Intelligent outbound calling

A computer program product for providing calling services comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and computer program instructions, recorded on the non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by a processor, for performing the steps of:

• storing, in a telecommunications switch or server, contact information for a customer, the contact information comprising information relating to a plurality of contacts associated with the customer and for each contact, a plurality of contact telephone numbers, wherein the contact information further comprises at least one dialing rule associated with each contact telephone number, each dialing rule defining a dialing behavior for each contact telephone number, the at least one dialing rule specifying at least one of sequential dialing, parallel dialing, and combined sequential and parallel dialing;
• receiving, by the telecommunications switch or server from an external device, an indication of a contact selected from among the plurality of contacts, by entering a dial code;
• and
• dialing, by the telecommunications switch or server, a plurality of calls to the plurality of contact telephone numbers for the selected contact based on the dialing rule;
• wherein each dialing rule comprises a time to delay before dialing the contact telephone number, and a time to wait for a call to the contact telephone number to be answered, and
• wherein if none of the contact telephone numbers are answered and all ring or answer waiting times have expired, the dialing rules are configurable to send an email or instant message to the contact.

A telecommunications switch or server comprising a processor operable to execute computer program instructions, a memory operable to store computer program instructions executable by the processor, and computer program instructions stored in the memory and executable to perform the steps of:

• storing, in a telecommunications switch or server, contact information for a customer, the contact information comprising information relating to a plurality of contacts associated with the customer and for each contact, a plurality of contact telephone numbers, wherein the contact information further comprises at least one dialing rule associated with each contact telephone number, each dialing rule defining a dialing behavior for each contact telephone number, the at least one dialing rule specifying at least one of sequential dialing, parallel dialing, and combined sequential and parallel dialing;
• receiving, by the telecommunications switch or server from an external device, an indication of a contact selected from among the plurality of contacts, by entering a dial code;
• and
• dialing, by the telecommunications switch or server, a plurality of calls to the plurality of contact telephone numbers for the selected contact based on the dialing rule;
• wherein each dialing rule comprises a time to delay before dialing the contact telephone number, and a time to wait for a call to the contact telephone number to be answered, and
• wherein if none of the contact telephone numbers are answered and all ring or answer waiting times have expired, the dialing rules are configurable to send an email or instant message to the contact.

A telephone device comprising a processor operable to execute computer program instructions, a memory operable to store computer program instructions executable by the processor, and computer program instructions stored in the memory and executable to perform the steps of:

• storing, in a telecommunications switch or server, contact information for a customer, the contact information comprising information relating to a plurality of contacts associated with the customer and for each contact, a plurality of contact telephone numbers, wherein the contact information further comprises at least one dialing rule associated with each contact telephone number, each dialing rule defining a dialing behavior for each contact telephone number, the at least one dialing rule specifying at least one of sequential dialing, parallel dialing, and combined sequential and parallel dialing;
• receiving, by the telecommunications switch or server from an external device, an indication of a contact selected from among the plurality of contacts, by entering a dial code;
• and
• dialing, by the telecommunications switch or server, a plurality of calls to the plurality of contact telephone numbers for the selected contact based on the dialing rule;
• wherein each dialing rule comprises a time to delay before dialing the contact telephone number, and a time to wait for a call to the contact telephone number to be answered, and
• wherein if none of the contact telephone numbers are answered and all ring or answer waiting times have expired, the dialing rules are configurable to send an email or instant message to the contact.