server is a digital service interface 140 in the form of a peripheral
digital
display device, where information about the server and its environment can be
conveyed back to the contact center 102. For example, the digital service
interface
140 may be implemented on a single-board computer (e.g., RaspberryPi) or a
smart device such as a tablet. The contact center 102 may be a third-party
service
provider that performs the functions of servicing the servers for the
enterprise. The
digital service interface 140 has been preconfigured to store unique product
identifying information of the registered device 230 (e.g., the enterprise
server's
serial number), so there is an association between the registered device 230
and
the digital service interface 140.
The registered device 230 may have sensors that allow it to collect
information
about the surrounding environment (such as temperature, humidity, etc.). In
this
example, the registered device 230 has experienced over-heating and has
started
to malfunction. The temperature sensor of the registered device 230 detects
that
the surrounding temperature has exceeded a threshold, and in response, the
registered device 230 may transmit an indication to the digital service
interface 140
alerting on the temperature increase.
The contact center 102 may store data and business rules which evaluate how to
respond to this type of situation. Based on the received event data from the
digital
service interface 140 and/or the registered device profiles stored in the
contact
center database 164, the contact center 102 may determine that (i) the server
is a
registered device, (ii) the sumounding temperature associated with one of its
servers is dangerously high; (iii) this alert is associated with the
registered device
230, which is one of the most expensive servers that the enterprise makes; and
(iv) this particular machine was purchased by XYZ Corporation, which is one of
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enterprise's largest and most important customers. Based on the business rules
and the event, the contact center 102 determines the agents that are qualified
to
service the XYZ Corporation, and proactively contacts the XYZ Corporation to
inform them of the situation. Specifically, an SMS message containing a text-
based
intelligent service prompt may be sent to the user device 110 to alert a user
(i.e.,
the technical engineer) of the user device 110 of the situation. In response
to
receiving the SMS message on the user device 110, the technical engineer can
go
into the data center and identify the registered device 230 that is
overheating and
malfunctioning. In some implementations, the digital service interface 140
attached next to the registered device 230 also displays the temperature
warning,
so it would be easy to identify the malfunctioning server.
In addition, the digital service interface 140 may provide channel options
that the
technical engineer can select from, using a touch display screen of the
digital
service interface 140. These channel options may be derived based on data and
business rules stored in the contact center 102. For example, the channel
options
offered may be based on (but not limited to) factors such as (i) the value of
the
customer (e.g., XYZ Corporation is a high-value customer), where some channel
options (e.g, video) are reserved for only the high value customers; (ii) the
product
value and whether or not it's mission critical (e.g., the registered device
230 is a
costly and critical machine); (iii) other products that the same customer may
have
also purchased (e.g., the contact center 102 may determine that XYZ
corporation
has purchased more than one version of this product to support Disaster
Recovery/Business Continuity mode for the enterprise servers); the type of
event
or alert (e.g., the surrounding temperature reading was hot enough to suggest
that
the machine may have trouble functioning); and (v) skilled resource
availability
within contact center 102 to support the channel options (e.g., video channel
will
not be offered if all video-enabled agents are currently busy).
Driven by these data and business rules, the display of the digital service
interface
140 offers the technical engineer a range of tailored contact channel options
that
may include contact information to the contact center 102 ¨ e.g., (1) Receive
a
callback, (2) Initiate a chat, (3) Have a video interaction, etc. The
technical
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engineer may select the video option, and may be immediately connected to an
agent device of the contact center 102, where the agent specializes in the
model
of the registered device 230. The agent receiving this video interaction may
receive
a screen-pop with all of the associated information about this customer,
product,
events and alerts, etc. Thus, the agent is able to walk the technical engineer
through the diagnostic steps to troubleshoot the registered device 230 and get
it
working properly again.
