Centralized market platform for telecommunications-related services

Abstract

A method, system, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for trading telecommunications-related services on a centralized market network. The method includes presenting a first telecommunications-related service to a first user, the first telecommunications-related service being based on a configuration profile defined by a second user. The method further includes receiving a selection of the first telecommunications-related service by the first user and receiving a purchase order request from the first user regarding the selected first telecommunications-related service. The method may also include receiving input from the first user regarding customizing or configuring the first telecommunications-related service, receiving input from the first user to add the customized or configured first telecommunications-related service to the purchase order request, and applying a price change or discount to the first telecommunications-related service or the purchase order request.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] The traditional market for network-related services is highly fragmented. Even in the Internet era, network service buyers typically must individually contact each vendor via email or telephone to evaluate their capabilities and individually negotiate specifications, products, availability, and prices, among other things. As a result, comparison shopping, negotiating, and collaborating with service providers and vendors has traditionally been time-consuming, inefficient, and costly for network service buyers. Specifically, the telecommunications industry has one of the most complex and cumbersome processes for network operators to find end-to-end solutions, service providers, vendors, or implementers to help them resolve and implement their network operations business plans. Traditionally, telecommunications systems have been primarily hardware-based, and hardware devices are typically proprietary or managed by specific vendors. Therefore, network operators must carefully select the appropriate vendor to provide network services to meet their needs. Furthermore, different regions and customers have different requirements for network services, and it can be a daunting challenge for network operators to select the appropriate network service provider or vendor that can meet all of their customers' needs. Even after selecting a vendor or service provider, various types of arrangements must be made by the network operator to deploy or install the service (eg, scheduling an on-site visit, on-site installation, etc.).

[0002] Furthermore, vendors are typically selected by network operators, and end users or customers of a particular service cannot choose the service provider or vendor they want to work with. For example, once an end user / customer selects a network operator, the network service provided by the network operator is bundled with a particular service provider or vendor selected by the network operator and not selected by the customer. Therefore, if a customer is not satisfied with a service provider or vendor, the customer may need to file a complaint with the network operator or may need to change to another network operator. Therefore, there is a need to provide a solution that reduces or eliminates the burden on network operators to select service providers and onboard them to network services, and provides end users or customers with more flexibility to select network services (and their respective providers) according to their needs and requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Exemplary embodiments provide a centralized online marketplace, trading platform, and network that enables users to market and sell network and telecommunication-related services to customers seeking to build solutions and run their businesses. In particular, telecommunication network services can be defined and provided in software-based or virtualized network services, such as virtualized network functions (VNFs) and software-defined networks (SDNs), among others. Accordingly, software-based and virtualized network services are housed via the marketplace platform of one or more embodiments (e.g., within cloud clusters, such as hybrid clouds or data centers). Here, service providers on the marketplace platform can directly configure how they want to promote and sell their network services to customers. Similarly, end users or customers can customize the requirements for the network services they wish to purchase and select the most appropriate service provider or specific vendor, as desired. In particular, the marketplace platform of one or more embodiments provides a centralized platform for a targeted market audience of telecommunications-related parties seeking solutions to run their businesses. By simplifying and automating processes, such as capturing product interest for order fulfillment and adjustment, both buyers and sellers on the marketplace platform can save time and resources as opposed to manual intervention, thereby automating processes, minimizing errors, and, among other things, improving customer satisfaction. Furthermore, through this automation, the marketplace platform can offer customers easy, flexible, cost-effective, efficient, and rapid deployment of network solutions.

[0004] According to an example embodiment, a method for trading telecommunications-related services on a centralized marketplace network includes presenting a first telecommunications-related service to a first user, the first telecommunications-related service being based on a configuration profile defined by a second user; receiving a selection of the first telecommunications-related service by the first user; and receiving a purchase order request from the first user for the selected first telecommunications-related service.

[0005] The method also includes receiving input from the first user regarding customizing or configuring the first telecommunication-related service, receiving input from the first user adding the customized or configured first telecommunication-related service to a purchase order request, and applying a price change or discount to the first telecommunication-related service or the purchase order request, where the configuration profile may include the price change or discount, and the price change or discount is associated with the first user.

