US9270827B2 - Dynamic management and redistribution of contact center media traffic - Google Patents

Abstract

A system that supports multiple contact centers includes a communications network that is coupled between a private network (e.g. MPLS network) and a remote computing environment (e.g. cloud environment). A server system in the remote computing environment monitors health of different network segments (e.g. bandwidth of the connection between the communications network and the remote computing environment, bandwidth of a link used by a tenant to access the private network, etc.). When it is determined that quality of service for voice conversations for one or more contact centers is at risk due to a health status parameter of a network segment reaching a threshold, an appropriate system reaction is triggered. The system reaction may be to offload future calls to a peer remote computing environment to service future calls. The system reaction may also be to cancel outbound campaigns, provide pre-determined “sorry” messages, and the like.

Description

BACKGROUND

Public wide area networks like the Internet are operated by hundreds of Internet Service Providers, each responsible for a segment of the network. No single entity in this public environment is responsible for how packets are routed from beginning to end. Thus, packets traversing the Internet often encounter congestion, significant jitter, and even loss. For some communications more than others, such as, for example, voice over IP (VoIP) communications or other real time media communications, it is important to provide preferential delivery service to avoid the uncertainties of traversing the Internet. However, the public Internet generally does not provide end-to-end QoS guarantees desired for VoIP communications. It is typical to overcome the limitations of the public Internet with moving the Voice communications to private networks, such as MPLS, where Quality of service (QoS) guarantees help provide such preferential delivery service by ensuring sufficient bandwidth, controlling latency and jitter, and reducing data loss.

Unexpected call bursts may also affect call quality of existing and future calls. With respect to customer contact centers, existing solutions attempt to manage such unexpected call bursts. Such solutions may monitor available contact center resources such as, for example, servers, agents, and media ports. If shortage or failure of a particular resource is detected, a particular action is triggered. For example, the action may be to keep a calling party on hold if shortage of agents are detected, switch to a backup server if failure of a current server is detected, or monitor a number of active calls and alert a systems administrator or refuse establishing conversations for new calls once a threshold is reached. Although such solutions may be acceptable to situations where a single contact center (referred to as a tenant) utilizes system resources and where such resources are predetermined and pre-allocated, it may not be acceptable in situations where multiple tenants are supported and resources are shared. In addition, such existing solutions do not take into account the quality of established voice conversations in efforts to provide a particular level of quality for the established voice conversations. Furthermore, existing solutions generally do not allow a buffer for gracious and gradual degradation of service. For example, existing contact center systems may abruptly start refusing new conversations when a particular threshold is reached, which may result in negative end user experience and loss of customers for the contact center.

Accordingly, what is desired is a system and method for managing voice and other media traffic associated with contact centers when such system supports multiple tenants that share resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system and method for managing media traffic for a plurality of customer contact centers. The system includes first and second server systems in respectively first and second computing environments, where the first and second server systems host contact center applications for processing communication to and from the one or more contact centers. The system also includes an edge device deployed in a first communications network for facilitating a first communication involving a first end device and for signaling the first server system to service the first communication. Media traffic is transmitted between the first end device and the first server system during the first communication in response to the servicing. The servicing invokes a first contact center application hosted by the first server system. Further, the media traffic traverses a first network link coupling the first communications network and the first computing environment. The first server system is configured to monitor status of the first network link and in response to the monitoring, signal the second server system in the second computing environment to service a second communication involving a second end device. The servicing of the second communication invokes a second contact center application hosted by the second server system.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first and second communications are voice communications.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the media traffic is voice traffic.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first and second computing environments are cloud computing environments.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the monitoring of the status of the first network link includes monitoring the bandwidth of the first network link.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a second communications network is coupled to the first communications network over a second network link. The second communications network is coupled to the second computing environment. The first server system is further configured monitor status of the second network link and select the second computing environment for servicing the second communication based on the monitored status of the second network link.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the second communication is configured to generate traffic that traverses the second network link.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a second communications network is coupled to the second computing environment over a second network link. The first server system is further configured monitor status of the second network link and select the second computing environment for servicing the second communication based on the monitored status of the second network link.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first server system is configured to select a media type. The first server system is configured to signal the second server system in the second computing environment if the second communication is of the selected media type. The selected media type may be a voice treatment in an outbound campaign by one or more of the plurality of customer contact centers, a voice treatment for an inbound call directed to one or more of the plurality of customer contact centers, or a multi-party call.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first server system is configured to select a contact center service level from a plurality of available service levels, and further configured to signal the second server system in the second computing environment if the second communication is associated with a customer contact center assigned to the selected contact center service level.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first end device accesses a private network over a second link, where the private network is coupled to the first communications network. The first server system is configured to identify one of the plurality of customer contact centers associated with the first communication, determine availability of the second link for the identified customer contact center, and in response to the determined availability, trigger an action for preserving a particular quality of service for the voice communication.

According to one embodiment of the invention, availability of the second link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the second link.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the second link is accessed by an agent of the identified customer contact center via the first end device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the triggered action is canceling an outbound campaign for the identified customer contact center.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the triggered action is activating a greeting for delivery to the first end user, where the greeting for indicating inability for servicing the voice communication.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first end device accesses the first communications network over a second link coupling the first communications network to a private network. The first server system is configured to determine availability of the second link based on calls traversing the second link. In response to the determined availability of the second link, the first server system is configured to trigger an action with respect to calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a first service level for preserving a particular quality of service for calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a second service level different from the first service level.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the second link is shared by customers of the contact centers subscribed to the first and second service levels.

According to another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system for managing media traffic associated with a plurality of customer contact centers where the system includes an edge device deployed in a communications network for facilitating calls between agents and customers of the plurality of contact centers. The agents and customers access the communications network respectively over agent and customer private networks. The agents connect to the agent private network via a first link, and the customers connect to the communications network via a second link traversing the customer private network. A server system in a computing environment coupled to the communications network is configured to identify calls between the agents and the customers; identify one of the plurality of customer contact centers associated with the identified calls; determine availability of the first link for the identified customer contact center; and in response to the determined availability for the identified customer contact center, triggering an action for preserving a particular quality of service for the identified customer contact center.

