Patent ID: 7746998

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for handling contact center requests comprising the steps of: providing a resource management system having a computer for managing workflow in a particular contact center configured to handle requests for a particular enterprise using enterprise resources dedicated to the contact center and provider resources provided by an outsourced provider, wherein the provider resources are used on demand to supplement the enterprise resources when handling workflow, wherein the resource management system is within the contact center, wherein the enterprise resources and the provider resources are associated with different business entities and implemented upon different hardware and software platforms, wherein the enterprise resources and the provider resources are integrated through Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) interfaces; configuring the computer having at least one memory and at least one processor to carry out the steps of: identifying a contact center request that is received at the contact center having a contact center infrastructure; ascertaining a resource type to handle the request; selecting a resource of the resource type from the enterprise resources and the provider resources, the selecting step including: determining if an enterprise resource of the resource type is available to handle the request; if an enterprise resource of the resource type is available, selecting the enterprise resource to handle the request; and if no enterprise resource of the resource type is available, determining an appropriate provider resource of the resource type for handling the request; and handling the request using the selected resource, wherein the provider resource accesses data from the contact center infrastructure on demand based on the request to handle the request when the selected resource is the provider resource.