Abstract:
Individuals often place calls on behalf of a group or collection of individuals. As provided herein, a caller may access or establish a group number to be presented to a callee. The callee then receives the call, such as by answering, caller identifier display, etc., and may wish to return the call. The callee then places a call to the group, rather than the individual who placed the call, which is then routed to members of the group. Any member of the group may then answer the call, thus avoiding issues associated with the originating caller being unavailable when any member of the group could address the purpose of the call. Additionally, status information may be automatically provided to allow group members to receive activity notification for calls to and/or from the group. For example, an indication that a call to an individual was placed on behalf of the group and, optionally, the status (e.g., answered, voicemail, etc.) of the call.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure is generally directed toward telephony communications. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In prior enterprise telephony systems, such as those utilizing a private branch exchange (PBX), a call is always initiated from a single party or recorded against an individual. Such solutions work well; however, often a call is made on behalf of two or more users. A party receiving the call, such as upon the party&#39;s voicemail system, may wish to return the call. To return the call, the party dials the number associated with the caller who may or may not be available. 
     The number may be associated with the individual placing the initial call. If the called party wishes to return the call, and the calling party is unavailable, the call may be unanswered or routed to voicemail, even if another of the two or more users are available to receive the call. 
       FIG. 1  depicts communication system  100  of the prior art, which provides a well-known means for one party to call another party, whereby a caller utilizing calling endpoint  102  dials dialing sequence  108  comprising a destination address associated with called endpoint  106 . Communication server  104 , such as a private branch exchange (PBX) server, forwards the call to called endpoint  106 , which presents display  110  comprising the calling party&#39;s name and/or extension. The called party may answer or not answer the call, such as when the call is routed to voicemail. If the called party wishes to return the call, the display  110  identifies the caller and may be utilized to place a return call. Despite the advantages of such systems, limitations and problems remain. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is with respect to the above issues and other problems that the embodiments presented herein were contemplated. With respect to certain embodiments provided herein, outbound calls placed on behalf of a group are provided. Prior art enterprise telephony systems, such as PBXs, are devoid of any indication that a call is placed on behalf of multiple parties or there are various parties interested in the purpose of the call. A called party who wishes to call back is only presented with the single calling party&#39;s origination number. With respect to embodiments provided herein, functionality is provided to a PBX to initiate a call on behalf of a group or virtual group (e.g., dynamic group, ad hoc group, etc.), which may provide an indication to the callee of the purpose of the call, as well as, provide a callback from the calling group. 
     For example, a group or plurality of individuals have a query to another group or individual in an enterprise, such as a development team that has a query about another product and the development manager instructs one individual to ask the question to the other group on behalf of the entire development team. In another example, a contact center has a particular domain expertise agent group and appoints a member to query another domain group. The member initiates the call on behalf of all of the concerned parties. When the call is initiated, it is marked as a multi-party originated call, or “group” call, by the caller. 
     If the group does not already exist within the PBX, a virtual user group may be created and provided with a new group number from the list of available numbers. For example, a call may be originated from an individual on behalf of the caller and the caller&#39;s manager. The caller selects their manager from the contacts list and a virtual group will be created by the PBX with two members. 
     Short codes can be defined in the system to indicate group calling. When a user dials a number with a particular short code, an option can be presented to the user to select the group or select the contacts to be included in a virtual group for that call. For virtual groups, naming of the group can be variously enabled. For example, the group may be a joining of the names of the group members. If such a joining results in a name-length exceeding a limit, the initials of one or more the individuals may be used. Once the group is created, the call will be initiated on behalf of a hunt group or the virtual group formed. A call log entry can be automatically made on the logs of the group members. As a benefit, once the call is made, each group member may be informed and the need for the caller to report the call to the other group members, via other channels, will be eliminated. Similarly, group members will be able to determine if a call has been made, and/or a completion status (e.g., answered, voicemail, etc.) associated with the call, without the need to directly inquire. In another embodiment, a caller may select a group name or virtual group name as per the naming conventions for the virtual group. 
     If the call is returned, the called party may call back to the same number. The original caller need not be present as the call is targeted towards the group and anyone in the group can answer the call. As all the concerned parties are aware of the call made or about the problem, any of the group members can answer the call and continue the conversation about the issue. If no further follow-up is required, the call can be marked as complete and the virtual agent group entry will be deleted from the PBX. The group can be informed of the call and/or any issue or resolution associated with the call by the PBX, log file, and/or push notification. 
     In one embodiment, a server is disclosed, comprising: a communication interface operable to connect a calling endpoint to a called endpoint; a processor configured to receive a calling endpoint address associated with the calling endpoint and, upon determining the calling endpoint address comprises a group identifier, causing the called endpoint to present a call from the calling endpoint to the called endpoint as originating from a group associated with the group identifier and comprising a plurality of group endpoints. 
