Abstract:
A method, system and computer-usable medium for optimizing retrieval of customer data needed to handle a call are presented. The method includes the steps of receiving a call at a data center; initiating a query for a business data related to the call; creating a key that identifies the business data related to the call; pre-fetching the business data using the key with a lookup table; caching the pre-fetched business data; attaching the key to the call; routing the call with the attached key to a desktop agent; receiving a request from the desktop agent for the pre-fetched business data; retrieving the cached pre-fetched business data; and transmitting the cached pre-fetched business data to the desktop agent.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Technical Field  
         [0002]     The present invention relates in general to the field of computers, and in particular to data management in a computer system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to pre-retrieving and pre-caching data for a call center.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     To provide service and support to customers, businesses today often rely on centralized service centers, which are often shared with other businesses and/or with other departments within a single enterprise. The service center includes a data center, in which calls are initially received and triaged, and the destination service desk (which may be staffed by an employee of either the enterprise that has contracted for service with the data center or a Third Party Administrator (TPA) under contract with either the data center or the enterprise). Thus, a call from a customer to the enterprise, which is usually made to a toll-free number, is initially received at the data center, and then routed to an appropriate agent in an appropriate enterprise/department/TPA.  
         [0005]     Since the data center is often shared among multiple enterprises or departments within an enterprise, business data for these multiple entities can seldom be retrieved optimally, particularly when the call is to a data center that uses an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) application and Screen-Pops. The IVR application is a voice recognition system that, based on spoken responses to prepared questions from the IVR application, routes the call to the appropriate agent in the appropriate enterprise/department. (Alternatively, information responses may be input by a caller on a telephone keypad where the data center is a Dual tone Modulated Frequency (DTMF) based system.) The Screen-Pops are pop-up windows that are populated with data needed by the agent, such as the caller&#39;s name, business history, account history, personal or security data, etc. In general, IVR applications reside within the data center, and calls being treated by the IVR application have to wait several seconds before business data can be retrieved and the call can be routed to an appropriate agent with a populated Screen-Pop. The wait period is exacerbated by data legacy systems, which often take a long time to access. Holding the call at the data center ties up an IVR port at the data center for several seconds, and therefore is extremely expensive (in terms of resource usage). Furthermore, such delays cause customer dissatisfaction. Thus, a main objective of the data center is to pass the call on to the appropriate agent, with the needed customer data, as soon as possible.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention recognizes the need for a method for optimizing the routing of a call to a desktop agent and populating that desktop agent with data needed to handle the call, and thus presents a method, system and computer-usable medium that address this need. The method includes the steps of receiving a call at a data center; initiating a query for a business data related to the call; creating a key that identifies the business data related to the call; pre-fetching the business data using the key with a lookup table; caching the pre-fetched business data; attaching the key to the call; routing the call with the attached key to a desktop agent; receiving a request from the desktop agent for the pre-fetched business data; retrieving the cached pre-fetched business data; and transmitting the cached pre-fetched business data to the desktop agent.  
         [0007]     In one embodiment, after initial Interactive Voice Response (IVR) treatment, an IVR application in the data center initiates a query to a business connector. The business connector receives a query and responds with a key, which is an identifier in a look-up table for customer data that will be needed by an agent who assigned to handle a call to the data center. The call is then routed with the key attached to it (e.g., in a header of a digital data packet that contains the call routing instructions to the agent) to a destination, such as an agent in a Customer Service Representative (CSR) center. While the call is being routed to the CSR center, a business object in the business connector simultaneously initiates a data query to a data application, which may be a legacy application, requesting data that will be needed by the CSR (agent) to properly handle the call. This data may be based on the telephone number that the call is made to (assuming that the data center is able to field calls to multiple numbers), the telephone number of the caller, information input by the caller via IVR or telephone touchpad entries, etc. Results of the data query are cached and catalogued (identified; cross-referenced) in a look-up table. When the call reached the CSR, a CSR application queries the business object in the business connector for needed data using the key that is attached to the call. The business object, using the key, locates a cache address of the needed data in the look-up table, and retrieves and sends the needed data to the CSR, preferably to a Screen-Pop program that is populated by the retrieved cache data. Once the data is sent to the CSR, it (preferably) is deleted from the business object&#39;s cache memory.  