According to another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system for managing media traffic associated with a plurality of customer contact centers where the system includes an edge device deployed in a communications network for facilitating calls between agents and customers of the plurality of contact centers. The agents and customers access the communications network respectively over agent and customer private networks. The agents connect to the agent private network via a first link, and the customers connect to the communications network via a second link traversing the customer private network. A server system in a computing environment coupled to the communications network is configured to identify calls between the agents and the customers; determine availability of the second link based on the identified calls traversing the second link; and in response to the determined availability of the second link, trigger an action with respect to calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a first service level for preserving a particular quality of service for calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a second service level different from the first service level.

A person of skill will recognize that the dynamic management and redistribution of contact center media traffic helps provide well-timed reaction to bandwidth saturation, status change of redundant links, and other “health” related information.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood when considered with respect to the following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. Of course, the actual scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system for dynamic management and redistribution of contact center media traffic according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of two geographic regions each supporting a system for dynamic management and redistribution of contact center media traffic according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3A is a schematic block diagram depicting details of the dedicated communications network according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3B is a schematic block diagram depicting details of the dedicated communications network according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of a server system in a remote computing environment according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram depicting a flow of signals between various components of the system ofFIG. 1, for processing an inbound call from an end user to a contact center according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an offload process implemented by a traffic management module according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a semi-schematic, conceptual layout diagram of a portion of a tenant's profile record providing information on call resources available to the tenant according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a semi-schematic, conceptual layout diagram of another portion of a tenant's profile record for storing information on bandwidth characteristics of a tenant MPLS link subscribed to by the tenant for connecting to a dedicated communications network according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a semi-schematic, conceptual layout diagram of a bandwidth consumption table storing information on a bandwidth of a tenant MPLS link that is estimated to be consumed for a particular tenant according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a process executed by a traffic management module for managing traffic bursts on a per tenant basis according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a process for managing unexpected call rate bursts for an entire system according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general teems, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system that supports multiple contact centers (referred to as tenants) and manages resources and invokes actions for preserving a particular quality of service for calls (voice and/or real time media traffic) between agents and customers associated with the various contact centers. The system includes a communications network that is coupled between a private network (such as an MPLS network) and a remote computing environment (such as a cloud environment). One or more servers in the remote computing environment monitor health status parameters of different network segments. For example, the servers may monitor network connectivity of tenants to the private network, shared network connectivity of the tenants to the communications network, shared network connectivity of the customers to the communications network, connectivity between the communications network and the remote computing environment in local and peer regions, and/or connectivity between the communications network and other communications networks in peer regions. The monitoring may indicate insufficient resources (e.g. bandwidth saturation) or unacceptable quality of the media communication on a particular network segment.

According to one embodiment, the one or more servers are configured to identify the connections that are impacted once a call between a customer and an agent of a contact center is in progress. In the event of unexpected call bursts affecting one or more contact centers, the system is configured to handle the call bursts in a graceful manner with controllable service degradation for newly arriving calls with regards to the level/class of services and call profiles to which the different contact centers have subscribed.

According to one embodiment, the system maintains a number of thresholds per network segment, including capacity and quality related metrics. When it is determined that quality of service for voice conversations and other real time media communication (collectively referred to as voice conversations or calls), is at risk due to one or more health status parameters of a network segment reaching a threshold, an appropriate system reaction is triggered. The system reaction may be to invoke a customized voice treatment, allow the customers to leave a voice mail of a pre-defined duration, redirect the call to an external voice mail system, request a call back at a later time, or provide another pre-determined “sorry” message. The providing on behalf of a particular tenant the gradual service degradation and customization of voice treatments is based on whether the particular tenant has subscribed to such service. By subscribing to the service, contact centers can be assured that new calls that cannot be immediately serviced will be gracefully turned away if necessary.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of asystem1 for dynamic management and redistribution of contact center media traffic according to one embodiment of the invention. The system includes acommunications network10 which, according to one embodiment, is dedicated to facilitate calls betweenagents12 of various contact centers, and customers andother end users14. The calls may include, for example, VoIP communication and any other media (e.g. Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP)) communication conventional in the art. The calls are controlled by any signaling protocol configured to control communication sessions over the Internet, such as, for example, session initiation protocol (SIP), H.323, and the like.

Thededicated communications network10 is coupled to one or moreprivate networks16a,16b(collectively referenced as16) over network connection(s)28,38, and to one or moreremote computing environments24 over network connection(s)26. Theprivate networks16 may be managed by one or more telecommunications companies that provide quality of service guarantees for VoIP calls traversing the private networks according to provider policies and limits of service ordered by its customers. According to one embodiment, theprivate networks16 implement MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) for transmitting VoIP communication. Although MPLS is used as an example, a person of skill in the art should recognize that any other mechanism in addition or in lieu of MPLS may be used for ensuring quality of service guarantees, bit rates, and bandwidth for calls traversing the private networks. Due to the quality of service guarantees provided by theprivate networks16, consistent call quality and security can generally be expected for those calls while traversing the private networks.

According to one embodiment, agents for a particular tenant access theprivate network16aover link34 (hereinafter referred to as tenant MPLS link). The amount of bandwidth provided bylink34 for the particular tenant depends on the type of connection ordered by the tenant from the telecommunications company managing the private network.End users14 communicating over traditional public switched telephony network (PSTN) access theprivate network16bfor VoIP communication via aSIP trunk equipment18. Although aSIP trunk equipment18 is used according to one embodiment for accessing theprivate network16b, a person of skill in the art should recognize that any other device for allowing legacy phone systems access to theprivate network16bfor VoIP communication may be used in addition or in lieu of the SIP trunk.

According to one embodiment, theSIP trunk equipment18aestablishes a link38 (hereinafter referred to as the SIP trunk link) between theSIP trunk equipment18 and thededicated communications network10 over theprivate network16b. TheSIP trunk link38 includes dedicated access circuits on theprivate network16bfor accessing thededicated communications network10. TheSIP trunk link38 is shared by thecustomers14 to access thededicated communications network10.

According to one embodiment, theremote computing environment24 is a cloud computing environment that utilizes public and/or private cloud servers. According to one embodiment, instead of hosting all of the contact center applications at servers located in the dedicated communications network, the applications are hosted by aserver system30 in theremote computing environment24. Such contact center applications include but are not limited to applications that provide VoIP signaling, voice treatments (e.g. interactive voice response applications), multi-call management (e.g. conference calls), and the like.