     In one embodiment, a telephony endpoint is disclosed, comprising: an input interface operable to receive an address for a far endpoint; a communication interface operable to connect to a server configured to host a call between the telephony endpoint and the far endpoint; and wherein the input interface is further configured to receive a group call identifier and cause the server to forward the call to the far endpoint comprising an origin identifier associated with the group identifier. 
     In another embodiment, a method is disclosed, comprising: receiving at a server a call placed by a calling endpoint to a called endpoint; determining the call indicates a group origination; and forwarding the call to the called endpoint comprising an origination data header further comprising a group identifier. 
     The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. 
     The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably. 
     The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material.” 
     The term “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refers to any tangible storage that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, a solid-state medium like a memory card, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, it is to be understood that the database may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium and prior art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations of the present disclosure are stored. 
     The terms “determine,” “calculate,” and “compute,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique. 
     The term “module,” as used herein, refers to any known or later-developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element. Also, while the disclosure is described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that other aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the appended figures: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a communication system of the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a first communication system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a second communication system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a third communication system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 5A-5B  depict an interaction in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  depicts a first process in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 7  depicts a second process in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The ensuing description provides embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the ensuing description will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the embodiments. It will be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
     Any reference in the description comprising an element number, without a subelement identifier when a subelement identifier exists in the figures, when used in the plural, is intended to reference any two or more elements with a like element number. When such a reference is made in the singular form, it is intended to reference one of the elements with the like element number without limitation to a specific one of the elements. Any explicit usage herein to the contrary or providing further qualification or identification shall take precedence. 
     The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure will also be described in relation to analysis software, modules, and associated analysis hardware. However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the following description omits well-known structures, components, and devices that may be shown in block diagram form, and are well known, or are otherwise summarized. 
     For purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated, however, that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific details set forth herein. 
       FIG. 2  depicts communication system  200  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Calling endpoint  102  places a call to called endpoint  106  via communication server  104 . In one embodiment, dialing sequence  202  comprises a group dialing indicator with an associated group identifier, as well as the address associated with called endpoint  106 . Communication server  104  processes the request, such as a PBX receiving any call request for another in-network address. Server  104  determines dialing sequence  202  comprises a group dialing indicator (e.g., “9”) and a group identifier (e.g., “Development Team”). 
     It should be appreciated that the group dialing indicator may be variously embodied to accommodate a particular installation or to avoid conflicting with existing specialty dialing digits or codes. For example, the pound key (“#”) or other telephony key may be utilized when the digit “9” is previously allocated to another purpose, such as accessing an outside line. In another example, a particular digit may be utilized when no other valid dialing sequence comprises such a digit. 
     Communication server  104 , upon determining that a call placed to called endpoint  106  is being placed on behalf of a group, causes called endpoint  106  to be presented with informational message  204  identifying the calling party as the group. In one embodiment, a group comprises a number of individuals identified by at least one on a network accessible by communication server  104 . In another embodiment, the group comprises a single individual endpoint address, which may or may not be associated with calling endpoint  102 . For example, an administrative assistant may place a call to another party on behalf of another, such as an officer of the company, causing called endpoint  106  to present the call as if it originated from the company officer. However, it should be noted that in such embodiments, the calling party need not share the same extension as the party for which the call is being made. 
     Calling endpoint  102  and called endpoint  106  are variously embodied. Calling endpoint  102  may comprise a digital wired telephone, such as that featuring a detailed alphanumeric display, an analog telephone, which may or may not feature a display, a computer or other computational device operating a telephony application (e.g., soft phone), and/or a wireless telephone device configured to communicate via communication server  104 . Calling endpoint  102  may present a full alphanumeric description, such as groups to select, and receive a user&#39;s input thereon. When embodied as a less feature-rich device, calling endpoint  102  may associate certain numeric keys with functions, present audio prompts, and/or spoken command processing. 
     Called endpoint  106  may similarly be embodied as a full-featured digital telephony endpoint, analog telephone, wireless telephone, and/or telephony application. Called endpoint  106  comprises a display or other means to present the user thereof with calling party identification. For example, called endpoint  106  may present an audio tone or spoken identification of the calling party, whether the calling party is an individual or group. Called endpoint  106  preferably comprises features that enable call-back to an identified calling address. It should be appreciated that for the purposes of avoiding undue complications to the figures, addresses disclosed herein are numeric. In another embodiment, addresses may be SIP addresses or other alphanumeric addresses (e.g., “username@company.com”). Accordingly, addresses implementing characters beyond digits 0-9 and the pound and asterisk symbols, may dictate that calling endpoint  102  and/or called endpoint  106  be similarly configured to accommodate alphanumeric inputs and outputs. 
