USOO9210254B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Hunt
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 9,210,254 B2
`Dec. 8, 2015
`
`(54) UNIFIED SERVICES PLATFORMUSINGA
`TELEPHONE NUMBER ASA COMMON
`SUBSCRIBER DENTIFIER
`
`(71) Applicant: Shango Corp, LLC, Austin, TX (US)
`
`(72) Inventor: Evin Hunt, Austin, TX (US)
`(73) Assignee: SHANGO CORP, LLC, Austin, TX
`(US)
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 116 days.
`(21) Appl. No.: 14/087,768
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Nov. 22, 2013
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2015/O 103985 A1
`Apr. 16, 2015
`Related U.S. Application Data
`(60) Provisional application No. 61/888,856, filed on Oct.
`9, 2013.
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`H04M II/00
`H04M 3/22
`H04M 3/42
`
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`CPC ........ H04M 3/2209 (2013.01); H04M 3/42297
`(2013.01)
`
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`USPC ..................................................... 379/102.01
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`9,025,753 B2 * 5/2015 Moore et al. ............. 379,211.02
`2009.0125409 A1
`5/2009 Barton ............................ 705/26
`2015/0052009 A1* 2/2015 Ketchell, III ................. TO5/26.8
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner — Maria El-Zoobi
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A system and method for enabling the telephone number as a
`platform for the association of IP-enabled services with
`legacy telephone service. A unified services enabler platform
`may be utilized to associate a customer and their telephone
`number with a variety of services and applications from mul
`tiple different ecosystems. The customer can continue to use
`their existing telephone service and in addition can utilize
`new IP-enabled features that are associated with their tele
`phone number as the common ID.
`17 Claims, 11 Drawing Sheets
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`
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`iiified SeriC8S rigier Fair
`
`telephone Ninter
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`
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`Oficier
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 1 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 2 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`SERVICES
`
`FEATURES
`
`vessaging
`
`elephone
`Nittier
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`Cile:Oiatiri
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`
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`FiG 2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 3 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 4 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
`US 9,210,254 B2
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`PODUBIGJEDIAQI}
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`JUOYBIOISPNOID
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`LLLE-LLEL(G99)
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`SMOLPOAAP|
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`suonmGeany|
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`Old
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 5 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 6 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`/Star irripienient a Linied Services N
`Platform with the telephone Number
`N.
`as is inigiie identifier
`W
`
`Receive Request to Provision a
`Second Service for a First tiser
`SiO5
`
`(Utilize the First faiepitone
`Ninher" as a Liniglie iD for
`Provisioning the Second Service
`fit
`
`Receive Request to Provision a
`iiird Service for the First iiser
`6i5
`
`s
`
`Utilize the First TeiepinOne
`i\itinier as a friqi e ii for
`Provisioning the Third Service
`S2
`
`Create a linified Siofreiroii for
`A?iatnaging the Flurality of
`Services ASSOCiated Wifi ifle
`First telephone Nuinier
`625
`
`Aiiovyihe First Liser to login to
`the inified Storefront Lising the
`First eiepitone Nuinier
`53C
`
`End - implement a Unified Services Y,
`Platform with the telephone Number
`as fire irie defifier
`
`F.G. S.
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 7 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`Siari - initiate a Service of
`FiSi tiser
`
`freceive Reguest to iiiiize
`a SCOrld Service
`7G5
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`Retrieve A?iaping
`Corresponding to the First
`Liseratic; Second Service
`7 O.
`
`
`
`
`
`Tafsite the first
`Telephone Nitinier to a
`Secord is
`715
`
`Generate a Request
`including the Second it to
`initiate a Session of is
`Secord Service
`F2
`
`Send the Request to the
`Second frovider
`Z23
`
`initiate the Second Service
`Session for the First user
`3G
`
`
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`End - iiiiate a Service For
`a First is ef
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 8 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`
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`Start-Activate a Service For a First liser
`
`Receive Request to Activate a
`Service and Associate the Service
`with the Liser's faiepilong Ait inter
`BG5
`
`Forward the Request to Activate the
`Service to its Lified Services
`failiei Fiafior
`ii.