Moreover, based on data and business rules stored in the contact center 102,
the
recommendation server 160 of the contact center 102 may determine one or more
up-sell/cross-sell opportunities that the agent may present to the technical
engineer
during the communications session. For example, based on the data that XYZ
Corporation is a high-value customer and that the registered device 230 is
experiencing an increase in the surrounding temperature, the recommendation
server 160 may identify a data-center temperature management solution that the
enterprise has recently released, so that the agent may timely present this
solution
to the technical engineer.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communications system 300 that illustrates a
digital
service interface 140 embedded in a registered device 330, where the digital
service interface 140 provides interactions among a user device 110, a contact
center 102, and the registered device 330. A use case scenario is described
below
to provide an example of the interactions among the user device 110, the
contact
center 102, and the registered device 330.
In this example, the customer has bought a registered device 330, which is a
smart
refrigerator having embedded sensors and an embedded digital service interface
140 that includes a digital display on the front surface of the refrigerator.
Information about the registered device 330 may be signaled to the contact
center
102, which may be an in-house facility to an enterprise for performing the
functions
of sales and service relative to the smart refrigerator. Through one of the
embedded sensors, the registered device 330 determines that the water filter
of
the refrigerator needs to be replaced, and in response, the embedded digital
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service interface 140 communicates event data to the contact center 102, where
the event data may include a serial number of the registered device 330 and an
indication that the water filter needs to be replaced. Based on the event
data, an
event server 158 of the contact center 102 may determine the most appropriate
agents for handling this event, and the contact center 102 may dynamically
generate a phone number that is uniquely associated with the registered device
330 and the associated event. In addition, the event server 158 may
dynamically
generate a message for the customer that is uniquely associated with that the
registered device 330 and the associated event. The contact center 102 may
then
transmit contact information including the dynamically generated phone number
to
the digital service interface 140. In response to receiving the contact
information,
the embedded digital service interface 140 may present the dynamically
generated
phone number on the built-in digital display.
In this example, the customer notices that the built-in digital display on the
front of
the refrigerator displayed an alert: "Water filter needs to be replaced. To
order new
filter, call [the generated phone number]." The customer calls the contact
center
102 using the displayed number. Based on the DNIS number of the dynamically
generated phone number that the customer call, the contact center 102 is able
to
determine, not only which model of the registered device 330 the customer
owns,
but also the event associated with the call. An automated phone script may
answer
the call with the dynamically generated message: "Thank you for calling the
enterprise. Your refrigerator informed us that your water filter needs to be
replaced.
Are you calling to order a new water filter?"
After answering "yes," the customer is routed directly to an agent that is a
specialist
of the registered device 330. In addition, prior to the call, the iXn server
of the
contact center 102 may have already transmitted information related to the
event,
such that the agent receiving this call knows the purpose of the customers
call
without additional customer input.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a communications system 400 that illustrates a
digital
service interface 140 being installed as an application running on a user
device
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110, where the digital service interface 140 provides interactions among the
user
device 110, a contact center 102, and a registered device 430. A use case
scenario
is described below to provide an example of the interactions among the user
device
110, the contact center 102, and the registered device 430.
In this example, the customer purchased from an enterprise the registered
device
430, which is a new HVAC system. The customer also purchased an extended
warranty plan for the registered device 430 from the enterprise, which
entitles the
customer to free services calls every six months. After a technician from the
enterprise installed the HVAC system, the customer downloaded an application
that runs as the digital service interface 140 for the registered device 430.
Using
the touchscreen display on the user device 110, the technician helped the
customer
to enter the product identifying information (e.g., the serial number) of the
registered device 430 in the digital service interface 140, so that the
digital service
interface 140 would be uniquely associated with the registered device 430. The
technician also entered the customer's contact phone number in the digital
service
interface 140, so that the enterprise would have this contact information as
part of
its customer records stored in the contact center database 164. In addition,
the
digital service interface 140 may store information related to the customer's
extended warranty plan.
After six months, the digital service interface 140 identifies that a service
is due.