         [0008]     The above, as well as additional purposes, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further purposes and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  depicts an infrastructure context in which data is pre-fetched in response to a call to a service agent;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a flow-chart of exemplary steps taken to pre-fetch data in response to a service agent;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary computer which can be utilized in the service center in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates a software deploying service that is capable of deploying software to the client computer shown in  FIG. 3  to implement the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIGS. 5   a - b  are flow-chart showing steps taken to deploy software capable of executing the steps shown in  FIGS. 1-2 ;  
         [0015]      FIGS. 6   a - c  are flow-charts showing steps taken to deploy in a Virtual Private Network (VPN) software that is capable of executing the steps shown in  FIGS. 1-2 ;  
         [0016]      FIGS. 7   a - b  are flow-charts showing steps taken to integrate into an computer system software that is capable of executing the steps shown in  FIGS. 1-2 ; and  
         [0017]      FIGS. 8   a - b  are flow-charts showing steps taken to execute the steps shown in  FIGS. 1-2  using an on-demand service provider.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0018]     With reference now to the figures, and in particular to  FIG. 1 , there is depicted a diagram of software infrastructure utilized in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention to create an optimized call flow with needed data for handling the call. A call  100  is received by an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) host  102 , which includes an IVR application  104  that communicates with a business connector  106 . Note that IVR host  102  is part of a presentation layer  108 , and communicates with a business layer  110 , which includes a pre-cache mechanism  112  (which is further defined and described below). When the IVR host  102  receives the call  100 , connector  106  presents a query, along with call information, to a business object  120  in pre-cache mechanism  112 . The query is for data needed by a service representative to assist the customer that placed the call. The query is based on call information, which may be any call parameters defined by the architect of the system, including Automatic Number Identification (ANI), Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS), Caller Entered Information (CEI), etc. The ANI is a service that provides IVR host  102  with the telephone number of the system that sent call  100 . DNIS is a telephone service that identifies, for IVR host  102 , the number that call  100  was placed (dialed) to (assuming that IVR host  102  is able to intake calls to different numbers). Thus, if IVR host  102  handles calls to toll-free numbers that are sponsored by different enterprises/entities, DNIS can identify which toll-free number was called, thereby providing useful information for accessing business data as described below. Note also that the call parameter may be the CEI, such as voice responses to pre-recorded questions posed by IVR host  102  (e.g., the name of the department or service being requested, the caller&#39;s social security number, the caller&#39;s name, etc.). Alternatively, the CEI may be inputs into a telephone keypad that are entered by the caller in response to prompts for information such as an account number, a social security number, an employee identifier, etc.  
         [0019]     As indicated by step  1  in  FIG. 1 , this call information is presented to business object  120  as a query for any business data that is relevant to the call information. For example, if the call information is an account number of the caller, then the business object  120  may retrieve an account history of charges and payments for that account.  
         [0020]     When business object  120  receives the call information, it generates and assigns a key to that call information. For example, assume that the call information includes the caller&#39;s name, the caller&#39;s account number, and the year for which the caller is asking for information about his account. Business object  120  then builds a lookup table  124 , which assigns “Key  1 ” with “Data  1 ” (data that is related to the caller&#39;s name), “Key  2 ” with “Data  2 ” (data that is related to the caller&#39;s account number), and “Key  3 ” with “Data  3 ” (data that causes the retrieval of account data only for a particular year). At this point, business object  120  begins two operations simultaneously. The first operation is to send back to connector  106  the names of the (one or more) keys that have been assigned to the call  100  based on the call parameters. (Note that if none of the call parameters match a data descriptor located in lookup table  124 , an error is returned to IVR host  102 , indicating that there is no relevant information for that call parameter available to populate a Screen-Pop as described below.) These key(s) are then appended to call  100 , such as to a header that describes features of the call  100 . Included then in the header are not only keys that identify the call parameters described above, but also the destination address (i.e., the agent desktop  114 ) for the call. Thus, when the call  100  is sent to agent desktop  114 , the key(s) are appended to the call itself, as indicated by step  3 .  