When a contact center receives an inbound call or engages in an outbound call campaign, all or a portion of the call is serviced by one or more contact center applications in theremote computing environment24 over amedia path17. According to one embodiment, the contact center applications for a particular tenant may be transitioned/moved from oneremote computing environment24 to another, in the same or different region, in a seamless manner. The assignment of the applications to tenants may be dynamically controlled based on demand and availability of the applications. The contact center applications may also be shared amongst different contact centers.

Media traffic may be exchanged between customers/agents and theserver system30 over themedia path17 in response to invoking the contact center applications in theremote computing environments24. A majority of the voice communication, however, is conducted over amedia path20 that connects the agents and customers over the private networks, but does not traverse the remote computing environment. Thus, the communication that traverses themedia path20 is generally not affected by any potential traffic or unhealthy status of thenetwork connection26 between thededicated communications network10 and theremote computing environment24. In this regard, in the embodiment where cloud servers are utilized, the system inFIG. 1 may be described as a hybrid cloud system where infrastructure and applications for handling calls to and from a contact center are distributed between thededicated communications network10 and cloud servers in theremote computing environment24.

According to one embodiment,agents12 may also access contact center applications in theremote computing environment24 over a publicwide area network32 such as, for example, the Internet. For example, the agents may conduct less time sensitive actions such as receiving and responding to email, engaging in chat sessions, retrieving customer and/or statistics data, engaging in third party call controls, and the like, over the publicwide area network32.

According to one embodiment, theserver system30 in theremote computing environment24 is configured to monitor different segments of the network for managing media traffic. The monitoring is configured to obtain information on the status of the different segments including, without limitation, bandwidth consumption, jitter, latency, and the like. For example, the server system may monitor the status of the tenant MPLS link34 and/or theSIP trunk link38. Theserver system30 may also monitor the status of the shared network connection (tenant network connection)28 between theprivate networks16 and thededicated communications network10. Theserver system30 may further monitor the status of the sharednetwork connection26 between thededicated communications network10 and theremote computing environments24. Based on such monitoring, theserver system30 may be configured to trigger one or more appropriate system reactions.

For example, upon detecting a shortage of a shared resource, such as, for example, shortage of the shared bandwidth of thenetwork connection26 between thededicated communications network10 and a currentremote computing environment24, the system may be configured to offload future media traffic to a peer remote computing environment so that the server system in that peer remote computing environment can service the future media traffic instead of the server system in the current remote computing environment.

The re-directing of the media traffic may be performed by a traffic management module running one or more traffic management algorithms that take into account the types of media services to be provided such as, for example, voice treatments to be provided for agents engaged in outbound campaigns, voice treatments to be provided for inbound calls, conference call management, and the like. The traffic management algorithms may also take into account the class of service ordered by the various tenants so that offloading is not only based on the type of media service to be provided, but the class of service subscribed by tenants for whom the media service is to be provided. For example, the traffic management algorithm may select voice treatments for outbound campaigns as the type of media service to be offloaded first to the peer remote computing environment. For such voice treatments, the traffic management algorithm may determine that bronze level tenants are affected first by the offloading as having the lowest class of service, followed by silver and, eventually, gold level tenants.

With respect to the monitoring of the status of thetenant MPLS link34, such monitoring may aid a tenant to graciously resolve an “over-booking” issue. In this regard, a tenant may subscribe to a traffic burst management service provided by the system. When an unexpected burst of calls to be handled by the agents of the subscribing contact center is detected by the server system, the server system may invoke the appropriate traffic management algorithm for applying service degradation measures for the tenant to ensure that established and projected conversations are provided with proper quality of service. Such service degradation measures may be set by default by the system and/or customized by the tenant. The service degradation measures may include, for example, canceling an outbound campaign, activating a “sorry” greeting for new inbound calls by customers, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of twopeer regions90a,90beach supporting asystem1a,1bfor dynamic management and redistribution of contact center media traffic according to one embodiment of the invention.Systems1a,1bare similar to thesystem1 described with respect toFIG. 1. Thededicated communications network10aof thelocal region90a, is coupled to thededication communications network10bof thepeer region90bover anetwork link42. According to one embodiment, thenetwork link42 connects thededicated communications network10aof thelocal region90a, to thededicated communications network10bof thepeer region90b. According to one embodiment, thepeer regions90a,90bare geographically dispersed.

According to one embodiment, theserver system30ain thelocal region90amonitors the bandwidth and/or other health status of theconnection26abetween thededicated communications network10aand theremote computing environment24ain its region. In the event the connection status satisfies a preset threshold or otherwise indicates that a system reaction is required, theserver system30aselects thepeer region90bto gradually offload future voice communications. The selection of thepeer region90bis based on a peer selection algorithm which, among other things, takes into account the bandwidth and/or status of thenetwork link42 connecting the dedicated communications network of thelocal region90ato the dedicated communications network of the peer region, allowed bandwidth for media offload in the peer region, round trip response time of theserver system30bin the peer region, status of redundant connections in the peer region, and the like. The voice communication that is selected to be offloaded depends on the type of voice communication, the tenants that are involved, the class of service ordered by the tenants, and other parameters set forth by the traffic management algorithm.

Once thepeer region90bis selected, theserver system30ain thelocal region90asignals theserver system30bin the peer region to service the calls selected by the traffic management algorithm. In response to such signaling, amedia path17bis established between an agent/end user in thelocal region90a, and theserver system30bin thepeer region90b. Themedia path17bis used to service the offloaded call via one or more contact center applications in thepeer server system30b.

FIG. 3A is a schematic block diagram depicting details of adedicated communications network10aaccording to one embodiment of the invention. Thededicated communications network10aincludes anedge device22acoupled to one or morefirst firewalls50aand one or moresecond firewalls52a. Thededicated communications network10aaccesses external networks such as, for example, theprivate networks16, over an edge router48. Thededicated communications network10amay also includeother network devices46aas will be apparent to a person of skill in the art.

According to one embodiment, theedge device22ais a session border controller which controls signaling and media streams involved in setting up, conducting, and tearing down voice conversations or other media communications. Any session border controller conventional in the art may be used to implement theedge device22a. In this regard, the session border controller includes a processor executing software instructions and interacting with other system components to control voice or other media communications. The session border controller also includes an addressable memory for storing software instructions to be executed by the processor. The memory is implemented using a standard memory device, such as a random access memory (RAM).