     In another embodiment, additional communication components may be provided between calling endpoint  102  and called endpoint  106 . For example, additional public (e.g., Internet, public switched telephone network) and/or private networks (e.g., LAN, WAN, WiMax, cellular, etc.) may be utilized to facilitate communication between calling endpoint  102  and called endpoint  106 . 
       FIG. 3  depicts communication system  300  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, system  300  illustrates a dialing sequence provided by calling endpoint  102 . A user of calling endpoint  102  dials a group call identifier  302  causing communication server  104 , or calling endpoint  102 , to present group dialing menu  304 . The user selects a particular option from group dialing menu  304  and the address  306  associated with the called endpoint  106 . It should be appreciated that group dialing indicator  302  may be embodied as a command, menu option, function key, soft key, or other indicator of a group call. 
     Group dialing menu  304  is variously embodied. In one embodiment, group dialing menu  304  presents a list of groups for which the user associated with calling endpoint  102  is a member. In another embodiment, group dialing menu  304  presents a list of groups on whose behalf the user associated with calling endpoint  102  is authorized to make calls. In another embodiment, groups may be created on a permanent or temporary basis. For example, an input on group dialing menu  304  indicating a new group should be created (e.g. “5”) may prompt the user to select the members, such as by name, extension, or other address, to be added to the group. The group may be provided with a name to facilitate identification, such as by the user of called endpoint  106  and/or future callers wishing to utilize the same group. Communication server  104  maintains the group name and its associated members. Incoming calls addressed to the group are then routed to the respective members of the group. 
     Once dialing has completed, the communication server  104  forwards the call comprising originating information, such as the group name or identifier, to the destination, such as called endpoint  106 . Called endpoint  106  may then present calling information  318  indicating that a call is being received from a group, such as by presenting the name of the group, and, optionally, a particular individual calling on behalf of the group. 
     In another embodiment, communication server  104  may cause records  316  to be maintained in log  308 . Log  308  and records  316  may be accessible such as by authorized users, which may comprise the individuals of group  310 , as identified in records  316 . In another embodiment, records  316 , or indicia thereof, may be provided to group member endpoint  312 ,  314  via push-notification. For example, upon placing the call from a calling endpoint  102 , on behalf of group  310 , group members  312 ,  314  are provided notification to their respective endpoints and/or other notification addresses (e.g., email address, SMS device, etc.). 
     In another embodiment, a particular task may be associated with a call. For example, John, utilizing calling endpoint  102 , is placing a call to Jane, utilizing called endpoint  106 , on behalf of development managers Melissa and Genie, to request new budget information. Server  104  may then cause log  308  to record a message identifying the call as being associated with the task (e.g., requesting new budget information), make the record available, and/or provide a pitch notification to group member endpoints  312 ,  314 . 
       FIG. 4  depicts communication system  400  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. System  400  comprises components to enable the user associated with called endpoint  106  to return the call received from group  310 . In one embodiment, called endpoint  106  inputs dialing sequence  406 , which may further comprise the selection of the group from a display and/or receiving numeric or alphanumeric inputs upon called endpoint  106 . Communication server  104  accesses directory  402  comprising a record  404 . Record  404  further comprises the group identifier and the addresses of the members of the group, such as group endpoints  312 ,  314  of group  310 . 
     Communication server  104  then places the call to group endpoints  312 ,  314 . Informational display  418  optionally notifies users associated with group endpoints  312 ,  314  of the call and, as a further option, identifies the call as being a call-back to the group. The call may then be answered upon one of group endpoints  312 ,  314  and the call completed normally. 
     In another embodiment, communication server  104  may cause log  308  to record records  420 . As a further option, records  420  may be provided to at least one of the group  310  members, such as each of group endpoints  312 ,  314  or to one of the group endpoints  312 ,  314 , which did not answer the call. As yet a further option, the party placing the call, when not a member of group  310 , such as calling endpoint  102 , may also be provided records  420 . Record  420  may be further associated with a particular task, whereby notification to group endpoints  312 ,  314 , and/or calling endpoint  102  may further indicate the call in association with a particular task. 
       FIGS. 5A-5B  depict interaction  500  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Interaction  500  illustrates one possible interaction between calling endpoint  102  and called endpoint  106  with notifications to group members  502 A and  502 B, utilizing group endpoints  503 A and  503 B, respectively. It should be appreciated that certain protocol messages may be added, removed, altered, and/or reordered without departing from the scope of the embodiments provided herein. 
