Apparatus and methods for coordinating telephone and data communications

A Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)-enhanced call center comprising:

• a telephony switch connected to a telephony trunk and to telephones at plural agent stations, the plural agent stations also having computer platforms with video display units (PC/VDU);
• and
• a CTI server connected by a CTI link to the telephony switch and having a data link to an Internet server;
• wherein, upon receiving a request from the Internet server, the CTI server selects an agent to interact with a customer connected to the Internet server and viewing a presentation from the Internet server, returns a telephone number of a routing point at the computerized telephony switching system via the data link to the Internet server for relay in the presentation to the customer, and then routes a telephony call arriving at the routing point from the customer to the selected agent, and receives the presentation from the Internet server via the data link, and provides the presentation to the PCIVDU at the selected agent station.

In a system comprising a presentation server connected to a wide area network (WAN) and adapted to present a hosted interactive presentation to a customer also connected to the wide area network, a method for providing a voice telephony connection separate from the wide area network between the customer and an agent, and for coordinating the voice connection with transmission of the presentation to the agent, the method comprising steps of:

• (a) upon an input to the interactive presentation by the customer, requesting the voice connection be established, the request sent via a data link from the presentation server to a CTI server at a CTI-enhanced call center, the CTI server connected to a telephony switch having a trunk line and plural agent stations each with a telephone connected to the telephony switch;
• (b) selecting one of the plural agent stations to interface with the customer on the voice connection;
• (c) establishing the voice connection with the customer via the trunk by returning a telephone number of a routing point at the telephony switch to the presentation server for transfer via the WAN to the customer;
• (d) receiving at the routing point a telephony call from the customer, switching the established call to the selected agent;
• and
• (e) transmitting the presentation via the data link to a computer at the selected agent station.