According to one embodiment, theedge device22areceives call signaling messages for setting up or tearing down a call. Such signaling messages may include SIP signaling data such as, for example, INVITE, TRYING, REFER, ACK, 100, 200, BYE, etc., and/or SDP payload data such as, for example, IP addresses and port numbers used for the call. Theedge device22aalso receives media streams which carry the call's audio, video, or other data transmitted using RTP or other similar media communication protocol conventional in the art, along with information on call statistics, quality, and the like. Together, these streams make up a session which is controlled by the edge device. Once a connection is established between a customer and an agent, theedge device22aestablishes themedia path20 for carrying a voice conversation between the customer and the agent.

Thefirewalls50aand52acoupled to theedge device22aallow the handling of security of voice conversations between, respectively, theprivate networks16 and thededicated communications network10, and theremote computing environments24 and the dedicated communications network. Any firewall conventional in the art may be used to implement thefirewalls50a,52a. According to one embodiment of the invention, data traffic does not traverse theedge device22aand instead, traverses the twofirewalls50a,52aoverlink47a.Additional devices44amay be coupled in between the twofirewalls50a,52afor rendering additional functionality needed for transmitting the data traffic. Such functionality may include, for example, DNS (Domain Name System) functionality for translating a domain name into an IP address.

FIG. 3B is a schematic block diagram depicting details of adedicated communications network10baccording to another embodiment of the invention. The dedicated communications network according to this embodiment includes anedge device22b, firewalls50b,52b,edge router48b, link47b, andnetwork devices46bwhich are similar to theedge device22a, firewalls50a,52a,edge router48a, link47a, andnetwork devices46aofFIG. 3A. However, according to this embodiment, theedge device22bis already configured with firewall features so that connection to additional hardware firewalls50b,52bare not required for providing security for voice conversations. Thefirewalls50b,52b, however, are still used for providing security for data traffic traversing thededicated communications network10b.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of theserver system30 in theremote computing environment24 according to one embodiment of the invention. Theserver system30 includes without limitation, aSIP server60, universal resource server (URS)62,media server64, andstatistics server66. According to one embodiment, the servers60-66 of the server system are implemented as software components deployed on a single instance of a virtual server. The single instance of the virtual server may be implemented via standard hardware components such as, for example, one or more processors, disks, memories, and the like. Although the servers60-66 are assumed to be separate functional units, a person of skill in the art will recognize that the functionality of two or more servers may be combined or integrated into a single server, or further subdivided into additional server components without departing from the spirit of the invention. In addition, although the servers60-66 of the server system are depicted as being connected over adata communications bus68, a person of skill in the art should recognize that there would be no communication among the servers if they were implemented to reside in a single physical device (e.g. a single processor). In addition, a person of skill in the art should recognize that theserver system30 is scalable and may include a considerable number of servers60-66 sharing a set ofstorage devices70. Thus, the particular implementation of theserver system30 depicted inFIG. 4 is solely for illustration purposes, and do not preclude other arrangements or components that will be evident to a person of skill in the art.

According to one embodiment, theSIP server60 is configured to receive call signaling messages (e.g. SIP INVITE messages) from theedge device22,media server64,URS62, and the like, for controlling the setting up or termination of a call.

Thestatistics server66 provides real time states and statistics for one or more call centers, including agent availability, call handling time, estimated waiting time in queue, and other statistical information associated with call center functions. In this regard, the statistics server has access to one or moremass storage devices70 storing call center data and software programs useful for one or more contact centers. The one or moremass storage devices70 may be implemented as hard disk drives or other suitable mass storage devices conventional in the art.

TheURS62 may be configured to access thestatistics server66 to identify agents based on skills, availability, and the like, for inbound and/or outbound calls, and forward call signaling messages to theSIP server60 to transmit call requests to the identified agents.

Themedia server64 is configured to identify parameters (e.g. available media ports on the media server) for establishing voice conversations between agents and customers, and provide those parameters to the SIP server for delivering to the edge device, customers, and agents. Themedia server64 is also configured to deliver media to customers and/or agents via theedge device22. For example, themedia server64 may be invoked to provide initial greeting messages to a calling customer, and for obtaining basic customer information (e.g. identification information, reason for the call, etc.). Also, if the customer or agent is placed on hold, themedia server64 may be invoked to play music for the holding customer or agent. In another example, if a conversation between a customer and agent is to be recorded, the call may traverse the media server so that the customer and agent engage in a three way conversation with the media server, and the media server records the conversation and stores it in themass storage device70.

According to one embodiment of the invention, theSIP server60 includes atraffic management module72 for providing traffic burst management services for one or more tenants of the system. In this regard, the module is configured to monitor various network segments, determine a status for the various segments, and provide management and redirection services based on the determined status. Although in the illustrated embodiment thetraffic management module72 is depicted as being hosted by theSIP server60, a person of skill in the art should recognize that the module may also be hosted by one or more other servers of theserver system30. Also, the functionality of thetraffic management module72 may be subdivided into sub-modules, each sub-module being hosted in a single server or distributed among various servers of theserver system30.

According to one embodiment, thetraffic management module72 is configured to monitor the following network segments and their connectivity:

• • Tenant network connectivity:
    • Bandwidth of the tenant MPLS link34a.
  • Network connectivity of thelocal region90a(FIG. 2) and network connectivity of apeer region90b:
    • Provisioned bandwidth of thenetwork connection26abetween theremote computing environment24aand thededicated communications network10ain thelocal region90a;
    • Provisioned bandwidth of thenetwork link42 betweendedicated communications network10aof the local region and thededication communications network10bof the peer region;
    • Provisioned bandwidth of thenetwork connection26bbetween theremote computing environment24band thededicated communications network10bin the peer region;
    • Provisioned bandwidth of the SIP trunk link38abetween theSIP trunk equipment18aand thededicated communications network10ain the local region;
    • Provisioned bandwidth of thenetwork connection28abetween thededicated communications network10aand tenants in the local region.

According one embodiment, thetraffic management module72 identifies the connections that get impacted when a call reaches a call progress state, and calculates the portion of the bandwidth that is consumed for the impacted connections. According to one embodiment, the available bandwidth of a particular connection is equal to the provisioned bandwidth (minus a portion pre-allocated for SIP signaling). Every established voice conversation decreases the available bandwidth in one or more segments of the network. Finished voice conversations release the consumed bandwidth and increase the available bandwidth.

