Fonolo, a provider of cloud-based call-back solutions for the contact center, has been granted three patents related to its call-back technology. The company now has a portfolio of nine awarded patents in the United States and three in Canada, with more applications currently pending.
U.S. Patent 9,215,320, titled "System and Method of Use for Indexing Automated Phone Systems," is a continuation of Patent 9,031,214, issued last year. It discusses techniques for connecting customers withcustomer service agents at call centers without waiting on hold and without navigating an interactive voice resposonse (IVR) system.
U.S. Patent 9,288,316, titled "System and Method for Eliminating Hold-Time in Phone Calls," offers a comprehensive description for replacing hold-time with a call-back. It discusses the variations of how a system external to the call center can interact with key components, such as the IVR and automatic call distributor to operate reliably and with minimal interruption amid the regular flow of calls passing through the call center.
Canadian Patent 2,716,732, titled "System and Method for Externally Mapping an Interactive Voice Response Menu," relates to the automated methods that can allow an independent system to build and maintain a map of a company’s IVR. This function lays the groundwork for advanced call center interactions such as virtual queuing, click-to-call, escalation from chat, and more.
"With the addition of these patents and others in our portfolio, we continue to demonstrate industry leadership in three areas that are fundamental to the future of the contact center: Virtual queuing, IVR integration, and call-back technology," said Masoud Vakili, senior advisor for IP strategy at Fonolo, in a statement.
"These new patents showcase Fonolo's active strategy to build a strong intellectual property portfolio," said Fonolo CEO Shai Berger in a statement. "As the leading provider of cloud-based call-back solutions, we prefer to let our product speak for itself. But customers can rest assured that all of our solutions are protected by a growing portfolio of patented technologies."