     Calling endpoint  102  goes off hook  504 , which causes communication server  104  to provide dial tone  506  to calling endpoint  102 . Calling endpoint  102  initiates dialing 508, which may comprise numeric or alphanumeric address characters identifying called endpoint  106 . SIP invite  510  is then sent to communication server  104 , which responds with directory list  512  indicating a number of potential groups for which calling endpoint  102  may place calls. If a new group is to be created, group select  514  may provide a list of members for which a group may be created as indicated by message  516 . In one embodiment, the name of the group may be provided by the user of calling endpoint  102 . In another embodiment, the name of the group may be provided by mitigation server  104 , which may comprise a machine-determined name, such as a concatenation of group members, a department associated with group members, or other grouping functionality. As a further option, the group name may be modified, which may cause communication server  104  to validate the name to ensure compliance with naming conventions and/or uniqueness. 
     Communication server  104  may provide notification to group members  502 , such as by providing push log  518 ,  520  to devices  502 B,  503 B, respectively. SIP invite message  522  is then forwarded to called endpoint  106  for presentation thereon. Called endpoint  106 , if not presently engaged, rings and, if selected by the user, goes off hook  524 . Communication  526  provides for data exchange between called endpoint  106  and calling endpoint  102 , such as by utilizing a real-time protocol (RTP). Upon completion of the call, communication server  104  may provide push notifications  528 ,  530  directly to group endpoints  503 A,  503 B and/or to a log repository, such as log  308 . Should the call be associated with a particular task, communication server  104  directly or by causing another component and/or data repository to access a task, provides messages  518 ,  520 ,  528 , and/or  530  to indicate the status of the call (e.g., call placed, call answered, left message, call completed, etc.) that is associated with the task (e.g., “call completed. RE: John to ask Jane about new budget information.”). 
       FIG. 6  depicts process  600  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, process  600  begins at step  602  when a call is received at a server, such as by calling endpoint  102  placing a call to called endpoint  106 , as received by communication server  104 . Step  604  determines if the call is made on behalf of another. In one embodiment, the call is made on behalf of a group comprising a plurality of members associated with the plurality of group endpoints, such as group endpoints  312 ,  314 . 
     If step  604  is determined in the negative, processing continues to step  606  whereby the call is not a group call on behalf of any other individual and the call is routed to its addressed destination and indicates that the sender and the originator are the same. Following step  606 , process  600  may terminate. If step  604  is determined in the affirmative, processing continues to step  608  whereby the call is created and forwarded to the selected destination and indicates the originator is the other, such as a group or individual different from the originator. The call is then completed in the normal manner, such as being answered, ringing, ringing then routing to voicemail, forwarding, and/or other option as may be configured by the operator or administrator of the destination endpoint. Optionally, step  610  may create a log entry associated with the call and its associated status and, as a further option, its relationship with a particular task. The log entry may then be pushed to the “another” individual or group members. 
       FIG. 7  depicts process  700  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, a call that was previously placed to a called endpoint, such as called endpoint  106 , indicates that the sender is a group. The called endpoint  106  selects the group, such as to return the call. Step  702  receives the call, such as a call from called endpoint  106  being returned to a group address via communication server  104 . Step  704  determines if the call is destined to a group. If step  704  is determined in the negative, processing continues to step  706  whereby the call is routed to the destination address of the individual. Following step  706 , process  700  may terminate. 
     If step  704  is determined in the affirmative, processing continues to step  708  whereby members of the group identified are accessed, such as by indication server  104  accessing directory  402 . Step  710  then creates calls for forwarding to members of the group accessed in step  708 . The call is then completed as normal, such as by one of the members answering the call and/or the call going to voicemail or otherwise left unanswered. Optionally, step  712  creates a log entry, which may be forwarded to a repository, such as log  308 , and/or push notified to the members of the group or, as a further option, sent to the originator of the call if not otherwise a member of the group. 
     In the foregoing description, for the purposes of illustration, methods were described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that in alternate embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different order that described. It should also be appreciated that the methods described above may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in sequences of machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a machine, such as a general-purpose or special-purpose processor (GPU or CPU), or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to perform the methods (FPGA). These machine-executable instructions may be stored on one or more machine-readable mediums, such as CD-ROMs or other type of optical disks, floppy diskettes, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or other types of machine-readable mediums suitable for storing electronic instructions. Alternatively, the methods may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. 
     Specific details were given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments. 
     Also, it is noted that the embodiments were described as a process, which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed, but could have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function. 
     Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine-readable medium, such as a storage medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks. A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc. 
     While illustrative embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations, except as limited by the prior art.