Specifically, every voice conversation involving anagent12 decreases the available bandwidth of the tenant MPLS link34a, and the available bandwidth on thenetwork connection28abetween thededicated communications network10aand the tenants in the local region, which is shared among the various tenants.

Every voice conversation involving theserver system30ain the local region decreases the available bandwidth of thenetwork connection26abetween theremote computing environment24aand thededicated communications network10ain the local region.

Every voice conversation involving anend user14 in the local region decreases the available bandwidth of the SIP trunk link38abetween theSIP trunk equipment18aand thededicated communications network10ain the local region.

Every voice conversation offloaded to theserver system30bin thepeer region90bdecreases the available bandwidth of thenetwork link42 between the localdata communications network10aand thedata communications network10bof the peer region, and the available bandwidth of the connection betweenremote computing environment24band thededicated communications network10bin the peer region.

According to one embodiment, theserver system30 maintains a count of established voice conversations and associates their impact on the network. In this manner, the server system monitors the status of different connections and/or operational status of the entire network topology, detecting bottlenecks within the network and other ailments in the monitored segments. When a bandwidth threshold is reached for one or more monitored network connections, theserver system30 applies appropriate measures selected by the traffic management algorithm.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram depicting the flow of signals between the various components of the system for processing an inbound call from anend user14 to a contact center according to one embodiment of the invention. Instep80, theend user14 transmits a packet with a request for a call conversation (e.g. a SIP INVITE) to theedge device22, and the requested conversation causes utilization of theSIP trunk link38. The edge device processes the packet according to well known mechanisms, and instep82, sends a converted packet to theSIP server60 over thenetwork connection26. Instep84, theSIP server60 forwards the packet to themedia server64.

If themedia server64 is available to identify an available port for voice conversation, call parameters for establishing the voice conversation via the identified port are sent back to theSIP server60 instep86.

TheSIP server60 in turn passes the parameters to theedge device22 over thenetwork connection26 instep88, and the edge device passes the parameters to theend user14 instep89. An RTP media path17 (viasteps90 and92) is then established between theend user14 and themedia server64 in theremote computing environment24, via theedge device22. Themedia server64 transmits over the media path an initial greeting and other voice treatments for prompting theend user14 to provide identification information and/or reasons for the call. Over themedia path17, the end user provides such information to theedge device22, which then forwards the information to themedia server64.

Although not depicted inFIG. 5, theSIP server60 communicates with theURS62 which in turn communicates with thestatistics server66 for determining an agent to which the call is to be forwarded. The determination of such agent may be based on available agents, their skill, and the like. Once such an agent is identified, theSIP server60 transmits a message to theedge device22 instep94, which then signals the selectedagent12 instep96.

In response to the signaling, instep98, the agent forwards his parameters for the voice conversation to theedge device22. The edge device forwards the parameters to the SIP server instep100, using SIP signaling understood by the SIP server. The SIP server re-invites theend user14 for the conversation with the agent by transmitting a SIP packet to the end user insteps102 and104, via theedge device22. This conversation utilizes bandwidth ontenant links28 and34. Once the end user accepts the invitation, theRTP media path20 which is controlled by theedge device22 is established (viasteps106 and108) between theagent12 and theend user14. This media path does not traverse thenetwork connection26 to theremote computing environment24.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an offload process implemented by thetraffic management module72 of theserver system30 according to one embodiment of the invention. According to the process, the traffic management module monitors, instep110, status of various network segments including status of thenetwork connection26abetween thededicated communications network10aand theremote computing environment24a. Such monitoring may be done in real time and may include, for example, determination as to the number of active calls in progress which are currently being handled by amedia server64 in the local region, and a determination of the type of media service being rendered for each call. This information may be used to calculate a total amount of bandwidth consumed for thenetwork connection26a, and to further estimate growth of call flows involving the local media server. The general “health” of thenetwork connection26amay also be monitored, in addition or in lieu of the bandwidth saturation. For example, the system may perform regular SNMP-based monitoring of the network devices providing redundant network connections between thecommunications network10aand theserver system30a.

Instep112, a determination is made as to whether a threshold or other criteria for offloading has been satisfied. For example, the traffic management module may determine whether the bandwidth saturation of thenetwork connection26ahas reached a certain level. If the answer is YES, the traffic management module, instep114, determines whether there is a peer region available for selection from one or more remote regions to which gradually offload media. According to one embodiment, the selection of the peer region is based on a peer selection algorithm which takes into account one or more parameters, such as, for example, the geographic location of the remote regions, bandwidth saturation of thenetwork link42 connecting the local region to the remote regions, allowed bandwidth for media off-load in the remote regions, roundtrip response time of the remote media server, status of the redundant connections at the remote regions, and the like.

If a peer region is available for selection, the traffic management module selects an appropriate peer instep116.

Instep118, thetraffic management module72 selects one or more tenant(s) whose media is to be offloaded. The selection of the particular tenant may be based on the class of service ordered by the tenant. For example, the traffic management module may be configured to select tenants associated with the lowest (bronze) class of service and initially offload media connection requests for these types of tenants to the selected peer region. The level of service provided to a tenant out of the peer region is configured to match the level of service the tenant had prior to the offloading.

Instep120 the traffic management module is configured to select one or more different types of media to be offloaded first for the selected tenant. According to one embodiment, the order in which different types of media are offloaded may be set by default. For example, media provided to agents during an outbound campaign may be selected first by default for offloading since the quality or latency of such media to the agents is not critical. The tenants may also indicate their preference as to the order in which different types of media are to be offloaded, in each tenant's profile record stored in themass storage device70.

Instep122, the traffic management module sets an identifier of the media server of the selected peer region as the default media server for servicing the selected media type of the selected tenants. The media identifier may be stored, for example, in the profile record of the selected tenants, in association with the selected media type. Thereafter, requests to thelocal SIP server60 requiring servicing by a contact center application in a media server are redirected to the peer media server over thenetwork link42 in a seamless manner.

Referring again to step114, if a peer region is not available for selection, thetraffic management module72 activates an emergency process instep124. The emergency process may entail, for example, canceling all outbound campaigns, delivering new call to an available agent without initial treatment, instructing thelocal SIP Server60 to refuse all inbound calls, and the like.

