Patent ID: 8767593

Claim:
A method for initiating and managing a video conference among a plurality of participants with disparate system platforms, respectively, said method comprising the steps of: providing access to an information and data repository of a plurality of runbook processes and a plurality of activities required to initiate and manage the conference; enabling provisioning of a plurality of resources for said plurality of participants using a first one of said plurality of runbook processes; enabling a user to schedule the conference using a second one of said plurality of runbook processes; automatically initiating the conference using said plurality of resources as scheduled; wherein said plurality of runbook processes comprises a provisioning runbook process that at least one of said plurality of participants can access and use to perform said first enabling step and provision or assign at least one of said plurality of resources for use during said conference; enabling said plurality of participants with the disparate system platforms, respectively, to participate in the conference, wherein the disparate system platforms comprise a plurality of enterprise systems, respectively; determining whether and outlet exists for at least one of said plurality of enterprise systems, and if it does not, then provisioning a provisioned outlet to said at least one of said plurality of enterprise systems, adding said provisioned outlet to the information and data repository, and populating said provisioned outlet with at least one of said plurality of activities adapted or defined by capabilities of said at least one enterprise system to facilitate communication between said at least one of said plurality of enterprise systems and said information and data repository; said plurality of enterprise systems having different capabilities; wherein after said provisioned outlet is added to said information and data repository and populated with said at least one of said plurality of activities, said at least one of said plurality of enterprise systems is ready access and use at least one of said plurality of runbook processes, but limited by said capabilities of that at least one enterprise system.