[0006] The method may also include receiving one or more identifying information regarding the first user, the identifying information consisting of one or more of a name, a location, a company, a job role, and contact times.

[0007] The method may also include receiving a request from the second user to access a dashboard portal, which may include at least one of a product or service catalog portal, a customer lead or prospect information portal, a customer purchase history portal, or a product or service ordering portal.

[0008] The method may also include receiving a request from a second user to create a second telecommunications-related product or service within the product or service catalog portal, and the created second telecommunications-related product or service may be a software-based network service or a virtual network service.

[0009] The method may also include receiving a request from a second user to create one or more customer leads or prospects in a customer lead or prospect information portal. Further, the method may include receiving a request from the second user to create one or more promotional campaigns for a second telecommunications-related product or service based on a purchase history of the first user or a third user from a customer purchase history portal or a product or service ordering portal, where the first user may be an end user and the second user may be a network service provider.

[0010] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus for trading telecommunications-related services on a centralized market network may include a memory storage storing computer-executable instructions and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory storage, the processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the apparatus to present a first telecommunications-related service to a first user via a central server based on a configuration profile defined by a second user, receive a selection of the first telecommunications-related service via the first user, and receive a purchase order request for the selected first telecommunications-related service or the selected first telecommunications-related service via the first user.

[0011] Additionally, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor, can further cause the device to receive input from a first user regarding customizing or configuring a first telecommunication-related service, receive input from the first user adding the customized or configured first telecommunication-related service to a purchase order request, and apply a price change or discount to the first telecommunication-related service or the purchase order request. Further, the configuration profile can further include a price change or discount, the price change or discount associated with the first user.

[0012] Additionally, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, may cause the device to further receive one or more identification information regarding the first user, the identification information consisting of one or more of a name, a location, a company, a job role, and a contact time.

[0013] Additionally, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, may further cause the apparatus to receive a request from a second user to access a dashboard portal, where the dashboard portal may include at least one of a product or service catalog portal, a customer lead or prospect information portal, a customer purchase history portal, or a product or service ordering portal.

[0014] Additionally, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, may further cause the apparatus to receive a request from a second user to create a second telecommunications-related product or service within the product or service catalog portal, where the first user may be an end user and the second user may be a network service provider.

[0015] According to an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes computer-executable instructions for trading telecommunications-related services over a centralized market network by an apparatus, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one processor of the apparatus, causing the apparatus to present a first telecommunications-related service to a first user, receive a selection of the first telecommunications-related service by the first user based on a configuration profile defined by a second user, and receive a purchase order request from the first user for the selected first telecommunications-related service. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] The features, advantages, and significance of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements.

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a general system architecture in accordance with one or more embodiments. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for providing a centralized marketplace in accordance with one or more embodiments. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a customer to utilize a centralized marketplace, according to one or more embodiments. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a merchant or network service provider to utilize a centralized marketplace, according to one or more embodiments. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a user to utilize a centralized marketplace, according to one or more embodiments. [Figure 6] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of a process for an end user, purchaser, or customer to order telecommunications-related services. [Figure 7]1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of a process for an end user, purchaser, or customer to order telecommunications-related services. [Figure 8A] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of a process for an end user, purchaser, or customer to order telecommunications-related services. [Figure 8B] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of a process for an end user, purchaser, or customer to order telecommunications-related services. [Figure 9] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 10] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 11] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 12] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 13] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 14]1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 15] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 16] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 17A] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. [Figure 17B] 1A-1C illustrate graphical user interfaces of various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of processes by which a merchant, network service provider, or vendor manages and customizes telecommunications-related services. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0019] The foregoing disclosure of the present invention provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of implementations. Furthermore, one or more features or components of one embodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, in the flowcharts and descriptions of operations provided below, it is understood that one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, one or more operations may be performed (at least partially) concurrently, and the order of one or more operations may be permuted.

[0020] It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein may be implemented in various forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not intended to limit the implementation. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, and it will be understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0021] Although particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of possible implementations. Indeed, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein. Although each dependent claim listed below may depend directly on only one claim, the disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the set.