The digital service interface 140 communicates, using a first protocol, with
the
registered device 430 to determine whether any components of the registered
device 430 has failed. The digital service interface 140 then communicates,
using
a second protocol, with the contact center 102 to transmit event data that
includes
the identification of the registered device 430, an indication that service is
due for
the registered device 430, and an indication that no component has failed. In
response to receive the event data, an event server 168 of the contact center
102
may determine that the most appropriate way to handle this event is to use a
visual
IVR application instead of using an agent. In a visual IVR, scripts that are
pre-
programmed for a voice-based IVR may be translated by an application server
into
a different programming or scripting language (e.g., HTML5) such that the
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translated scripts may be visually presented to the user using a client-side
application running on the user device 110. The visual IVR interacts with the
user
by using visual commands to prompt the user to provide information and
enabling
the user to input the information by entering text and numbers using the user
device
110. The information may then be processed by the IMR server 106 of the
contact
center 102. In addition, the event server 168 may dynamically generate a
message
for the customer that is uniquely associated with that the registered device
430 and
the associated event
The contact center 102 then places an outbound call to the customer. The
intelligent automated audio prompt plays the dynamically generated message:
"Hello, this is HVAC enterprise calling with an important message about your
registered device 430. As part of your extended warranty plan, you are
entitled to
a free six-month check up by one of our service technicians. Please use the
digital
service interface to schedule your service call."
The customer may then open the application to execute the digital service
interface
104 on the user device 110. The display of the user device 110 presents the
customer with a "Visual IVR" of menu options: "Menu: (1) Schedule Check-up
.. Service Call; (2) Report HVAC Problem; (3) Order Filter; (4) Other." In
this
example, the customer selects option (1), where the digital display then
provides
the customer the options for the days and times to schedule the service call.
The
users feedback is provided to the contact center 102, where the I MR server
106
processes the feedback to schedule the service call. The customer's experience
.. has thus improved because the enterprise has proactively contacted him with
the
six-month service reminder, and that it was easy to schedule the service call
using
the application running on the user device 110.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process 600 for a contact
center
to determine routing information for establishing a communications session
between a user device and an agent device based on an event associated with a
registered device. The process 500 is described as being performed by a
computer
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system comprising one or more computers, for example, the communications
system 100 shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 6, the event server 168 receives event data associated with
a
registered device (501). For example, referring to FIG. 2, the temperature
sensor
of the registered device 230 may detect that the surrounding temperature has
exceeded a threshold, and in response, the registered device 230 may transmit
an
indication to the digital service interface 140 alerting on the temperature
increase.
In response to receiving an indication from the registered device 230, the
digital
service interface 140 may transmit, to the contact center 102, event data that
includes an identification of the registered device 230 and the state of the
registered device 230. The event data may be routed to the event server 158
via
a local area network 162.
The event server 158 determines resource requirements for handling the event
(503). In some implementations, the event server 168 may determine that the
identification of the registered device matches with a particular registered
device
profile of the registered device profiles. The event server 168 determines the
resource requirements based on the particular registered device profile. In
some
.. implementations, registered device profiles of one or more registered
devices are
stored at the contact center database 154. The registered device profile may
include serial numbers of registered devices, model numbers of registered
devices,
corresponding customer contact information, etc. In some implementations,
service level agreements associated with one or more registered devices are
stored at the contact center database 164. The event server 168 may retrieve,
based on the identification of the registered device, a service level
agreement
associated with the registered device. The event server 158 may determine the
resource requirement based on the service level agreement. For example, the
contact center database 164 may store data and business rules which evaluate
how to respond to this type of situation. Based on the received event data
from
the digital service interface 140 and/or the registered device profiles stored
in the
contact center database 164, the contact center 102 may determine that (i) the
server is a registered device, (ii) the surrounding temperature associated
with one
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of its servers is dangerously high; (iii) this alert is associated with the
registered
device 230, which is one of the most expensive servers that the enterprise
makes;
and (iv) this particular machine was purchased by XYZ Corporation, which is
one
of enterprise's largest and most important customers. Based on the business
rules
(e.g., the SLA) and the event, the event server 158 may determine the agents
that
are qualified to service and/or to provide sales for the XYZ Corporation.