         [0021]     While business object  120  is sending the above described key(s) to IVR host  102 , business object  120  is also obtaining and pre-fetching business data from a Business Data Layer/Legacy Application (BDLLA)  122 . BDLLA  122  is a legacy database belonging to one of the enterprises that utilizes IVR host  102  to direct incoming calls to the appropriate agent desktop. Data in BDLLA  122  is used to populate a Screen-Pop, which appears on a monitor of the agent desktop  114  with pertinent information related to call  100 . As described at step  2 . 1 , business object  120  queries BDLLA  122  using input parameters (call parameters; call information) presented by IVR host  102  for the call  100  under consideration. As indicated by step  2 . 2 , appropriate business data is returned from BDLLA  122  to business object  120 , where it is contained/cached against the data key(s) that were returned to IVR application  104  in step  2 . Business object now has the business data readily cached and cross-referenced to the key(s) that are attached to call  100  (after being sent from IVR host  102  to agent desktop  114 ). Note that business object  120 , BDLLA  122  and lookup table  124  are all part of a pre-cache mechanism  112 , and pre-cache mechanism  112  and agent desktop  114  are all part of a business layer  110 . Note further that agent desktop  114  includes a desktop client  116 , which includes access to and control of applications  118 , one of which may be a Screen-Pop application.  
         [0022]     Referring now to step  4 , when desktop client  116  receives call  100  with the appended key(s), desktop client  116  sends a query to business object  120  for any cached business data whose cache address in business object  120  is associated with the call-appended keys  1 ,  2  and  3 . In the example above, desktop client  116  would send a request to business object for any business data identified in lookup table  124  for information related to the caller&#39;s name (Key  1 ), the caller&#39;s account number (Key  2 ), and the year that the caller is asking about (Key  3 ). Business object  120  then sends this business data (which was previously retrieved from BDLLA  122  and cached in business object  120 ) to desktop client  116 , which uses this business data to populate the Screen-Pop application for use by the servicing agent.  
         [0023]     Reference is now made to  FIG. 2 , which describes exemplary steps taken by the present invention, and correlating with the steps described in  FIG. 1 . After initiator block  202  in  FIG. 2 , an IVR application in the presentation layer presents a query, using call parameters, to a business object in the business layer (block  204 ). If the business object does not recognize the caller information (call parameters sent by the IVR application), as described in query block  206 , then the business object returns an error message to the IVR application (block  208 ), and the process ends (terminator block  222 ). However, if the business object does recognize the caller information, then the business object returns one or more data keys to the IVR application (block  210 ). The IVR application then attaches the data key(s) to the call (block  212 ), and then routes the call with the attached key to the appropriate agent desktop (block  214 ). Concurrently, the business object queries the business layer, using input parameters presented by the IVR for the call under consideration (block  216 ). Data that is returned by the business layer to the business object is contained/cached within the business object against the data key(s) that was returned to the IVR application (block  218 ). Since the destination agent desktop has the data key (obtained from the routed call), the destination agent desktop can then use that data key to retrieve the business data that was cached by the business object (block  220 ), which then deletes the business data from the business object&#39;s cache, and the process ends (terminator block  222 ).  
         [0024]     With reference now to  FIG. 3 , there is depicted a block diagram of an exemplary client computer  302 , whose architecture may be used by IVR host  102 , agent desktop  114 , and pre-cache mechanism  112  (that is, host  102 , agent desktop  114 , and pre-cache mechanism  114  are physically distinct systems that use similar architecture as described in  FIG. 3 ). Client computer  302  includes a processor unit  304  that is coupled to a system bus  306 . A video adapter  308 , which drives/supports a display  310 , is also coupled to system bus  306 . System bus  306  is coupled via a bus bridge  312  to an Input/Output (I/O) bus  314 . An I/O interface  316  is coupled to I/O bus  314 . I/O interface  316  affords communication with various I/O devices, including a keyboard  318 , a mouse  320 , a Compact Disk—Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) drive  322 , a floppy disk drive  324 , and a flash drive memory  326 . The format of the ports connected to I/O interface  316  may be any known to those skilled in the art of computer architecture, including but not limited to Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports.  
