Abstract: Calls made using the session initiation protocol (SIP) are augmented by exchanging data in the form of messages between terminals where the message content is defined by items of information expressed as uniform resource indicators (URIs). The receiving terminal can extract and process such information based on the semantic information in URI format.

Abstract: A contact center media server for aurally positioning participants of a contact center transaction at aural positions designated by a contact center agent. The media server includes a communications interface coupled to a controller and adapted to interface with a plurality of voice paths. Each of the voice paths is associated with one of a plurality of participants in a contact center transaction. A three-dimensional (3D) spatializer engine is coupled to the controller and can receive incoming voice signals received over voice paths and corresponding aural position data. The 3D spatializer engine processes the incoming voice signals and generates outgoing voice signals that include signal characteristics that aurally position the first outgoing voice signals at an aural position with respect to the contact center agent indicated by the aural position data.

Abstract: A system for receiving and decoding packet-based video signals, and method of operation and computer program product for such system are disclosed. The system receives a packet-based data stream encoding a video or television signal. The content is analysed in accordance with user-editable rules to find matches between conditions specified in the rules and corresponding actions to be taken. On detection of a match with the received content, a corresponding action is implemented by issuing a command to control a component which is under the control of said receiving and decoding system.

Abstract: A method of representing communications sessions in a virtual environment employs a presentation entity which is provided at a location in the environment where it will be visible and/or audible from the observation point of a user with whom a communications session has been requested. The presentation entity, which can represent a character or an object in the environment, for example, presents information to the user from within the environment. Also disclosed is an automated inhabitant which can operated to interact with other inhabitants of such an environment, obtaining information which is passed to and used by a contact center to queue contacts between such other inhabitants and contact center agents.

Abstract: A contact center has an interface with a virtual environment implemented in a computer system. The operation of the contact center includes receiving, from the virtual environment, spatial information relating to the spatial position within the virtual environment of an inhabitant of the virtual environment, and queuing a contact relating to that inhabitant in a queuing system of the contact center. Queuing decisions are based, at least in part, on the spatial information of the inhabitant in the virtual environment.

Abstract: A communications session directed at a group of contact centers is held outside the contact centers at an IVR server, while the requirements of the session are determined. A request is formulated specifying the requirements, and this request is sent to a web services provider agent exposed by the group of contact centers. The request is forwarded to the contact centers which collectively respond with an identification of an address associated with a specific endpoint to which the communications session should be sent in order that it will receive the specified handling. The IVR server holding the call can thereby direct the session to a suitable endpoint without having any need to remain aware of the state of the contact centers or the agents within those centers.

Abstract: Contacts are managed within a contact center by associating each contact with one or more skill set and priority identifiers. The contacts may be represented as a software object. Contact (or contact objects) may be queued relative to one another by means of references to and/or from the object(s) immediately ahead of and behind each contact. For those contacts having multiple skill sets, a process and a system is disclosed wherein the multiple skill sets of the contact are serviced by multiple agents to provide a 1 to N process. The customer may be given the option to have each additional agent conference into a contact session thereby reducing the customer's overall wait time for the contact to be serviced. The process and system also may include identifying contact objects having prerequisites and routing those contact objects to an agent having one of the prerequisites. The process and system also allows a group of related contacts to be serviced by one or more agents in an M to 1 or M to N fashion.

Abstract: One problem faced by contact center providers is how to most effectively balance limited contact center resources against the need to provide good customer service. The present invention addresses this problem by enabling a contact center to use external resources such as freelance contact center agents and media servers. This is achieved in such a way that those external resources are controlled by the contact center and their use is effectively transparent to end users of the contact center.

Abstract: A collaboration agent for facilitating real-time communications on behalf of a user. The collaboration agent includes a conference bridge that anchors calls to the conference bridge. The collaboration agent uses contextual information associated with the user to manage the real-time communications. The collaboration agent can communicate with other collaboration agents associated with other users.

Abstract: Access to a resource in a virtual environment is controllably granted by: a) receiving, from a user of the environment, a request for access to the resource; b) allocating the request to a queue of requests for the resource; c) determining a maximum permissible rate of access of users to the resource; d) providing a mechanism which is operable to grant users of the virtual environment with access to the resource at a rate no greater than the maximum permissible rate; e) allocating requests from the queue to the mechanism at a controlled allocation rate no greater than the maximum permissible rate; f) upon allocation of the request from the user to the mechanism, the mechanism granting the user with access to the resource within the virtual environment.

