Patent Publication Number: US-2023143364-A1

Title: System and method of building contact center agent desktops providing simultaneous access to multiple acd systems in a single session

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure is in the field of contact center management. More particularly, the present disclosure provides systems and methods of constructing agent desktop images from a studio application that enables contact center agents to access multiple ACD systems from within a single browser session hosting a customized desktop configuration. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Persons phoning into call centers and contact centers do not want to wait while an agent must switch from one screen to another. When an agent must move between multiple screens during a customer call, efficiency and call resolution time suffer and the probability of error increases. Customer satisfaction inevitably suffers. 
     An integrated agent desktop not provided in the prior art could reduce the need for screen switching by bringing information from multiple applications under a single umbrella in a non-intrusive manner. Such an integrated desktop may provide a 360-degree view of the customer information needed to personalize agent interactions with callers. 
     Improved flow and availability of information make it possible for the agent to serve a customer in a more professional manner, yielding positive results for the customer, such as faster resolutions in a single call and no unnecessary transfers or holds. Customer experience may be improved, and long-term customer loyalty may be more likely. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of a system of building contact center agent desktops providing simultaneous access to multiple ACD systems in a single session according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Systems and methods described herein provide for remotely building and customizing contact center agent desktop configurations, including the configurations providing users with simultaneous access to multiple ACD systems during a single session. Customized agent desktops are provided as web pages accessible via browser sessions on agent computers. Systems and methods provided herein may be referred to commercially as NovelVox Designer Studio. 
     A call center agent using systems and methods described herein may begin his/her work shift by initiating a browser session with a web site on a company server, for instance. The web site provides the desktop as a browser session. The desktop contains icons and links for the utilities and data sources the agent needs during his/her shift, including access to multiple ACD systems. 
     A provider of such customized desktop configurations may remotely build a plurality of different agent desktop using drag and drop tools from within a single application. A technician using the system can select the ACD systems to which a particular agent will have access to. The technician may drag and drop icons for those ACD systems onto a desktop image under construction. The technician can create desktop images for many agents, each agent being provided access to at least two specific ACD systems from their customized desktop. The desktops also provide access to databases and utilities needed by a particular agent to provide service to the customers calling in on the ACD systems to which that agent has been given access. The agent will be able to take live incoming calls during a single session from the at least two ACD systems accessible from his/her desktop. 
     The agent may be working in a call center environment handling calls from outside customers or fellow employees in technical support center or fulfillment center environments. The agent may be physically located in a call center or may be working from home. Because the desktop and functionality accessible therefrom is provided by a browser session originated by the agent on his/her own computer, the agent need not be physically located in a call center. 
     Agent access to the at least two ACD systems is via the web server located at the contact center. The web server provides the agent desktop platform via browser session after agents complete authentication. An adapter component is created and stored in the web server. The adapter enables the web server to connect with the ACD systems. The adapter enables incoming calls to the ACD systems to be answered by agents through their browser sessions via the desktop. Systems and methods provided herein build the adapter from application programming interfaces (API) provided by vendors of ACD systems. The adapter provides computer telephony integration (CTI) connectivity to the ACDs and enables agents via their customized desktops to answer calls from the ACD systems. 
     Turning to the figures,  FIG.  1    is a block diagram of a system for providing agent desktop access to multiple ACD systems according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG.  1    illustrates components and interactions of a system  100 . Components comprise a desktop design computer  102  and a desktop design application  104 , referred to hereinafter for brevity as the design computer  102  and the design application  104 . The system  100  also comprises computer telephone integration connectors  106   a - n , referred to hereinafter for brevity as CTI connectors  106   a - n.    
     The system  100  also comprises a contact center  108 , a web server  110 , a web application  112 , an adapter  114 , and agent desktop images  116   a - n . The system  100  also comprises automatic call distributor systems  118   a - n  that may be referred to hereinafter as ACD systems  118   a - n.    
     The system  100  further comprises client devices  120   a - n , browser sessions  122   a - n , and agent desktops  124   a - n . The system  100  also comprises automatic call distributor vendors  126   a - n , referred to hereinafter for brevity as ACD vendors  126   a - n , and API  128   a - n . API is a well-known acronym which stands for application programming interface. 
     The design computer  102  hosts the design application  104  which builds agent desktop images  116   a - n  for placement on the web server  110  and access by agent devices  120   a - n  via browser sessions  122   a - n . The design application  104  builds a plurality of different agent desktop images  116   a - n  depending on what tools (primarily ACD system access) particular call center agents may need to perform their work duties. 
     The finished agent desktop images  116   a - n , when accessed from the web server  110  by the agent devices  120   a - n  during browser sessions  122   a - n , become agent desktops  124   a - n . The agent desktops  124   a - n  are browser session pages that contain links and other objects for accessing ACD systems  118   a - n  and other resources such as databases. 
     The design application  104  provides a drag and drop studio environment that helps a company or other organization design its own unique interface for agent desktops  124   a - n . A user of the design application  104  is provided the means to create custom agent desktops  124   a - n  matching the business requirements of the agent&#39;s employer and a customer that the employer may be serving. A user of the design application  104  can start with the pre-built agent desktop templates or design and develop fully customized agent desktops  124   a - n  designed from scratch. A user constructing various agent desktops  124   a - n  may work entirely or nearly so within the studio environment provided herein and may not need to use or develop any code in customizing desktop. 
