Abstract: Apparatus and methods for providing customer interaction information to a business channel. The apparatus and methods may involve receiving from a first business channel a first customer interaction data structure corresponding to a customer interaction, storing a data object corresponding to the first customer interaction data structure; and providing to a second business channel formatting information corresponding to the first customer interaction data structure. The first and second business channels may thus use independent data structures for storing their customer interaction information in a centralized database. The first and second data structures may view the other's data structures using formatting from the other channel.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for providing customer interaction information to a business channel. The apparatus and methods may involve receiving from a first business channel a first customer interaction data structure corresponding to a customer interaction, storing a data object corresponding to the first customer interaction data structure; and providing to a second business channel formatting information corresponding to the first customer interaction data structure. The first and second business channels may thus use independent data structures for storing their customer interaction information in a centralized database. The first and second data structures may view the other's data structures using formatting from the other channel.

Abstract: In a telecommunications management network including a network element provisioned as a so-called Directory Services Network Element (DSNE) and at least one sub-network intended to include one or more network elements, automatic registration network element identity information is realized by employing a routing exchange protocol to dynamically maintain identity information of network elements reachable within the network, enhancing the routing exchange protocol interface to automatically supply an indication of detection of a newly reachable network element to an applications layer protocol, and using the indentity information of a newly reachable network element in the applications layer protocol of the DSNE to establish communications with the newly reachable network element. Then, the newly reachable network element supplies additional identity information (e.g., its name, network address and the like) to the DSNE.

Abstract: In a telecommunications management network including a network element provisioned as a so-called Directory Services Network Element (DSNE) and at least one sub-network intended to include one or more network elements, the DSNE automatically distributes the identity information of all network elements in a sub-network to all the network elements in that sub-network. Specifically, the DSNE automatically distributes all the identity information for all network elements within a sub-network to a newly registered network element and also supplies the identity information for the newly registered network element to all the other network elements within the sub-network. Since, each sub-network can be defined as a set of network elements that require significant communications with each other, distribution of the identity information for all the network elements in the sub-network to all the network elements in that sub-network significantly reduces the number of queries made to the DSNE.

Abstract: In a telecommunications management network indications of newly reachable network elements and indications that existing network elements cease to be reachable are maintained automatically and the need for manually inputting such information is eliminated by employing a routing exchange protocol to dynamically maintain identity information of network elements reachable within the network, and by enhancing the routing exchange protocol interface to automatically supply an indication that a newly reachable network element has been detected or an indication that an existing network element has ceased to be reachable to an applications layer protocol.