`
`Extract the Appropriate information
`iron the frequest
`8 i5
`
`Sefid the tiser's elephore Nurnber
`and Other Reievant Data to the
`Secord Frovider iO ACtivate is
`Service atti ASSOtiate iiie Service
`with User's Telephone Nunther
`32
`
`Geiterate the Necessary Routing
`information for Lisig fire Service
`825
`
`Send this routing information to the
`fi'Si and SecCfiti Froviders
`83
`
`tilize this Routing information for
`Seiiing Up and Enaiting Sessions
`of is Service for the iiser
`33.
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`End-Activate a Service For a First User M
`
`FG. 8
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 9 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`Start - Switching Frinary
`Providers
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`Maintain Mappings of Multiple Active
`AigitatisfiS and Seiyies iO a First
`Tsieghors Niinier of a First Liser
`
`Move the Multiple Agitive Applications
`aid Services to a Secord Provider
`SiO
`
`Maintain the Mappings of Multiple
`Active Applications and Services to a
`First feiepitone Nutriter of a First
`iser
`3 i5
`
`Generate New Rotting information for
`isse Ative Affications and
`Sefyices and Seidio the Secord
`Provider and Third Party Providers
`SO
`
`Utilize the New Routing information to
`Provide Sessions to the First Userior
`these Active Appiations and
`Services
`323
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`
`
`End - Switching Primary
`Freiders
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`F.G. S.
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 10 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 8, 2015
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`Sheet 11 of 11
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`Start-Activating a Third-PartyY
`Application
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`Configure what Customer information
`and interworking Data is Needed to
`CF"Safe a New Ascot iii
`f f O5
`
`include the Application in the Primary
`Provider's viasier Catalog
`i if
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`Select the Application in the Master"
`Catalog by a Custoner of the Primary
`Frvici-r
`f f is
`
`Send Activation Data to the Prinary 8
`FrCir
`f i2C
`
`Send interworking Caia which is
`ASSOCiated syifa CuSiofer's
`i elephone Nuinber to the Primary
`Frovidi"
`if 25
`
`
`
`Send Activation Data to the Third.
`Party Provider to Create an Accolini
`for is CtiSiggis
`; 1 3G
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`Consuine and Translate the Activation
`Data at the Third-Party Provider to
`Create af: ACCOLiri for iiie C Sirrer
`f f 35
`
`
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`End-Activating a Third-Party
`Application
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`US 9,210,254 B2
`
`1.
`UNIFIED SERVICES PLATFORMUSINGA
`TELEPHONE NUMBER ASA COMMON
`SUBSCRIBER DENTIFIER
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
`Application No. 61/888,856, filed Oct. 9, 2013, the entirety of
`which is incorporated herein by reference.
`
`10
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`15
`The present invention relates generally to integrating com
`munications services, and in particular to managing services
`and applications using telephone numbers as common Sub
`scriber identifiers.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Even with the explosive growth in new communications
`technologies and service offerings, telecommunications Ser
`vice providers still have large numbers of customers with
`traditional analog telephone service. For these customers, the
`telephone number remains the universal identifier (ID) for
`communicating with the outside world.
`As the availability of new technologies has spread, increas
`ing numbers of customers wish to add services and applica
`tions to their existing telephone service. However, many ser
`vices and applications are Supplied by third-party providers in
`different ecosystems. These third-party ecosystems often use
`different types of IDs and have different rules and policies for
`managing and activating their services and applications.
`In view of the above, new techniques for integrating
`advanced services and applications with legacy telephone
`service are desired.
`
`25
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`30
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`35
`
`SUMMARY
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`40
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`45
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`50
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`Various embodiments of methods and mechanisms for cre
`ating a unified services platform using the telephone number
`as the common subscriber ID.
`In one embodiment, a unified services enabler platform
`may allow for the association of internet protocol (IP) enabled
`services with telephone numbers tied to legacy telephone
`services. Within this platform, the telephone number may be
`used as the central, unifying ID to associate services and
`applications that are utilized by the corresponding user. A
`telecommunications provider which provides traditional tele
`phone services to customers may be coupled to the unified
`services enabler platform in order to associate customer tele
`phone numbers with various IP-enabled services and appli
`cations. A customer may continue to use existing telephone
`services but can also utilize IP-enabled services and applica
`tions which are associated with their legacy telephone num
`55
`ber.
`These and other features and advantages will become
`apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the
`following detailed descriptions of the approaches presented
`herein.