[0022] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Where only one item is intended, the term "one" or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, terms such as "has," "have," "having," "include," and "including" are intended to be open-ended terms. Furthermore, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based, at least in part, on," unless specifically stated otherwise. Furthermore, phrases such as "at least one of [A] and [B]" or "at least one of [A] or [B]" should be understood to include A only, B only, or both A and B.

[0023] Throughout this specification, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "a non-limiting exemplary embodiment," or similar language mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the illustrated embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the inventive solution. Thus, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," "in one non-limiting exemplary embodiment," and similar language throughout this specification all refer to the same embodiment, although not necessarily so.

[0024] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, you may recognize additional features and advantages in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] In one implementation of the present disclosure described herein, a display page may include information residing in the memory of a computing device, which may be transmitted from the computing device to a database center or vice versa over a network. The information may be stored in the memory of each computing device, in data storage residing at the edge of the network, or in a server at the database center. A computing device or a mobile device may accept non-transitory computer-readable media, which may include instructions, logic, data, or code that may be stored in the permanent or temporary memory of a mobile device or may affect or initiate operation in some way by the mobile device. Similarly, one or more servers may communicate with one or more mobile devices over a network and may transmit computer files residing in their memory. The network may include, for example, the Internet, a wireless communication network, or any other network connecting one or more mobile devices to one or more servers.

[0026] Any discussion of computing or mobile devices may apply to any type of network device, including, but not limited to, mobile devices such as cellular phones (e.g., any "smartphone"), personal computers, server computers, or laptop computers, and telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), roaming devices such as network-attached roaming devices, wireless devices such as wireless email devices or other devices capable of wirelessly communicating with a computer network, or any other type of network device that may communicate over a network and conduct electronic transactions. Any description of any mobile device mentioned may also apply to other devices, such as devices that include short-range ultra-high frequency (UHF) devices, near-field communication (NFC), infrared (IR), and Wi-Fi capabilities, among others.

[0027] "Software," "application," "app," and "firmware" and similar phrases and terms may include any non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores therein a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method, function, or control operation.

[0028] Words and terms similar to "network" may include one or more data links that enable the transfer of electronic data between computer systems and / or modules. When information is transferred or provided to a computer over a network or another communications connection (either wired, wireless, or a combination of wired or wireless), the computer uses the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus, by way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media can also include networks or data links that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0029] Phrases and terms similar to "portal" or "terminal" may include an intranet page, an internet page, locally residing software or application, a mobile device graphical user interface, or a digital presentation for a user. A portal may also be any graphical user interface that accesses the various modules, components, features, options, and / or attributes of the present disclosure described herein. For example, a portal may be a web page accessed with a web browser, a mobile device application, or any application or software residing on a computing device.

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a general network architecture according to one or more embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1, users 110, 120, and 130 can communicate bidirectionally with a central server or application server 100 via a secure network, according to one or more embodiments. Furthermore, users 110, 120, and 130 can also communicate bidirectionally directly with each other via a marketplace platform network system, according to one or more embodiments. Here, users 110 can be any type of vendor or service provider, such as Vendor A, Vendor B, and Vendor C, that provides similar, identical, or different services or products to either user 120 or user 130 with respect to a network operator or service operator. In particular, users 110 can provide any type of telecommunications-related service or product, such as cellular service network deployment, network capacity updates, operational monitoring, data analysis and reporting, and any other suitable service. Each of users 110 can communicate with server 100 via a respective terminal or portal. Users 120 may be network operators A and B and service providers C, which may provide similar, identical, or different services or products to user 130 or user 110, where user 110 or 120 may be, among others, any kind of telecommunications vendor or network service provider, network operator, carrier, broadband provider, Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider, wired or wireless cellular network service provider, radio access network (RAN), web host, or any network-related or telecommunications-related service provider or network provider. Each of users 120 may communicate with server 100 via a respective terminal or portal.Users 130 may be any type of end user or customer of user 120 or user 110, such as end user A or customer B and customer C, or end users who purchase and / or receive telecommunications network related services of user 120 or user 110. Each of users 130 may communicate with server 100 through a respective terminal or portal.