         [0025]     Client computer  302  is able to communicate with a software deploying server  402  via a network  328  using a network interface  330 , which is coupled to system bus  306 . Network  328  may be an external network such as the Internet, or an internal network such as an Ethernet or a Virtual Private Network (VPN).  
         [0026]     A hard drive interface  332  is also coupled to system bus  306 . Hard drive interface  332  interfaces with a hard drive  334 . In a preferred embodiment, hard drive  334  populates a system memory  336 , which is also coupled to system bus  306 . Data that populates system memory  336  includes client computer  302 &#39;s operating system (OS)  338  and application programs  344 .  
         [0027]     OS  338  includes a shell  340 , for providing transparent user access to resources such as application programs  344 . Generally, shell  340  is a program that provides an interpreter and an interface between the user and the operating system. More specifically, shell  340  executes commands that are entered into a command line user interface or from a file. Thus, shell  340  (as it is called in UNIX®), also called a command processor in Windows®, is generally the highest level of the operating system software hierarchy and serves as a command interpreter. The shell provides a system prompt, interprets commands entered by keyboard, mouse, or other user input media, and sends the interpreted command(s) to the appropriate lower levels of the operating system (e.g., a kernel  342 ) for processing. Note that while shell  340  is a text-based, line-oriented user interface, the present invention will equally well support other user interface modes, such as graphical, voice, gestural, etc.  
         [0028]     As depicted, OS  338  also includes kernel  342 , which includes lower levels of functionality for OS  338 , including providing essential services required by other parts of OS  338  and application programs  344 , including memory management, process and task management, disk management, and mouse and keyboard management.  
         [0029]     Application programs  344  include a browser  346 . Browser  346  includes program modules and instructions enabling a World Wide Web (WWW) client (i.e., client computer  302 ) to send and receive network messages to the Internet using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) messaging, thus enabling communication with software deploying server  402 .  
         [0030]     Application programs  344  in client computer  302 &#39;s system memory also include a Data Retrieval Optimizer (DRO)  348 . DRO  348  includes code for implementing the processes described in  FIGS. 1-2 . In one embodiment, client computer  302  is able to download DRO  348  from software deploying server  402 .  
         [0031]     The hardware elements depicted in client computer  302  are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are representative to highlight essential components required by the present invention. For instance, client computer  302  may include alternate memory storage devices such as magnetic cassettes, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, and the like. These and other variations are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0032]     As noted above, DRO  348  can be downloaded to client computer  302  from software deploying server  402 , shown in exemplary form in  FIG. 4 . Software deploying server  402  includes a processor unit  404  that is coupled to a system bus  406 . A video adapter  408  is also coupled to system bus  406 . Video adapter  408  drives/supports a display  410 . System bus  406  is coupled via a bus bridge  412  to an Input/Output (I/O) bus  414 . An I/O interface  416  is coupled to I/O bus  414 . I/O interface  416  affords communication with various I/O devices, including a keyboard  418 , a mouse  420 , a Compact Disk—Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) drive  422 , a floppy disk drive  424 , and a flash drive memory  426 . The format of the ports connected to I/O interface  416  may be any known to those skilled in the art of computer architecture, including but not limited to Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports.  
         [0033]     Software deploying server  402  is able to communicate with client computer  302  via network  328  using a network interface  430 , which is coupled to system bus  406 . Access to network  328  allows software deploying server  402  to deploy DRO  348  to client computer  302 .  