`
`60
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The above and further advantages of the methods and
`mechanisms may be better understood by referring to the
`following description in conjunction with the accompanying
`drawings, in which:
`
`65
`
`2
`FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an end user client
`connecting to a communications network.
`FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of utilizing a telephone
`number as the common subscriber ID.
`FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a telecommunica
`tions provider cloud.
`FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a unified services
`platform.
`FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a sequence for acti
`Vating services for a Subscriber.
`FIG. 6 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating one
`embodiment of a method for implementing a unified services
`platform with the telephone number as the common identifier.
`FIG. 7 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating one
`embodiment of a method for initiating a service for a first user.
`FIG. 8 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating one
`embodiment of a method for activating a service for a first
`USC.
`FIG. 9 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating one
`embodiment of another method for Switching primary pro
`viders.
`FIG. 10 is a block diagram of one embodiment of enabling
`communications between third party providers.
`FIG. 11 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating one
`embodiment of another method for activating a third-party
`application.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
`
`In the following description, numerous specific details are
`set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the methods
`and mechanisms presented herein. However, one having ordi
`nary skill in the art should recognize that the various embodi
`ments may be practiced without these specific details. In
`Some instances, well-known structures, components, signals,
`computer program instructions, and techniques have not been
`shown in detail to avoid obscuring the approaches described
`herein. It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of
`illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessar
`ily been drawn to Scale. For example, the dimensions of some
`of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other ele
`mentS.
`This specification includes references to “one embodi
`ment. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment' in
`different contexts does not necessarily refer to the same
`embodiment. Particular features, structures, or characteristics
`may be combined in any suitable manner consistent with this
`disclosure. Furthermore, as used throughout this application,
`the word “may is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning
`having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e.,
`meaning must). Similarly, the words “include”, “including,
`and “includes’ mean including, but not limited to.
`Terminology. The following paragraphs provide defini
`tions and/or context for terms found in this disclosure (includ
`ing the appended claims):
`“Comprising.” This term is open-ended. As used in the
`appended claims, this term does not foreclose additional
`structure or steps. Consider a claim that recites: “A System
`comprising a server....” Such a claim does not foreclose the
`system from including additional components (e.g., network
`interface, memory, display).
`“Configured To. Various units, circuits, or other compo
`nents may be described or claimed as “configured to perform
`a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to’ is used to
`connote structure by indicating that the units/circuits/compo
`nents include structure (e.g., circuitry) that performs the task
`or tasks during operation. As such, the unit/circuit/component
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`can be said to be configured to perform the task even when the
`specified unit/circuit/component is not currently operational
`(e.g., is not on). The units/circuits/components used with the
`“configured to language include hardware—for example,
`circuits, memory storing program instructions executable to
`implement the operation, etc. Reciting that a unit/circuit/
`component is "configured to perform one or more tasks is
`expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. S112, sixth para
`graph, for that unit/circuit/component. Additionally, "config
`ured to can include generic structure (e.g., generic circuitry)
`that is manipulated by Software and/or firmware (e.g., an
`FPGA or a general-purpose processor executing software) to
`operate in manner that is capable of performing the task(s) at
`issue. "Configured to may also include adapting a manufac
`turing process (e.g., a semiconductor fabrication facility) to
`fabricate devices (e.g., integrated circuits) that are adapted to
`implement or perform one or more tasks.
`"First “Second, etc. As used herein, these terms are used
`as labels for nouns that they precede, and do not imply any
`type of ordering (e.g., spatial, temporal, logical, etc.). For
`example, for a customer using five services, the terms “first
`and “second resellers can be used to refer to any two of the
`five services.
`“Based On. As used herein, this term is used to describe
`one or more factors that affect a determination. This term does
`not foreclose additional factors that may affect a determina
`tion. That is, a determination may be solely based on those
`factors or based, at least in part, on those factors. Consider the
`phrase “determine A based on B. While B may be a factor
`that affects the determination of A, such a phrase does not
`foreclose the determination of A from also being based on C.
`In other instances. A may be determined based solely on B.
`Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of an end user
`client connecting to a communications network is shown.