Referring again tosteps110 and112, if the monitoring of the status of thenetwork connection26aindicates that the threshold or other criteria for offloading has not been satisfied (e.g. there is sufficient bandwidth on thenetwork connection26a), the traffic management module determines instep126 whether any tenants have calls redirected to a peer region. If the answer is YES, the traffic management module selects, instep128, one or more tenants to revert back to the local region. The selection of such tenants may depend, for example, on the class of service subscribed, the different geographic locations of the peer regions (if more than one) to which the tenants have been redirected, and the like.

Instep130, the traffic management module selects one or more redirected media types to revert back to the local region.

Instep132, the traffic management module sets an identifier of the media server of the local region as the default media server for servicing the selected media type(s) of the selected tenant(s). The media identifier may be stored, for example, in the profile record of the selected tenant(s).

In addition or in lieu of monitoring and managing traffic traversing thenetwork connection26, the traffic management module also monitors bandwidth of a tenant for managing traffic bursts on a per tenant basis. In this regard, the mass storage device maintains information about each tenant in a tenant profile record stored in themass storage device70.

FIG. 7 is a semi-schematic, conceptual layout diagram of a portion of a tenant'sprofile record400 providing information on call resources available to the tenant according to one embodiment of the invention. The information in therecord402 may be provided by the tenant when subscribing to one or more call center services, or automatically deduced from monitoring activities of each tenant. In the illustrated embodiment, the record400 stores a typical number of simultaneous voice conversations handled by thetenant402, a maximum expected number ofvoice conversations404, a maximum number of agents for which the tenant's call center is configured406, and a number ofactual agents408 that the tenant is providing along with information on their skill level (regular410 or skilled412). Therecord400 further stores a number of maximum number of supervisors for which the tenant's call center is configured414, and a number of actual supervisors that the tenant will provide 416.

FIG. 8 is a semi-schematic, conceptual layout diagram of another portion of a tenant'sprofile record140 for storing information on the bandwidth characteristics of the tenant MPLS link34 subscribed to by the tenant for connecting to thededicated communications network10 according to one embodiment of the invention. For example, therecord140 may indicate a regular bit rate at thetenant premises142, available normaltraffic burst bandwidth144, and availableextended burst bandwidth146. Therecord140 may also provide information on the physicalmedia bandwidth limit148 of theMPLS link34. According to one embodiment, the burst levels are managed by the provider of theprivate network16. Exceeding theextended burst level146 generally causes dropping of packets controlled by the provider's bandwidth management policies. Exceeding thephysical media bandwidth148 also leads to the dropping of packets by the hardware involved.

FIG. 9 is a semi-schematic, conceptual layout diagram of a bandwidth consumption table150 storing information on the bandwidth of the tenant MPLS link34 that is estimated to be consumed for a particular tenant according to one embodiment of the invention. The bandwidth consumption is estimated based on the known codec used by the tenant. In the illustrated example, each row of the table provides information, at a particular point in time, as to a total number of end-customers that were served152 by engaging in a voice conversation, a total number ofvoice conversations154 that were simultaneously established at that time, and estimatedbandwidth consumption156 for the simultaneously established voice conversations. The estimated bandwidth consumption for the simultaneously established voice conversations is further broken down to identify an estimated bandwidth consumed for voice traffic only158, and an estimatedtotal bandwidth consumption160 including bandwidth consumed for SIP signaling, and the like. For the established voice conversations, the table also breaks down the conversations based on the conversation type (e.g.direct conversations160,multi-party conversations162, consultcalls164,supervised calls166,outbound campaigns168, and the like). According to one embodiment, the conversation type is not considered in the bandwidth consumption calculation and thus, may be omitted from the table; each conversation consumes equal amount of bandwidth regardless the conversation type. The table150 further tracks a number ofagents170 engaged in each type of conversation. According to one embodiment, thetraffic management module72 updates the table in real time as voice conversations are initiated and terminated. Alternatively, thetraffic management module72 may be configured to periodically conduct a survey to determine the bandwidth consumption of the tenant MPLS link34 at the time of the survey.

The bandwidth consumption depends on the manner in which the calls are handled. In some cases, there might be sufficient bandwidth for ten end customers to be served. In other cases, there may not be enough bandwidth for even eight customers. For example, for a tenant with a profile depicted viaFIGS. 7 and 8,entry172 illustrates a situation where the tenant served even more end customers than planned (i.e. had voice conversations with 12 customers when the maximum expected number of voice conversations124 (FIG. 7) was ten). However, there was still enough bandwidth for the conversations since the 12 conversations were direct conversations via media path20 (FIG. 1) consuming 1.28 Mbps, which is below the 1.5 Mbps physical media limit available to the tenant. All top rows174 of the table indicate that the bandwidth consumed by the conversations was below the 1.5 Mbps physical media limit available to the tenant. The middle rows176 of the table indicate that the consumed bandwidth was at the physical media limit. Thebottom rows178 of the table indicate that even though staffing (e.g. number of agents and supervisors) was within the ordered limits as depicted inFIG. 7 (15 agents and two supervisors), and the number of calls from end customers was also within the ordered limits (ten customers), the amount of bandwidth consumed due to the type of calls being serviced was high, causing it to exceed the 1.5 Mbps physical media limit available for the voice conversations. In this case, quality of established voice conversations is lost, and the tenant often experiences dropping of packets and the like. A bandwidth upgrade for the tenant MPLS link34 is thus often required.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a tenant may subscribe to a traffic burst management service for controlling the service degradation to its customers when there is an over consumption of bandwidth of thetenant MPLS link34, as is reflected via the bottom rows of the bandwidth consumption table150 ofFIG. 9. Whether the tenant has subscribed to such a service may be determined by examining the tenant's profile record. A subscribing tenant may be prompted, electronically or otherwise, to provide the bandwidth subscription information for storing in therecord140 ofFIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a process executed by thetraffic management module72 for managing traffic bursts on a per tenant basis according to one embodiment of the invention. Instep200, the traffic management module identifies a tenant subscribed to the traffic burst management service. This may be done, for example, by examining an appropriate field of each tenant's profile record for an indication that the tenant has subscribed to such a service.

Instep202, thetraffic management module72 calculates the estimated bandwidth consumption of thetenant MPLS link34. In this regard, the traffic management module determines a number of simultaneously established voice conversations traversing thetenant MPLS link34, regardless of the type of conversations being conducted. A total estimated bandwidth consumption is then calculated based on the number of voice conversations.

Instep204, the tenant's bandwidth consumption table150 (FIG. 9) is updated with the calculated information.