Abstract: Methods for analysing an interactive voice response (IVR) system are disclosed. In the methods, prompts are issued from the IVR system and user input made in response to the prompts from the IVR system is received. One method involves displaying the prompts issued by the IVR system to an operator; and receiving input data from the operator, the data defining whether any change to the IVR system is recommended and/or any recommended changes to the IVR system. Another method involves detecting the occurrence of an unexpected event by comparing the user input against a predefined set of rules, each rule being associated with one or more of the unexpected events; and taking a predefined action in response to the detection of one or more of the unexpected events.

Abstract: Queuing to a mobile agents is accomplished by assigning each mobile agents to one of a plurality of location zones based on information received from a tracking system, and maintaining a plurality of location-specific queues of requests, each location-specific queue having one or more of the location zones associated therewith, and each location-specific queue being serviced only by those mobile agents whose assigned location zone matches a location zone of that location-specific queue. On receiving a location-based request for the services of a mobile agent, an optimum queue is selected for the request from among the plurality of location-specific queues based at least in part on a comparison between the request location and a location zone associated with the optimum queue, subject to a servicing constraint that a queue can only be selected as the optimum queue if at least one agent is currently servicing the queue.

Abstract: Improved indexing of telephony sessions is achieved by: (a) receiving, during the recording of the telephony session or during a playback of the recording, an indication including parameters which identify a discrete segment of the recording as being of interest; and (b) storing, in an index associated with the recording of the session, an identifier which identifies that discrete segment of the recording.

Abstract: A system for monitoring a communication session in a contact center comprises a store of one or more defined speech events which may occur in a communication session for a contact being handled by an agent operating an agent station of the contact center, a speech event comprising at least one occurrence of at least one word in an audio stream of a communication session. A speech analyser is operable, during a communication session involving an agent station of the contact center, to detect the occurrence of one of the speech events. An event generator is responsive to detection of one of the speech events, for issuing an event notification during the communication session identifying the speech event to a reporting component of the contact center which has been configured to receive such event notifications.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of dynamically customizing a virtual world. A first user and a second user engage in a conversation with respect to a location in the virtual world. A speech processor monitors the conversation and detects that a sound made matches a key sound. The virtual world is altered to include a virtual world customization based on the key sound. The virtual world customization may also be based on user information associated with the user in the conversation that made the sound.

Abstract: An application for a client device which is arranged to receive and render selected video streams including content indicators relating to content to be rendered at a given location on a screen of the client device is disclosed. The application responds to user interaction with a rendered stream at rendered locations of the content to store an indicator of the user's interest in the content. The application then cooperates with an analyzer, arranged to analyse the user's interest in the content, and responds to the interest satisfying business logic by providing an indication of an interaction opportunity to the user of the client device during the rendering of the video stream.

Abstract: A method of providing access to a network of contact centres comprises providing contact links on one or more web pages which when activated initiate contacts to the contact centres. The network addresses associated with the links and to which the contacts are automatically directed are dynamically specified in the web pages and are obtained from a database. The database is dynamically updated in response to statistical updates received periodically or continually from the individual contact centres. In this way the contacts can be directed in advance to the most appropriate destination without having to evaluate each contact as it enters the contact centre network, thereby reducing processing time and delays.

Abstract: Participants who are in communication with a communications system can be placed in contact with one another by assigning each participant an agent profile allowing contact requests to be assigned to that participant in the capacity of an agent. One participant submits a contact request having details which can be matched against agent profiles, and that contact request is queue based on its content. A match is made between the contact request and a second participant by assigning the requests in the queue to participants whose agent profiles are matched with the queue. The second participant is thereby offered the opportunity to respond to the contact request in the capacity of an agent. It will be appreciated that rather than providing an unstructured environment (such as a free-for-all discussion forum), the method of the invention provides a way for a group of interested participants to respond to requests submitted by one another and to route such requests to a suitable and competent member of the group.

Abstract: A method is provided for distributing packets to multiple addressees over a network. A template packet is generated by the usual routing stack for each addressee to include the routing information necessary to send a packet to that addressee. From this template packet a template is formed and stored for each addressee. The data stream to be transmitted is formed into a stream of data packet payloads. Rather than sending this stream through the routing stack for each addressee, the template for each addressee is applied to each data packet payload to thereby generate a plurality of packets from every data packet payload each addressed to a different addressee. This enables multicast-like efficiencies to be achieved without using multicast protocols which are frequently disabled or unavailable on networks, and avoids the processor-intensive alternative of sending each data packet through the IP stack once for each addressee.

Abstract: There is a need to provide a method of managing contacts in a network of contact centers which facilitates even distribution of work load across the contact centers, is flexible, has inherent resilience, and which enables each contact center to have a degree of autonomy. This is achieved in the present invention by using contact objects and agent objects at each contact center and replicating and synchronizing those objects from each contact center to each of the other contact centers.