The event server 158 generates routing information for establishing a
communications session between a user of a user device and an agent device
(605). For example, the event server 168 may work with the routing server 112
to
generate the routing information. In some implementations, the event server
168
may generate routing information based on a registered device profile. In some
implementations, the event server 168 may store the routing information for
determining an inbound routing decision. For example, the event server 168 may
determine that three contact channel options are available for this customer:
(1) a
telephone call, (2) Internet chat, and (3) a video interaction. The event
server 168
may interact with the routing server 112 to determine how to route the
incoming
request for each of these channels, and store the routing information.
The event server 168 may optionally generate a dynamically generated message
to be presented to the user (607). For example, based on the event data, the
event
server 168 may dynamically generate a message indicating that a server has
experienced overheating. The message may be sent to the digital service
concierge 140 or the user device 110 through an outbound queue using any of
the
appropriate channels.
The switch/media gateway 104 transmits contact information that includes a
reserved contact for establishing the communications session with the agent
device (509). In some implementations, the switch/media gateway 104 transmits
the contact information to the user device 110. In some other implementation,
the
switch/media gateway 104 transmits the contact information to a digital
service
interface that is different from the user device 110. In some implementations,
the
reserved contact is a reserved telephone number. For example, after the event
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server 168 determines that three contact channel options and the contact
information associated with each of the options, the switch/media gateway 104
may
send the contact information to the digital service concierge 140 or the user
device
110 through an outbound queue using any of the appropriate channels.
The switch/media gateway 104 receives a request to establish a communications
session (611). For example, the switch/media gateway 104 may receive an
inbound call from the user device 110. The routing server 112 determines
whether
the request corresponds to the routing information (613). In
some
implementations, the routing server 112 determines that the request includes
the
reserved telephone number based on a dialed number identification service
(DNIS). For example, the communication server 108 may extract data about the
customer interaction such as the caller's telephone number, often known as the
automatic number identification (ANI) number, the dialed number, or the
customers internet protocol (IP) address, or email address, and communicate
with
other contact center components such as the routing server 112 in processing
the
call.
In response to determining that the request corresponds to the routing
information,
the routing server 112 interacts with the communication server 108 to route
the
request to the agent device (616). For example, after determining that the
number
dialed corresponds to the reserved telephone number, the routing server 112
may
interact with the communication server 108 to route the request to the agent
device
for servicing the server.
The recommendation server 160 may optionally determine recommendations
associated with the event (617). For example, if an enterprise server has been
experiencing elevated temperatures in a data center, based on data and
business
rules stored in the contact center database 164, the recommendation server 160
may identify a data-center temperature management solution that the enterprise
has recently released, so that the agent may timely present this solution to
the
customer during the communications session.
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In some implementations, the iXn server 162 provides the identification of the
registered device and the state of the registered device to the agent device.
For
example, the iXn server 162 may provide the identification of the registered
device
and the state of the registered device to the agent device based on customer
data
such as a customer profile or past interaction history with a customer. In
some
implementations, the iXn server 162 provides the recommendations associated
with the event to the agent device. For example, the recommendation server 160
may interact with the iXn server 162 to push a recommendation to an agent
device.
The communication server 108 establishes the communications session between
the device and the agent device (619). In
some implementations, the
communication server 108 presents the dynamically generated message to the
user of the user device after establishing the communications session between
the
user device and the agent device. For example, an automated message may be
played to the user asking the user to confirm that the user is calling
regarding the
service of the enterprise server.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process 600 for a contact
center
to contact a user device in response to an event associated with a registered
device
in order to establish a communications session between the user device and an
agent device. The process 600 is described as being performed by a computer
system comprising one or more computers, for example, the communications
system 100 shown in FIG. 1.
.. Referring to FIG. 6, the event server 168 receives event data associated
with a
registered device (601). For example, referring to FIG. 4, a customer may have
purchased an extended warranty plan for a registered device 430 from the
enterprise, which entitles the customer to free services calls every six
months.
