Method, system, and program product for managing conference calls
View Patent ↗The present invention provides a method, system, and program product for managing conference calls. Specifically, under the present invention, a moderator and a set (at least one) of invitees (collectively referred to herein as participants) of a conference call are identified. This is typically done based on synchronization with a calendar application used to send and accept an invitation to the conference call. Thereafter, unique conference call numbers associated with the moderator and each of the set of invitees are determined (e.g., by accessing profiles for each participant contained within a directory or the like). Calls are then received from the moderator and invitees(s) using the unique conference call numbers assigned thereto. Although the calls were made using unique conference call numbers, the calls will then be joined under the present invention to initiate the conference call.
1. A method for managing conference calls, comprising:
identifying a moderator and a set of invitees of a conference call;
determining unique conference call numbers associated with each of a plurality of users, that include the moderator and each of the set of invitees, every one of the moderator and the each of the set of invitees having a conference call number that is unique to that user and that is configured to enable the user to join a plurality of conference calls having differing moderators and sets of invitees;
receiving a call from the moderator made using the unique conference call number assigned to the moderator;
receiving a set of calls from each of the set of invitees made using the unique conference call numbers assigned to the set of invitees; and
joining the call and the set of calls to initiate the conference call.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
starting a conference call session with the moderator after receiving the call from the moderator; and
starting a set of conference call sessions with the set of invitees after receiving the set of calls, wherein the joining comprises forwarding the set of conference call sessions started with the set of invitees to the conference call session started with the moderator.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying comprises identifying the set of invitees based on their acceptance of an invitation to the conference call.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises accessing profiles for the moderator and the set of invitees to determine the unique conference call numbers.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising scheduling the conference call with a calendar application, wherein the identifying comprises synchronizing the calendar application with a conference call application.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the calendar application sends electronic invitations to the set of invitees based on input from the moderator.
7. A system for managing conference calls, comprising:
a system for identifying a moderator and a set of invitees of a conference call;
a system for determining unique conference call numbers associated with each of a plurality of users, that include the moderator and each of the set of invitees, every one of the moderator and the each of the set of invitees having a conference call number that is unique to that user and that is configured to enable the user to join a plurality of conference calls having differing moderators and sets of invitees;
a system for receiving a call from the moderator made using the unique conference call number assigned to the moderator;
a system for receiving a set of calls from each of the set of invitees made using the unique conference call numbers assigned to the set of invitees; and
a system for joining the call and the set of calls to initiate the conference call.
8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising:
a system for starting a conference call session with the moderator after receiving the call from the moderator; and
a system for starting a set of conference call sessions with the set of invitees after receiving the set of calls, wherein the system for joining forwards the set of conference call sessions started with the set of invitees to the conference call session started with the moderator.
9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the system for identifying identifies the set of invitees based on their acceptance of an invitation to the conference call.
10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the system for determining accesses profiles for the moderator and the set of invitees to determine the unique conference call numbers.
11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the system for identifying synchronizes with a calendar application used to schedule the conference call.
12. A system for managing conference calls, comprising:
means for identifying a moderator and a set of invitees of a conference call;
means for determining unique conference call numbers associated with each of a plurality of users, that include the moderator and each of the set of invitees, every one of the moderator and the each of the set of invitees having a conference call number that is unique to that user and that is configured to enable the user to join a plurality of conference calls having differing moderators and sets of invitees;
means for receiving a call from the moderator made using the unique conference call number assigned to the moderator;
means for receiving a set of calls from each of the set of invitees made using the unique conference call numbers assigned to the set of invitees; and
means for joining the call and the set of calls to initiate the conference call.
13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising:
means for starting a conference call session with the moderator after receiving the call from the moderator; and
means for starting a set of conference call sessions with the set of invitees after receiving the set of calls, wherein the means for joining forwards the set of conference call sessions started with the set of invitees to the conference call session started with the moderator.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the means for identifying identifies the set of invitees based on their acceptance of an invitation to the conference call.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the means for determining accesses profiles for the moderator and the set of invitees to determine the unique conference call numbers.
16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the means for identifying synchronizes with a calendar application used to schedule the conference call.
17. A program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for managing conference calls, the program product comprising program code for causing a computer system to perform the following steps:
identifying a moderator and a set of invitees of a conference call;
determining unique conference call numbers associated with each of a plurality of users, that include the moderator and each of the set of invitees, every one of the moderator and the each of the set of invitees having a conference call number that is unique to that user and that is configured to enable the user to join a plurality of conference calls having differing moderators and sets of invitees;
receiving a call from the moderator made using the unique conference call number assigned to the moderator;
receiving a set of calls from each of the set of invitees made using the unique conference call numbers assigned to the set of invitees; and
joining the call and the set of calls to initiate the conference call.
18. The program product of claim 17 , wherein the computer readable medium further comprises program code for causing the computer system to perform the following steps:
starting a conference call session with the moderator after receiving the call from the moderator; and
starting a set of conference call sessions with the set of invitees after receiving the set of calls, wherein the joining comprises forwarding the set of conference call sessions started with the set of invitees to the conference call session started with the moderator.
19. The program product of claim 17 , wherein the identifying comprises identifying the set of invitees based on their acceptance of an invitation to the conference call.
20. The program product of claim 17 , wherein the determining comprises accessing profiles for the moderator and the set of invitees to determine the unique conference call numbers.
21. The program product of claim 17 , wherein the identifying comprises synchronizing with a calendar application used to schedule the conference call.
22. A method for deploying an application for managing conference calls, comprising:
providing a computer infrastructure being operable to:
identify a moderator and a set of invitees of a conference call;
determine unique conference call numbers associated with each of a plurality of users, that include the moderator and each of the set of invitees, every one of the moderator and the each of the set of invitees having a conference call number that is unique to that user and that is configured to enable the user to join a plurality of conference calls having differing moderators and sets of invitees;
receive a call from the moderator made using the unique conference call number assigned to the moderator;
receive a set of calls from each of the set of invitees made using the unique conference call numbers assigned to the set of invitees; and
join the call and the set of calls to initiate the conference call.