`Client 110 may subscribe to a standard telephone service
`provided by provider 120, and the telephone service may be
`associated with telephone number 105. Depending on the
`embodiment, the telephone service may or may not be
`bundled with other types of services (e.g., TV, internet). Cli
`ent 110 is representative of any number and type (e.g., resi
`dential, business) of customers of telecommunications pro
`vider 120. Also, in other embodiments, client 110 may
`subscribe to multiple telephone services and have multiple
`telephone numbers.
`In one embodiment, client 110 may be connected to pro
`vider 120 via a landline (e.g., copper, fiber). In another
`embodiment, client 110 may be connected to provider 120 via
`a wireless connection. Provider 120 is also connected to pub
`lic switched telephone network (PSTN) 125 and internet 130.
`Provider 120 may include any number of telephone systems
`and may also be connected to other clients (not shown) and
`other networks (not shown).
`In one embodiment, client 110 may request to add services
`and applications to the existing telephone service provided by
`provider 120. Any of various service and applications may be
`requested, including video conferencing, text messaging,
`interactive texting, hosted private branch exchange (PBX)
`seats, Voice mail systems, and other services and applications.
`These services may be purchased from first application ser
`vice provider 150 and/or second application service provider
`160, which are representative of any number of application
`service providers. Provider 120 may also provide native ser
`vices and application that can be purchased directly from
`provider 120 by client 110.
`First application service provider 150 may be part of a first
`ecosystem with a first identifier (ID) for each user and using
`a first application programming interface (API) for selecting
`
`40
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`45
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`4
`and activating apps. In addition, second application service
`provider 160 may be part of a second ecosystem with a second
`ID for each user and using a second API for selecting and
`activating apps. The first ID used by first application service
`provider 150 may or may not be different than the second ID
`used by second application service provider 160 and the first
`API used by first application service provider 150 may or may
`not be different than the second API used by second applica
`tion service provider 160. In other words, the first and second
`ecosystems may not be compatible and may require separate
`IDs (for the same customer) and may have different types of
`rules and APIs for accessing, provisioning, and using their
`various services.
`Provider 120 may also be coupled to unified services
`enabler platform 140 via internet 130. Unified services
`enabler platform 140 may be configured to unify all of the
`available services and applications in a single platform that is
`associated with a single ID to identify client 110. Rather than
`using an identifier Such as an email address or a completely
`separate identifier, unified services enabler platform 140 may
`associate the various services and applications provided to
`client 110 with telephone number 105. In one embodiment,
`provider 120 may use a single API for generating requests that
`are sent to unified services enabler platform 140, and then
`unified services enabler platform 140 may aggregate a plu
`rality of APIs for a plurality of providers (e.g., first applica
`tion service provider 150, second application service provider
`160) within different ecosystems. Each separate provider
`may have a different API, and unified services enabler plat
`form 140 may activate services using the appropriate API for
`the provider which will deliver the requested service.
`Unified services enabler platform 140 may include soft
`ware and/or hardware for performing the various tasks to
`configure and provision a variety of services and applications
`and associate them with telephone number 105. In one
`embodiment, unified services enabler platform 140 may be a
`Software as a Service (SaaS), and unified services enabler
`platform 140 may reside in the cloud. In one embodiment,
`unified services enabler platform 140 may include server 142
`and database 144 for hosting SaaS 146 and storing corre
`sponding data. Server 142 and database 144 are representa
`tive of any number of servers and databases. In some embodi
`ments, the computing resources of unified services enabler
`platform may be spread out in multiple locations in the cloud
`and accessed via internet 130. Although unified services
`enabler platform 140 is shown as being separate from pro
`vider 120, in some embodiments, portions of platform 140 or
`the entirety of platform 140 may be integrated within provider
`120.
`In one embodiment, client 110 may enter a portal for plat
`form 140 in which a catalog of available applications and
`services are presented. Client 110 may add new applications
`and services to their existing telephone number 105 through
`this portal, as well as manage existing applications and Ser
`vices to which client 110 has already subscribed. The cata
`loged applications and services may be from within the net
`work of provider 120 and/or may be from third-party service
`providers 150 and 160. The portal may also be accessible via
`API in the case a user portal may already exist with provider
`120 using platform 140. In this case, provider 120 would
`integrate their portal into the API of platform 140 to source
`and managed applications and services.