         [0034]     System bus  406  is also coupled to a hard drive interface  432 , which interfaces with a hard drive  434 . In a preferred embodiment, hard drive  434  populates a system memory  436 , which is also coupled to system bus  406 . Data that populates system memory  436  includes software deploying server  402 &#39;s operating system  438 , which includes a shell  440  and a kernel  442 . Shell  440  is incorporated in a higher level operating system layer and utilized for providing transparent user access to resources such as application programs  444 , which include a browser  446 , and a copy of DRO  348  described above, which can be deployed to client computer  302 .  
         [0035]     The hardware elements depicted in software deploying server  402  are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are representative to highlight essential components required by the present invention. For instance, software deploying server  402  may include alternate memory storage devices such as flash drives, magnetic cassettes, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, and the like. These and other variations are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0036]     Note further that, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, software deploying server  402  performs all of the functions associated with the present invention (including execution of DRO  348 ), thus freeing client computer  302  from having to use its own internal computing resources to execute DRO  348 .  
         [0037]     It should be understood that at least some aspects of the present invention may alternatively be implemented in a computer-useable medium that contains a program product. Programs defining functions on the present invention can be delivered to a data storage system or a computer system via a variety of signal-bearing media, which include, without limitation, non-writable storage media (e.g., CD-ROM), writable storage media (e.g., hard disk drive, read/write CD ROM, optical media), system memory such as but not limited to Random Access Memory (RAM), and communication media, such as computer and telephone networks including Ethernet, the Internet, wireless networks, and like network systems. It should be understood, therefore, that such signal-bearing media when carrying or encoding computer readable instructions that direct method functions in the present invention, represent alternative embodiments of the present invention. Further, it is understood that the present invention may be implemented by a system having means in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware as described herein or their equivalent.  
         [0000]     Software Deployment  
         [0038]     Thus, the method described herein, and in particular as shown and described in  FIGS. 1-2 , can be deployed as a process software from software deploying server  402  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) to client computer  302  (shown in  FIG. 3 ).  
         [0039]     Referring then to  FIG. 5 , step  500  begins the deployment of the process software. The first thing is to determine if there are any programs that will reside on a server or servers when the process software is executed (query block  502 ). If this is the case, then the servers that will contain the executables are identified (block  504 ). The process software for the server or servers is transferred directly to the servers&#39; storage via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or some other protocol or by copying though the use of a shared file system (block  506 ). The process software is then installed on the servers (block  508 ).  
         [0040]     Next, a determination is made on whether the process software is to be deployed by having users access the process software on a server or servers (query block  510 ). If the users are to access the process software on servers, then the server addresses that will store the process software are identified (block  512 ).  
         [0041]     A determination is made if a proxy server is to be built (query block  514 ) to store the process software. A proxy server is a server that sits between a client application, such as a Web browser, and a real server. It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it forwards the request to the real server. The two primary benefits of a proxy server are to improve performance and to filter requests. If a proxy server is required, then the proxy server is installed (block  516 ). The process software is sent to the servers either via a protocol such as FTP or it is copied directly from the source files to the server files via file sharing (block  518 ). Another embodiment would be to send a transaction to the servers that contained the process software and have the server process the transaction, then receive and copy the process software to the server&#39;s file system. Once the process software is stored at the servers, the users, via their client computers, then access the process software on the servers and copy to their client computers file systems (block  520 ). Another embodiment is to have the servers automatically copy the process software to each client and then run the installation program for the process software at each client computer. The user executes the program that installs the process software on his client computer (i.e., client computer  302 ) (block  522 ) then exits the process (terminator block  524 ).  
         [0042]     In query step  526 , a determination is made whether the process software is to be deployed by sending the process software to users via e-mail. The set of users where the process software will be deployed are identified together with the addresses of the user client computers (block  528 ). The process software is sent via e-mail to each of the users&#39; client computers (block  530 ). The users then receive the e-mail (block  532 ) and then detach the process software from the e-mail to a directory on their client computers (block  534 ). The user executes the program that installs the process software on his client computer (block  522 ) then exits the process (terminator block  524 ).  