After six months, a digital service interface 140 may identify that a service
is due,
and communicate with the contact center 102 to transmit event data that
indudes
the identification of the registered device 430 and an indication that service
is due
for the registered device 430.
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The event server 168 determines resource requirements for handling the event
(603). For example, the event server 168 may determine that the most
appropriate
way to handle this event is to use a visual IVR application instead of using
an agent.
The event server 168 identifies contact information of the user device for
establishing a communications session between a user of the user device and an
agent device (606). For example, the event server 168 may identify the phone
number associated with the user device 110 that is stored in the contact
center
database 164. In some implementations, the contact information may include
information related to one or more available channels where the user may be
reached. For example, the contact information may include channel options
indicating that the user may be reached by text, by phone, or by an
application via
the user device.
The event server 168 may optionally generate a dynamically generated message
to be presented to the user (607). For example, the event server 168 may
generate
a message: "Hello, this is HVAC enterprise calling with an important message
about your registered device 430. As part of your extended warranty plan, you
are
entitled to a free six-month check up by one of our service technicians.
Please use
the digital service interface to schedule your service call."
The switch/media gateway 104 transmits a request to establish a communications
session (609). For example, the event server 168 may place a call request in
the
outbound queue of the switch/media gateway 104. The switch/media gateway
determines whether the request is accepted by the user device (611). In
response
to determining that the request corresponds to the routing information, the
routing
server 112 interacts with the communication server 108 to route the request
(613).
For example, if the service call involves an agent, the routing server 112 may
interact with the communication server 108 to route the request to an agent
device.
The recommendation server 160 may optionally determine recommendations
associated with the event (616). In some implementations, the iXn server 162
provides the identification of the registered device and the state of the
registered
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device to the agent device. In some implementations, the iXn server 152
provides
the recommendations associated with the event to the agent device. The
communication server 108 establishes the communications session (617). For
example, if the service call involves an agent, the routing server 112 may
interact
with the communication server 108 to route the request to an agent device. If
the
service call does not involve an agent, the communication server 108 may play
the
automated voice message and terminate the call.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process 700 for a digital
service
interface to provide an interface for managing a communications session
between
a user device and an agent device of a contact center. The process 700 is
described as being performed by a computer system comprising one or more
computers, for example, the communications system 100 shown in FIG. 1. In some
implementations, the digital service interface may be embedded in the
registered
device 130. In some other implementations, the digital service interface may
be
an application running on the user device 110. In some other implementations,
the
digital service interface may be implemented on a device that is different
from the
registered device and the user device such as a peripheral device to the
registered
device.
Referring to FIG. 7, the digital service interface 140 determines a state
associated
with a registered device (701). In some implementations, the digital service
interface 140 receives data from the registered device indicating the state of
the
registered device. For example, a temperature sensor of a registered device
may
detect that the surrounding temperature has exceeded a threshold, and in
response, the registered device may transmit an indication to the digital
service
interface 140 alerting on the temperature increase. In some implementations,
the
digital service interface 140 determines a state associated with a registered
device
by determining that data has not been received from the registered device
within a
predetermined time period. For example, the digital service interface 140 may
send a ping message to an enterprise server at a predetermined frequency
(e.g.,
once an hour) to determine that the server is still alive. In the case that
the server
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has not responded to the ping message within a specified threshold time, the
digital
service interface 140 may determine that the server has failed.
The digital service interface 140 transmits, to a contact center, first event
data that
includes an identification of the registered device and the state of the
registered
device a state associated with a registered device (703). For example, in
response
to receiving an indication from a registered device that the surrounding
temperature
has exceeded a threshold, the digital service interface 140 may transmit, to
the
contact center 102, event data that includes an identification of the
registered
device and the state of the registered device.
In some implementations, the digital service interface 140 communicates, using
a
first communications protocol, with the registered device to obtain the state
of the
registered device. The digital service interface 140 may generate, based on a
second communications protocol that is different from the first communications
protocol, the first event data that includes the state of the registered
device. The
digital service interface 140 may transmit, using the second communications
protocol, the first event data to the contact center 102. For example, the
digital
service interface 140 may be configured to communicate with a registered
device
using Bluetooth communication protocol, and the digital service interface 140
may
be configured to communicate with the contact center 102 using the Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol. As another example, the digital service
interface 140 may be configured to communicate with a registered device using
the
Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) or the Constrained Application
Protocol (CoAP) protocol.