`In one embodiment, first application service provider 150
`may host a third party conferencing application. In this
`embodiment, provider 150 may operate in a standalone envi
`ronment by reselling telephone numbers to customers
`directly through its own website. This conferencing applica
`
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`5
`tion may be integrated within the catalog of platform 140, and
`this may open up the ability for provider 120 and its custom
`ers (client 110 and others) to bring their existing telephone
`numbers into the conferencing application, thus creating a
`unified experience for the customers of provider 120.
`When client 110 decides to subscribe to this conferencing
`application, client 110 may select the conferencing applica
`tion from the catalog in the portal for platform 140. In
`response to detecting this selection, platform 140 may collect
`the relevant data from client 110 which the conferencing
`application needs to function properly for client 110. With
`first application service provider 150 configured in the net
`work of platform 140, platform 140 may be aware of the
`location and relevant call routing information required to
`enable the network of provider 120 to properly send calls to
`the off-net conferencing application. Platform 140 may send
`out a standardized data notification in a programmatic format
`containing the information, Such as JavaScript Object Nota
`tion (JSON) or Extensible Markup Language (XML), to a
`web uniform resource locator (URL) specific to provider 120.
`Provider 120 may then intercept the information and translate
`the information into appropriate systems, databases, and/or
`other internally relevant systems required to allow telephone
`number 105 of client 110 to function with the conferencing
`application. Likewise, the data collected by platform 140
`from client 110 for the conference application may be sent in
`a standardized format to a web URL configured for provider
`150 in platform 140. Provider 150 may intercept the client
`110 and provider 120 data, including the telephone number
`105, and provider 150 may translate the information into its
`internal systems to make the telephone number 105 work with
`the conferencing application as well as accept calls from
`provider 120 on the behalf of client 110.
`Once provider 150 activates client 110 to use its confer
`encing application, platform 140 receives notification, and a
`billing event may be generated and sent to a web URL con
`figured by provider 120 in which provider 120 intercepts and
`translates the billing event containing all relevant data into its
`internal systems. In one embodiment, as long as client 110
`remains Subscribed to the conferencing application, provider
`150 may bill provider 120 and provider 120 may bill client
`110 for the conferencing application. Platform 140 may
`remain the database of record for all active and inactive appli
`cations and services Subscribed to and/or purchased through
`platform 140 for all of the customers of provider 120.
`If client 110 decides to unsubscribe from the conferencing
`application, then client 110 may cancel the Subscription via
`the same portal of platform 140 that was used to originally
`Subscribe to the conferencing application. Similar to the way
`that platform 140 sent activation data to all of the relevant
`parties, platform 140 may send the deactivation information
`in the same standardized format to all of the relevant parties
`configured web URLs. This includes deactivation to the web
`URL of provider 120 configured for billing events.
`Many other applications and services can be brought into
`platform 140 in the same manner, allowing interworking
`between both provider 120 and applications/services provid
`ers 150 and 160 and between external applications/service
`providers 150 and 160 directly, all working together leverag
`ing the telephone number 105 of client 110 as the single,
`universal identifier.
`Turning now to FIG. 2, a diagram of one embodiment of
`utilizing a telephone number as the common subscriber ID
`across a plurality of services is shown. Telephone number 202
`may be the central ID which is associated with all of the
`features 204, services 206, and apps 208 which are provided
`to the subscriber. As shown in FIG. 2, features 204 may
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`include enhanced 911 (E911) to link telephone number 202 to
`the appropriate public resources and short message service
`(SMS) to provide text messaging for telephone number 202.
`Services 206 may include cloud PBX services for enabling an
`enterprise private telephone network and session initiation
`protocol (SIP) for controlling sessions over IP networks.
`Applications 208 may include messaging, collaboration, and
`Video, as well as any number of other applications not shown.
`The diagram of FIG. 2 illustrates the aggregation of fea
`tures 204, services 206, and apps 208 around the telephone
`number 202. The diagram represents an ecosystem that has
`been built around telephone number 202 and includes legacy
`services combined with IP and data related services not tra
`ditionally associated with voice service over the PSTN. The
`ecosystem may be associated with telephone number 202 and
`the subscriber may utilize telephone number 202 as the login
`or username to access a storefront for managing all of the
`Supporting services and applications to which they subscribe.
`The services and applications may be provided by multiple
`providers in multiple different ecosystems, but these services
`and applications may be unified around telephone number
`202 and appear to the user as existing in a single ecosystem.
`Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram of one embodi
`ment of a telecommunications provider cloud is shown. Tele
`communications provider cloud 304 may allow a telecommu
`nications provider to add third-party applications to its
`various service offerings and white-brand and sell those third
`party applications as if they were their own. In one embodi
`ment, telecommunications provider cloud 304 may include a
`unified services platform SaaS (not shown), and the unified
`services platform SaaS may be configured to combine large
`numbers of applications and provide them in a single offering
`to end users. Block 302 represents third-party applications
`combined with native applications that may be sourced by the
`telecommunications provider represented by cloud 304.
`All of the applications in block 302 that are utilized by a
`given subscriber may be unified around the subscriber's tele
`phone number. Block 306 is representative of a single sub
`scriber with a telephone number of 555-222-2222. The appli
`cations that are unified around this telephone number in block
`306 may be associated with multiple different devices for the
`single Subscriber. The Subscriber may access the applications
`using a computer, tablet, mobile phone, Smartphone, e-reader,
`landline phone, and/or any other Suitable electronic device.
`Turning now to FIG.4, a block diagram of one embodiment
`of a unified services platform 404 is shown. The telephone
`number (555-111-1111) may be used as the central ID to
`associate services and applications that are utilized by the
`corresponding user. Provider 406 may provide telephone ser
`vice to the user and present a storefront to the user to allow the
`user to select and add new services and applications to their
`existing service. The user may select applications via the
`storefront hosted by provider 406, and then the selected appli
`cations may be activated via the unified services platform
`404. As shown in unified services platform 404, the user has
`already selected three applications (app. 1, app 2, and app 3)
`which are associated with telephone number (555-111-1111).
`When the user selects a new application to add to their
`existing Voice service, a request may be generated via Sourc
`ing and settlement API 408 to activate the new application and
`associate the new application with the user's telephone num
`ber. Unified services platform 404 may then generate the
`necessary configuration data to activate the new application
`in accordance with the specific API 410 utilized by the appli
`cation service provider responsible for delivering the new
`application. In one embodiment, unified service platform 404
`may notify the corresponding application service provider
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`Ex. 1001
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 15 of 21
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`US 9,210,254 B2
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`that provider 406 is activating the new application in place of
`the end user. As a result, the new application may be assigned
`to provider 406 and different rules may apply than if the end
`user were directly activating the new application by them
`selves. In one embodiment, this notification may be indicated
`by setting an extra configuration field bit during the activation
`process, and in response, the corresponding application ser
`vice provider may allow provider 406 to directly control and
`manage the account for the end user.
`Unified services platform 404 may generate the appropri
`ate workloads and manage the integration of the new appli
`cation for the user. Unified services platform 404 may also
`manage the relationships between all of the different provid
`ers by using the telephone number as the common identifier.
`After activation, the actual functionality of the new applica
`tion may bypass unified services platform 404 and instead be
`delivered across the actual physical connection to the cus
`tomer (shown as arrow 412). In one embodiment, unified
`services platform 404 may be provided as a SaaS. In some
`embodiments, unified services platform 404 may be extended
`into private clouds rather than being a standalone platform.
`Referring now to FIG. 5, a diagram of one embodiment of
`a sequence for activating services for a Subscriber is shown.
`For the purposes of this discussion, it will be assumed that
`subscriber 502 has requested new services to be associated
`with their subscriber telephone number. These requests may
`be sent to provider 504 in step 510, and these requests may
`identify the specific services being requested. In this
`example, the services being added are video conferencing and
`interactive voice response (IVR) services. Provider 504 may
`receive the requests in step 510, and in turn may generate and
`send a requestin step 520 to unified services enablerplatform
`506 to source the desired services.
`In response to receiving this request, unified services
`enabler platform 506 may generate the appropriate activation
`data to activate these requested Services and associate these
`services with the existing telephone number of subscriber
`502. Unified services enabler platform 506 may generate
`configuration data in accordance with the APIs of the appli
`cation providers who are providing the requested services.
`40
`Specifically, unified services enabler platform 506 may gen
`erate activation data in step 530 to the provider of the video
`conferencing application. In one embodiment, unified ser
`vices enabler platform 506 may translate the telephone num
`ber into a second identifier (ID) that will be used to identify
`45
`subscriber 502 in the video conferencing provider's system.
`For example, this second ID may be an email address, and this
`email address may