     It is the ability of the design application  104  to enable agent desktops  124   a - n  to connect with multiple ACDs simultaneously which is not taught by previous implementations. The design application  104  supports many major ACD systems  118   a - n of the call center and contact center industry, including Cisco, Avaya, Genesys, Mitel, and Amazon Connect. 
     In addition to building customer agent desktops  124   a - n  that can connect with multiple ACD systems  118   a - n  in a single browser session  122   a - n , the design application  104  also creates the adapter  114 . The adapter  114  is installed into and executes on the web server  108 . The adapter  114  provides computer telephony interface (CTI) functionality to the ACD systems  118   a - n . The CTI functionality allows the agent desktops  124   a - n  to receive voice calls from the ACD systems  118   a - n  through the web server  110  and web application  112 . Without the adapter  114 , agent desktops  124   a - n would not be able to connect with multiple ACD systems  118   a - n  via the web server  110  in a single browser session  122   a - n  and would not be able to handle incoming voice calls coming from the multiple ACD systems  118   a - n.    
     The design application  104  builds the adapter  114  using APIs  128   a - n  provided by automatic call distributor system vendors  126   a - n . As noted, the design application  104  supports many such ACD vendors  126   a - n . The adapter  114  is built in part by CTI connectors  106   a - n  that the design application  104  creates and stores for use in specific customer configurations that may be needed in the future. 
     The web server  110  resides in the contact center  108  and hosts the web application  112  that works with the adapter  114 . At the beginning of their work shifts, contact center agents using agent devices  120   a - n  initiate browser sessions  122   a - n  with the web application  112 . The web application  112  accesses a stored agent desktop image  116   a - n  for each agent device  120   a - n  and authorizes each particular agent device  120   a - n  to download its own agent desktop image  116   a - n . Different agents may work with different customers who call in on different ACD systems  118   a - n  so agent desktops  124   a - n  may differ from one agent to the next, even those located in the same contact center  108 . 
     The web application  112  works with the adapter  114  and the ACD systems  118   a - n  to provide each agent device  120   a - n  access to the appropriate ACD system  118   a - n . As noted, from one agent to the next agent within a single contact center  108 , particular desktop configurations may vary according to the customers that an agent serves. Desktop configurations may also vary based on the experience level of agents as well as permissions to access confidential information, supervisory authority, security clearances held, and other qualifications that may be specific to customer contractual relationships. 
     While agent desktop images  116   a - n  and ACD systems  118   a - n  are shown in  FIG.  1    as residing on the web server  110  in the contact center  108 , in embodiments agent desktop images  116   a - n  and ACD systems  118   a - n  reside elsewhere and are accessed by the web application  112  as needed. Similarly, agent devices  120   a - n  are not necessarily located on the physical premises of the contact center  108 . Some agents may work from home and may log remotely into the web application  112  from their agent device  120   a - n.    
     Systems and methods provided herein promote less needed training and faster onboarding for agents, reducing operational costs. Average handle time for calls may be improved, boosting agent productivity, and promoting increased customer satisfaction. 
     The design application  114  is a standalone web-based application for agent desktop design, customization, and modification. A technician using the design application  114  may create boards by dragging and dropping designer components of the application  114  on the canvas. The application  114  may integrate with any application having an open API and provides pre-designed, ready-to use templates and boards. 
     In an embodiment, a system for providing call center agent desktops is provided comprising a computer and an application executing on the computer. The system receives a request from a client device for a desktop image and accesses a stored desktop image for the client device. The system also enables links in the stored image to at least two ACD systems and provides access to the image to the client device. The client device is used by a call center agent responding to incoming calls via desktop ACD access provided by the activated links. The desktop image contains selectable objects providing access to the at least two ACD systems. The at least two ACD systems are provided by unrelated vendors. Access to the at least two ACD systems is provided by at least one adapter executing on the computer, the at least one adapter created from at least two application programming interfaces (API) furnished by providers of the at least two ACD systems. 
     In another embodiment, a system for providing simultaneous multiple ACD access to call center agents is provide comprising a design computer and a design application executing on the design computer. The system receives a plurality of application programming interfaces (API) provided by a plurality of automatic call distributor (ACD) systems. The system also creates at least one adapter component providing computer telephony integration (CTI) functionality to the plurality of ACD systems. The system also installs the at least one adapter component on a web server. 
     In yet another embodiment, a method for providing computers in call center environments simultaneous access to multiple unrelated automatic call distributor (ACD) systems is provided. The method comprises a web server receiving installation of an adapter component. The method also comprises the web server accessing, via the adapter component, at least two automatic call distribution (ACD) systems. The method also comprises the web server providing web access to a first client device based on the device initiating a browser session with the web server. The method also comprises the web server providing the first client device incoming call access to the at least two ACD systems via the browser session. The method also comprises the web server receiving the installation of the adapter component from a design computer, the design computer creating the adapter component from application programming interfaces (API). The method also comprises the web server providing in the desktop image selectable objects for user access of the at least two ACD systems and access to additional resources for use in assisting ACD callers.