Jocelyn Cloutier

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Jocelyn Cloutier Michael Kocheisen Jean
Tessier Francois McNeil jocelyn_at_att.com 6/8/99
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Wouldnt it be nice?

• Get alerted anywhere, anytime about any important
  event?
• Incoming Phone call from an important client!
• Important New email, voice mail or FAX!
• Your flight is 3 hour late!
• Control if, when and how you are alerted?
• YOU select WHEN NOT to be alerted!
• YOU select WHAT triggers an alert!
• All this control with minimal intervention?
• Intelligent agent checks your PIM
• e.g. No alert during your board meeting?

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WHAT IS UNIFIED ALERTING?
Its a service which
? Receives alerts about any communication or
information event (e.g. phone call, email,
etc.)...
? Stores, filters, and forwards alerts to
subscribers
Allows subscribers to control and receive alerts
on any alert-ready device in near real-time
Allows information providers to send, update, and
schedule alerts for an unlimited number of
recipients.
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ALERT USES
Alerts can refer to communication or information
events.
Alerts can serve as primary events with original
information.
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HOW IT WORKS AN EXAMPLE
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MAJOR CUSTOMER BENEFITS

• Timely alerts about important network events
• Alerts are optimized to subscribers device.
• Subscribers wont need to check their voice mail,
  email or Fax.
• Subscriber does not have to take action to
  receive an alert.
• Subscribers wont be interrupted by non-urgent
  alerts
• User-made filters screen alerts according to
  their importance (sender, subject, delivery time,
  etc.)

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2 years of Alerting
V1 (11/97) Mostly client-based Smart alerts
(self-update, expiration, ) Customized email
servers V2 (8/98) scaleable,
robust Network-based Support for Pagers, SMS,
Phone, ICQ, ... Web UI for Geeks SMTP to Alert
conversion (copy-forward of email) V3 (6/99)
scaleable, EXTENSIBLE, robust Re-implementation
of V2 3rd party service integration Non-Geek
Web UI (Generic, WorldNet specific)
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User Experience

• User Goes to Web Site
• Register
• Specify receivers (pagers, phone numbers, SMS)
• Each has an activated time interval
• Specify rules (if, when and how to be alerted)
• When this is true, alert me on those devices!
• List of rules first true win all!

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Overview
Incoming Alert Alert Server Alerted Device
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DISPATCHER ARCHITECTURE
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Challenges in bringing Alerting to the Masses

• FACTS
• Alerting is only as interesting as its SOURCES.
• Customers hate configuration!
• You must let users tell the system what event is
  important to them.
• Supporting receivers is easy.

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Integration

• PROBLEMS
• Get alerts from 3rd parties
• Get alerts from any email server
• Get Alert Format Standardized

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Current State
Alerting System 6/1/99 Version 3.0 release
(scalable and robust) WorldNet Summer99
Deployment Other ATTs Business Unit 4Q99
Deployment
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Goals (jocelyn_at_att.com)

• Short Term (lt 6 months)
• Focus on 3rd partys system integration
• SDK
• Open API
• Availability of Test Systems
• Collaboration with Internet Portals
• Longer Term (gt 6 months)
• Integration with PIM (e.g. MS Exchange)
• TV as alert receiver
• Presence Information (alert, filtering and
  delivery)