The digital service interface 140 provides, to a user of the user device,
second
event data that includes the state of the registered device and contact
information
for establishing the communications session with the contact center (705). In
some
implementations, the digital service interface 140 receives the contact
information
from the contact center 102. In some implementations, the digital service
interface
140 presents, via a display of the digital service interface, the second event
data
to the user. For example, the contact center 102 may generate a reserved
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telephone number for handling the event, and the contact center 102 may
transmit
contact information that includes the reserved telephone number to the digital
service interface 140. The digital service interface 140 may then provide to
the
user device 110, through a digital display of the digital service interface
140, the
reserved telephone number and information related to the state of the
registered
device.
In some implementations, the digital service interface 140 transmits the
second
event data to the user device. For example, the digital service interface 140
may
send an SMS message to the user device 110 indicating the reserved telephone
number and information related to the state of the registered device.
In some implementations, after the communications session is established
between the user device and the contact center, the digital service interface
may
receive a request from the contact center to obtain additional data associated
with
the registered device. In response to receiving the request from the contact
center,
the digital service interface may obtain the additional data from the
registered
device. The digital service interface may transmit the additional data to the
contact
center. For example, after a communications session between the user device
110
and an agent device to fix a malfunctioning server has been established, the
agent
may wish to obtain a current temperature sensor reading of the server. The
agent
may use the agent device to send a request to the digital service interface
140. In
response to receiving the request, the digital service interface 140 may
communicate with the server to obtain the current temperature sensor reading
of
the server. After the digital service interface 140 obtains the current
temperature
sensor reading of the server, the digital service interface 140 then sends the
agent
device a message reporting the current temperature sensor reading to help the
agent to further assist the user.
The disclosed and other examples can be implemented as one or more computer
program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions
encoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to control the
operation of, data processing apparatus. The implementations can include
single
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or distributed processing of algorithms. The computer readable medium can be a
machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a
memory device, or a combination of one or more them. The term "data processing
apparatus" encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing
data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or
multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition to
hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program
in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack,
a
database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or
more of them.
A system may encompass all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing
data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or
multiple processors or computers. A system can include, in addition to
hardware,
code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in
question,
e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database
management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of
them.
A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application,
script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including
compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form,
including
as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit
suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not
necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in
a
portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts
stored
in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in
question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more
modules,
sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be
executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site
or
distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communications
network.
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The processes and logic flows described in this document can be performed by
one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs
to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The
processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be
implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field
programmable
gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).
Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of
example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more
processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will
receive
instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or
both. The essential elements of a computer can include a processor for
performing
instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data.
Generally, a computer can also include, or be operatively coupled to receive
data
from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for
storing data,
e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer
need
not have such devices. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer
program instructions and data can include all forms of nonvolatile memory,
media
and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory
devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g.,
internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and
DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or
incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.
While this document may describe many specifics, these should not be construed
as limitations, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular
embodiments. For example, a communications channel may include the Web,
where a user may interact with an interaction site via a webpage generated
dynamically according to the interaction flow. As
another example, a
communications channel may include a smart phone application, where a user may
interact with an interaction site by starting a smart phone application, and
the smart
phone application then contacts the interaction site and provides a
communications
interface between the user and the interaction site. Certain features that are
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described in this document in the context of separate embodiments can also be
implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various
features
that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be
implemented
in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
Moreover,
although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations,
one
or more features can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the
combination may be directed to a sub-combination or a variation of a sub-
combination. Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a
particular
order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be
performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all
illustrated
operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.
Only a few examples and implementations are disclosed.
Variations,
modifications, and enhancements to the described examples and implementations
and other implementations can be made based on what is disclosed.
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