Instep206, thetraffic management module72 determines whether a threshold bandwidth consumption amount has been satisfied. The threshold may be provided by the tenant or calculated automatically by the traffic management module based on the bandwidth characteristics of the tenant MPLS link34 stored in the record140 (FIG. 8). For example, thetraffic management module72 may automatically calculate the threshold as a preset percentage (e.g. 75%) of the physical media bandwidth limit purchased by the tenant.

If the threshold bandwidth consumption level has been satisfied, a determination is made instep208 as to whether the tenant has provided a customized service degradation measure/plan. If the answer is YES, the traffic management module invokes the customized degradation measure. Otherwise, the traffic management module selects a default degradation measure.

Regardless of whether the degradation measure is customized or a default, the traffic management module is configured to apply the measure to future voice conversations traversing thetenant MPLS link34. For example, the degradation measure may start with canceling an outbound campaign on behalf of the tenant until additional bandwidth of the tenant MPLS link becomes available. In this regard, thetraffic management module72 identifies an outbound campaign for the tenant based on the tenant identification information, and either cancels the campaign or reschedules it for another time and/or date. If there are no outbound campaigns to cancel/reschedule, the degradation measure may activate “sorry” greetings toward new inbound calls ofend customers14. Thus, instead of abruptly refusing new calls, the “sorry” greetings may more graciously turn down such new calls, redirect the call to a voice mail system, and may even request a call back number that an agent may call at a later time.

According to one embodiment, thetraffic management module72 is also configured to gracefully manage unexpected call rate bursts in the entire system.FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a process for managing unexpected call rate bursts for the entire system according to one embodiment of the invention. The process starts, and instep300, the traffic management module monitors the status of theSIP trunk link38. Such monitoring may include, for example, determination as to the number of simultaneously established voice conversations with an end-user14 for the entire system, and the type of calls that are being conducted. Based on this information, the traffic management module may be configured to calculate a total amount of bandwidth consumed for theSIP trunk link38.

Instep302, the traffic management module makes a determination as to whether a threshold bandwidth consumption amount has been satisfied. The threshold may be calculated automatically by the traffic management module based on the bandwidth characteristics of theSIP trunk link38. For example, thetraffic management module72 may automatically calculate the threshold as a preset percentage (e.g. 75%) of the physical media bandwidth limit of the SIP trunk link.

If the threshold bandwidth consumption level has been satisfied, a tenant is selected instep304 for invoking a service degradation measure for the selected tenant. In this regard, the traffic management module identifies for each tenant, the level of service/class of service ordered by the tenant. This information may be stored, for example, in each tenant's profile record. The record may indicate that the tenant has ordered a bronze, silver, or gold level service. The traffic management module may be configured to select tenants with a lower level of service (e.g. bronze level tenants) prior to selecting tenants of a higher level of service (e.g. silver or gold level tenants).

Instep306, the traffic management module is configured to invoke a service degradation measure for the selected tenant(s). The service degradation measure may be similar to the service degradation measure discussed above with respect toFIG. 10.

According to one embodiment, although the monitoring inFIGS. 10 and 11 is described as monitoring the bandwidth consumption of respectively the tenant MPLS link34 and theSIP trunk link38, a person of skill in the art should recognize that the general “health” of the tenant and SIP trunk links may also be monitored in addition or in lieu of the bandwidth saturation, similar to the monitoring of the “health” of thenetwork connection26aas is described above with respect toFIG. 6.

The processes described with respect toFIGS. 6,10, and11 may be described in terms of a software routine executed by a processor in theserver system30 based on instructions stored in the server's memory. The instructions may also be stored in other non-transient computer readable media such as, for example, a CD-ROM, flash drive, or the like. A person of skill in the art should also recognize that the routine may be executed via hardware, firmware (e.g. via an ASIC), or in any combination of software, firmware, and/or hardware. Furthermore, the sequence of steps of the various processes is not fixed, but can be altered into any desired sequence as recognized by a person of skill in the art.

It is the applicants intention to cover by claims all such uses of the invention and those changes and modifications which could be made to the embodiments of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present embodiments of the invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention to be indicated by the appended claims and their equivalents rather than the foregoing description.

Claims (44)

What is claimed is:

1. A system for managing media traffic for a plurality of customer contact centers, the system comprising:

first and second server systems in respectively first and second computing environments, the first and second server systems hosting contact center applications for processing communication to and from the one or more contact centers; and

an edge device deployed in a first communications network for facilitating a first communication involving a first end device and for signaling the first server system to service the first communication, wherein media traffic is transmitted between the first end device and the first server system during the first communication in response to the servicing, the servicing invoking a first contact center application hosted by the first server system, the media traffic traversing a first network link coupling the first communications network and the first computing environment,

wherein, the first server system is configured to monitor status of the first network link and in response to the monitoring, signal the second server system in the second computing environment to service a second communication involving a second end device, wherein the servicing of the second communication invokes a second contact center application hosted by the second server system, and

wherein the first end device is configured to access a private network over a second link, the private network being coupled to the first communications network, wherein the first server system is configured to identify one of the plurality of customer contact centers associated with the first communication, determine availability of the second link for the identified customer contact center, and in response to the determined availability, trigger an action for preserving a particular quality of service for the voice communication.

2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the first and second communications are voice communications.

3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the media traffic is voice traffic.

4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the first and second computing environments are cloud computing environments.

5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the monitoring of the status of the first network link includes monitoring the bandwidth of the first network link.

6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein a second communications network is coupled to the first communications network over a second network link, the second communications network being further coupled to the second computing environment, wherein the first server system is further configured monitor status of the second network link and select the second computing environment for servicing the second communication based on the monitored status of the second network link.

7. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the second communication is configured to generate traffic that traverses the second network link.

8. The system ofclaim 1, wherein a second communications network is coupled to the second computing environment over a second network link, wherein the first server system is further configured monitor status of the second network link and select the second computing environment for servicing the second communication based on the monitored status of the second network link.

9. The system of claim I, wherein the first server system is configured to select a media type, the first server system being further configured to signal the second server system in the second computing environment if the second communication is of the selected media type.

10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the selected media type is voice treatment in an outbound campaign by one or more of the plurality of customer contact centers.

11. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the selected media type is voice treatment for an inbound call directed to one or more of the plurality of customer contact centers.

12. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the selected media type is a multi-party call.

13. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the first server system is configured to select a contact center service level from a plurality of available service levels, and further configured to signal the second server system in the second computing environment if the second communication is associated with a customer contact center assigned to the selected contact center service level.

14. The system ofclaim 1, wherein determining availability of the second link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the second link.

15. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the second link is accessed by an agent of the identified customer contact center via the first end device.

16. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the triggered action is canceling an outbound campaign for the identified customer contact center.

17. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the triggered action is activating a greeting for delivery to the first end user, the greeting for indicating inability for servicing the voice communication.

18. A system for managing media traffic for a plurality of customer contact centers, the system comprising:

first and second server systems in respectively first and second computing environments, the first and second server systems hosting contact center applications for processing communication to and from the one or more contact centers; and

an edge device deployed in a first communications network for facilitating a first communication involving a first end device and for signaling the first server system to service the first communication, wherein media traffic is transmitted between the first end device and the first server system during the first communication in response to the servicing, the servicing invoking a first contact center application hosted by the first server system, the media traffic traversing a first network link coupling the first communications network and the first computing environment,

wherein, the first server system is configured to monitor status of the first network link and in response to the monitoring, signal the second server system in the second computing environment to service a second communication involving a second end device, wherein the servicing of the second communication invokes a second contact center application hosted by the second server system, and

wherein the first end device accesses the first communications network over a second link coupling the first communications network to a private network, wherein the first server system is configured to determine availability of the second link based on calls traversing the second link, wherein, in response to the determined availability of the second link, the first server system is configured to trigger an action with respect to calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a first service level for preserving a particular quality of service for calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a second service level different from the first service level.

19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein determining availability of the second link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the second link.

20. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the second link is shared by customers of the contact centers subscribed to the first and second service levels.

21. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the triggered action is canceling an outbound campaign for one or more of the contact centers subscribed to the first service level.

22. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the triggered action is activating a greeting for delivery to one or more customers of one or more of the contact centers subscribed to the first service level, the greeting for indicating inability for servicing a call by the one or more customers.

23. A method for managing media traffic for a plurality of customer contact centers accessing a computer network, the method comprising:

receiving by an edge device a first communication involving a first end device, the edge device being coupled to a first communications network;

signaling by the edge device a first server system to service the first communication, wherein in response to the signaling, the first server system invokes a first contact center application hosted by the first server system, the first server system being hosted by a first computing environment;

transmitting media traffic between the first end device and the first server system during the first communication in response to the servicing, the media traffic traversing a first network link coupling the first communications network and the first computing environment,

monitoring status of the first network link;

in response to the monitoring of the first network link, signaling a second server system in a second computing environment for servicing a second communication involving a second end device, wherein the servicing of the second communication invokes a second contact center application hosted by the second server system,

wherein the first end device is configured to access a private network over a second link, the private network being coupled to the first communications netowrk, wherein the first server system is configured to identify one of the plurality of customer contact centers associated with the first communication, determine availability of the second link for the identified customer contact center, and in response to the determined availability, trigger an action for preserving a particular quality of service for the voice communication.

24. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the first and second communications are voice communications.

25. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the media traffic is voice traffic.

26. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the first and second computing environments are cloud computing environments.

27. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the monitoring of the status of the first network link includes monitoring the bandwidth of the first network link.

28. The method ofclaim 23, wherein a second communications network is coupled to the first communications network over a second network link, the second communications network being further coupled to the second computing environment, wherein the first server system is further configured monitor status of the second network link and select the second computing environment for servicing the second communication based on the monitored status of the second network link.

29. The method ofclaim 28, wherein the second communication is configured to generate traffic that traverses the second network link.

30. The method ofclaim 23, wherein a second communications network is coupled to the second computing environment over a second network link, wherein the first server system is further configured monitor status of the second network link and select the second computing environment for servicing the second communication based on the monitored status of the second network link.

31. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the first server system is configured to select a media type, the first server system being further configured to signal the second server system in the second computing environment if the second communication is of the selected media type.

32. The method ofclaim 31, wherein the selected media type is voice treatment in an outbound campaign by one or more of the plurality of customer contact centers.

33. The method ofclaim 31, wherein the selected media type is voice treatment for an inbound call directed to one or more of the plurality of customer contact centers.

34. The method ofclaim 31, wherein the selected media type is a multi-party call.

35. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the first server system is configured to select a contact center service level from a plurality of available service levels, and further configured to signal the second server system in the second computing environment if the second communication is associated with a customer contact center assigned to the selected contact center service level.

36. The method ofclaim 23, wherein determining availability of the second link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the second link.

37. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the second link is accessed by an agent of the identified customer contact center via the first end device.

38. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the triggered action is canceling an outbound campaign for the identified customer contact center.

39. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the triggered action is activating a greeting for delivery to the first end user, the greeting for indicating inability for servicing the voice communication.

40. A method for managing media traffic for a plurality of customer contact centers accessing a computer network, the method comprising:

receiving by an edge device a first communication involving a first end device, the edge device being coupled to a first communications network;

signaling by the edge device a first server system to service the first communication, wherein in response to the signaling, the first server system invokes a first contact center application hosted by the first server system, the first server system being hosted by a first computing environment;

transmitting media traffic between the first end device and the first server system during the first communication in response to the servicing, the media traffic traversing a first network link coupling the first communications network and the first computing environment,

monitoring status of the first network link;

in response to the monitoring of the first network link, signaling a second server system in a second computing environment for servicing a second communication involving a second end device, wherein the servicing of the second communication invokes a second contact center application hosted by the second server system,

wherein the first end device accesses the first communications network over a second link coupling the first communications network to a private network, wherein the first server system is configured to determine availability of the second link based on calls traversing the second link, wherein, in response to the determined availability of the second link, the first server system is configured to trigger an action with respect to calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a first service level for preserving a particular quality of service for calls associated with contact centers subscribed to a second service level different from the first service level.

41. The method ofclaim 40, wherein determining availability of the second link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the second link.

42. The method ofclaim 40, wherein the second link is shared by customers of the contact centers subscribed to the first and second service levels.

43. The method ofclaim 40, wherein the triggered action is canceling an outbound campaign for one or more of the contact centers subscribed to the first service level.

44. The method ofclaim 40, wherein the triggered action is activating a greeting for delivery to one or more customers of one or more of the contact centers subscribed to the first service level, the greeting for indicating inability for servicing a call by the one or more customers.

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