         [0043]     Lastly a determination is made on whether to the process software will be sent directly to user directories on their client computers (query block  536 ). If so, the user directories are identified (block  538 ). The process software is transferred directly to the user&#39;s client computer directory (block  540 ). This can be done in several ways such as, but not limited to, sharing of the file system directories and then copying from the sender&#39;s file system to the recipient user&#39;s file system or alternatively using a transfer protocol such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The users access the directories on their client file systems in preparation for installing the process software (block  542 ). The user executes the program that installs the process software on his client computer (block  522 ) and then exits the process (terminator block  524 ).  
         [0000]     VPN Deployment  
         [0044]     The present software can be deployed to third parties as part of a service wherein a third party VPN service is offered as a secure deployment vehicle or wherein a VPN is built on-demand as required for a specific deployment.  
         [0045]     A virtual private network (VPN) is any combination of technologies that can be used to secure a connection through an otherwise unsecured or untrusted network. VPNs improve security and reduce operational costs. The VPN makes use of a public network, usually the Internet, to connect remote sites or users together. Instead of using a dedicated, real-world connection such as leased line, the VPN uses “virtual” connections routed through the Internet from the company&#39;s private network to the remote site or employee. Access to the software via a VPN can be provided as a service by specifically constructing the VPN for purposes of delivery or execution of the process software (i.e. the software resides elsewhere) wherein the lifetime of the VPN is limited to a given period of time or a given number of deployments based on an amount paid.  
         [0046]     The process software may be deployed, accessed and executed through either a remote-access or a site-to-site VPN. When using the remote-access VPNs the process software is deployed, accessed and executed via the secure, encrypted connections between a company&#39;s private network and remote users through a third-party service provider. The enterprise service provider (ESP) sets a network access server (NAS) and provides the remote users with desktop client software for their computers. The telecommuters can then dial a toll-bee number or attach directly via a cable or DSL modem to reach the NAS and use their VPN client software to access the corporate network and to access, download and execute the process software.  
         [0047]     When using the site-to-site VPN, the process software is deployed, accessed and executed through the use of dedicated equipment and large-scale encryption that are used to connect a company&#39;s multiple fixed sites over a public network such as the Internet.  
         [0048]     The process software is transported over the VPN via tunneling which is the process of placing an entire packet within another packet and sending it over a network. The protocol of the outer packet is understood by the network and both points, called tunnel interfaces, where the packet enters and exits the network.  
         [0049]     The process for such VPN deployment is described in  FIG. 6 . Initiator block  602  begins the Virtual Private Network (VPN) process. A determination is made to see if a VPN for remote access is required (query block  604 ). If it is not required, then proceed to query block  606 . If it is required, then determine if the remote access VPN exists (query block  608 ).  
         [0050]     If a VPN does exist, then proceed to block  610 . Otherwise identify a third party provider that will provide the secure, encrypted connections between the company&#39;s private network and the company&#39;s remote users (block  612 ). The company&#39;s remote users are identified (block  614 ). The third party provider then sets up a network access server (NAS) (block  616 ) that allows the remote users to dial a toll free number or attach directly via a broadband modem to access, download and install the desktop client software for the remote-access VPN (block  618 ).  
         [0051]     After the remote access VPN has been built or if it has been previously installed, the remote users can access the process software by dialing into the NAS or attaching directly via a cable or DSL modem into the NAS (block  610 ). This allows entry into the corporate network where the process software is accessed (block  620 ). The process software is transported to the remote user&#39;s desktop over the network via tunneling. That is, the process software is divided into packets and each packet including the data and protocol is placed within another packet (block  622 ). When the process software arrives at the remote user&#39;s desktop, it is removed from the packets, reconstituted and then is executed on the remote user&#39;s desktop (block  624 ).  
         [0052]     A determination is then made to see if a VPN for site to site access is required (query block  606 ). If it is not required, then proceed to exit the process (terminator block  626 ). Otherwise, determine if the site to site VPN exists (query block  628 ). If it does exist, then proceed to block  630 . Otherwise, install the dedicated equipment required to establish a site to site VPN (block  638 ). Then build the large scale encryption into the VPN (block  640 ).  
         [0053]     After the site to site VPN has been built or if it had been previously established, the users access the process software via the VPN (block  630 ). The process software is transported to the site users over the network via tunneling (block  632 ). That is the process software is divided into packets and each packet including the data and protocol is placed within another packet (block  634 ). When the process software arrives at the remote user&#39;s desktop, it is removed from the packets, reconstituted and is executed on the site user&#39;s desktop (block  636 ). The process then ends at terminator block  626 .  
         [0000]     Software Integration  
         [0054]     The process software which consists of code for implementing the process described herein may be integrated into a client, server and network environment by providing for the process software to coexist with applications, operating systems and network operating systems software and then installing the process software on the clients and servers in the environment where the process software will function.  
         [0055]     The first step is to identify any software on the clients and servers including the network operating system where the process software will be deployed that are required by the process software or that work in conjunction with the process software. This includes the network operating system that is software that enhances a basic operating system by adding networking features.  
         [0056]     Next, the software applications and version numbers will be identified and compared to the list of software applications and version numbers that have been tested to work with the process software. Those software applications that are missing or that do not match the correct version will be upgraded with the correct version numbers. Program instructions that pass parameters from the process software to the software applications will be checked to ensure the parameter lists matches the parameter lists required by the process software. Conversely parameters passed by the software applications to the process software will be checked to ensure the parameters match the parameters required by the process software. The client and server operating systems including the network operating systems will be identified and compared to the list of operating systems, version numbers and network software that have been tested to work with the process software. Those operating systems, version numbers and network software that do not match the list of tested operating systems and version numbers will be upgraded on the clients and servers to the required level.  
         [0057]     After ensuring that the software, where the process software is to be deployed, is at the correct version level that has been tested to work with the process software, the integration is completed by installing the process software on the clients and servers.  
         [0058]     For a high-level description of this process, reference is now made to  FIG. 7 . Initiator block  702  begins the integration of the process software. The first tiling is to determine if there are any process software programs that will execute on a server or servers (block  704 ). If this is not the case, then integration proceeds to query block  706 . If this is the case, then the server addresses are identified (block  708 ). The servers are checked to see if they contain software that includes the operating system (OS), applications, and network operating systems (NOS), together with their version numbers, which have been tested with the process software (block  710 ). The servers are also checked to determine if there is any missing software that is required by the process software in block  710 .  
         [0059]     A determination is made if the version numbers match the version numbers of OS, applications and NOS that have been tested with the process software (block  712 ). If all of the versions match and there is no missing required software the integration continues in query block  706 .  
         [0060]     If one or more of the version numbers do not match, then the unmatched versions are updated on the server or servers with the correct versions (block  714 ). Additionally, if there is missing required software, then it is updated on the server or servers in the step shown in block  714 . The server integration is completed by installing the process software (block  716 ).  
         [0061]     The step shown in query block  706 , which follows either the steps shown in block  704 ,  712  or  716  determines if there are any programs of the process software that will execute on the clients. If no process software programs execute on the clients the integration proceeds to terminator block  718  and exits. If this not the case, then the client addresses are identified as shown in block  720 .  
         [0062]     The clients are checked to see if they contain software that includes the operating system (OS), applications, and network operating systems (NOS), together with their version numbers, which have been tested with the process software (block  722 ). The clients are also checked to determine if there is any missing software that is required by the process software in the step described by block  722 .  
         [0063]     A determination is made is the version numbers match the version numbers of OS, applications and NOS that have been tested with the process software (query block  724 ). If all of the versions match and there is no missing required software, then the integration proceeds to terminator block  718  and exits.  
         [0064]     If one or more of the version numbers do not match, then the unmatched versions are updated on the clients with the correct versions (block  726 ). In addition, if there is missing required software then it is updated on the clients (also block  726 ). The client integration is completed by installing the process software on the clients (block  728 ). The integration proceeds to terminator block  718  and exits.  
         [0000]     On Demand  
         [0065]     The process software is shared, simultaneously serving multiple customers in a flexible, automated fashion. It is standardized, requiring little customization and it is scalable, providing capacity on demand in a pay-as-you-go model.  
         [0066]     The process software can be stored on a shared file system accessible from one or more servers. The process software is executed via transactions that contain data and server processing requests that use CPU units on the accessed server. CPU units are units of time such as minutes, seconds, hours on the central processor of the server. Additionally the assessed server may make requests of other servers that require CPU units. CPU units are an example that represents but one measurement of use. Other measurements of use include but are not limited to network bandwidth, memory usage, storage usage, packet transfers, complete transactions etc.  
         [0067]     When multiple customers use the same process software application, their transactions are differentiated by the parameters included in the transactions that identify the unique customer and the type of service for that customer. All of the CPU units and other measurements of use that are used for the services for each customer are recorded. When the number of transactions to any one server reaches a number that begins to affect the performance of that server, other servers are accessed to increase the capacity and to share the workload. Likewise when other measurements of use such as network bandwidth, memory usage, storage usage, etc. approach a capacity so as to affect performance, additional network bandwidth, memory usage, storage etc. are added to share the workload.  
         [0068]     The measurements of use used for each service and customer are sent to a collecting server that sums the measurements of use for each customer for each service that was processed anywhere in the network of servers that provide the shared execution of the process software. The summed measurements of use units are periodically multiplied by unit costs and the resulting total process software application service costs are alternatively sent to the customer and or indicated on a web site accessed by the customer which then remits payment to the service provider.  
         [0069]     In another embodiment, the service provider requests payment directly from a customer account at a banking or financial institution.  
         [0070]     In another embodiment, if the service provider is also a customer of the customer that uses the process software application, the payment owed to the service provider is reconciled to the payment owed by the service provider to minimize the transfer of payments.  
         [0071]     With reference now to  FIG. 8 , initiator block  802  begins the On Demand process. A transaction is created than contains the unique customer identification, the requested service type and any service parameters that further, specify the type of service (block  804 ). The transaction is then sent to the main server (block  806 ). In an On Demand environment the main server can initially be the only server, then as capacity is consumed other servers are added to the On Demand environment.  
         [0072]     The server central processing unit (CPU) capacities in the On Demand environment are queried (block  808 ). The CPU requirement of the transaction is estimated, then the servers available CPU capacity in the On Demand environment are compared to the transaction CPU requirement to see if there is sufficient CPU available capacity in any server to process the transaction (query block  810 ). If there is not sufficient server CPU available capacity, then additional server CPU capacity is allocated to process the transaction (block  812 ). If there was already sufficient available CPU capacity then the transaction is sent to a selected server (block  814 ).  
         [0073]     Before executing the transaction, a check is made of the remaining On Demand environment to determine if the environment has sufficient available capacity for processing the transaction. This environment capacity consists of such things as but not limited to network bandwidth, processor memory, storage etc. (block  816 ). If there is not sufficient available capacity, then capacity will be added to the On Demand environment (block  818 ). Next the required software to process the transaction is accessed, loaded into memory, then the transaction is executed (block  820 ).  
         [0074]     The usage measurements are recorded (block  822 ). The usage measurements consist of the portions of those functions in the On Demand environment that are used to process the transaction. The usage of such functions as, but not limited to, network bandwidth, processor memory, storage and CPU cycles are what is recorded. The usage measurements are summed, multiplied by unit costs and then recorded as a charge to the requesting customer (block  824 ).  
         [0075]     If the customer has requested that the On Demand costs be posted to a web site (query block  826 ), then they are posted (block  828 ). If the customer has requested that the On Demand costs be sent via e-mail to a customer address (query block  830 ), then these costs are sent to the customer (block  832 ). If the customer has requested that the On Demand costs be paid directly from a customer account (query block  834 ), then payment is received directly from the customer account (block  836 ). The On Demand process is then exited at terminator block  838 .  
         [0076]     While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the term “computer” or “system” or “computer system” or “computing device” includes any data processing system including, but not limited to, personal computers, servers, workstations, network computers, main frame computers, routers, switches, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA&#39;s), telephones, and any other system capable of processing, transmitting, receiving, capturing and/or storing data.