[0031] 1 , the central server 100 of the marketplace platform system, according to one or more embodiments, can further interact with an administrative terminal / dashboard 140. Here, the administrative terminal / dashboard 140 can provide various tools to any of users 110, 120, and 130 or a sales or content / product creation team to manage various customers / end users and customer leads, which can include, among other things, creating, editing, and promoting promotional campaigns for various types of telecommunications network services or products, and advertising, offering, and ordering options for customers and other users of the marketplace platform, according to one or more embodiments. Furthermore, the administrative terminal / dashboard 140 can also include various types of access permissions for various users of the marketplace platform system, according to one or more embodiments. Furthermore, the central server 100, according to one or more embodiments, can further interact with a database / third-party server 150. Here, the server 150 may provide various types of data storage (e.g., cloud-based storage), web services, content creation tools, data streams, data feeds, and / or various types of third-party support services to the marketplace platform central server 100. However, it is contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure described herein that the network services marketplace platform processes and systems according to one or more embodiments may include any type of general network architecture.

[0032] With further reference to FIG. 1, one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100-150 may include a personal computer (PC), a printed circuit board with a computing device, a minicomputer, a mainframe computer, a microcomputer, a telephone computing device, a wired / wireless computing device (e.g., a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA)), a laptop, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, or any other similarly functional device.

[0033] In some embodiments, one or more of the servers, terminals, and users 100-150 may include a set of components such as a processor, memory, storage components, input components, output components, communication interfaces, and JSON UI rendering components, as shown in Figure 1. The set of components of a device may be communicatively coupled via a bus.

[0034] The bus may comprise one or more components that enable communication between the set of components of one or more servers or terminals of elements 100-150. For example, the bus may be a communications bus, a crossover bar, a network, etc. The bus may be implemented using single or multiple (two or more) connections between the set of components of one or more servers or terminals of elements 100-150. The present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0035] One or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100 through 150 may include one or more processors. The one or more processors may be implemented in hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. For example, the one or more processors may include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a general-purpose single-chip or multi-chip processor, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. One or more processors may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some embodiments, particular processes and methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

[0036] One or more processors may control the overall operation of one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100 to 150 and / or a set of components (e.g., memory, storage components, input components, output components, communication interfaces, rendering components) of one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100 to 150.

[0037] One or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100 through 150 may further comprise memory. In some embodiments, the memory may comprise random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic memory, optical memory, and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device. The memory may store information and / or instructions for use (e.g., execution) by the processor.

[0038] A storage component of one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100 through 150 may store information and / or computer-readable instructions and / or code related to the operation and use of one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100 through 150. For example, the storage component may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, and / or solid-state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) card, a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium along with a corresponding drive.

[0039] One or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100-150 may further include an input component. The input component may include one or more components that enable the server and one or more of terminals 110-140 to receive information, such as via user input (e.g., a touchscreen, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a stylus, a button, a switch, a microphone, a camera, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, the input component may include a sensor that senses information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) component, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an actuator, etc.).

[0040] The output components of any one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100 through 150 may include one or more components capable of providing output information from device 100 (e.g., a display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a haptic feedback device, a speaker, etc.).

[0041] One or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100-150 may further comprise a communications interface. The communications interface may include a receiver component, a transmitter component, and / or a transceiver component. The communications interface may allow one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100-150 to establish a connection and / or transfer communications with other devices (e.g., a server, another device). The communications may be enabled via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. The communications interface may allow one or more of the servers or terminals of elements 100-150 to receive information from and / or provide information to another device. In some embodiments, the communication interface may provide communication with another device over a network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a private network, an ad-hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, an optical fiber-based network, a cellular network (e.g., a fifth-generation (5G) network, a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a third-generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN)), etc., and / or combinations of these or other types of networks. Alternatively or additionally, the communication interface may provide communication with another device via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link such as FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G, etc.In other embodiments, the communication interface may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, or the like.

[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates a telecommunications network services marketplace and trading platform system according to one or more embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2 , marketplace platform module or portal 200 may be a portal for a marketplace platform and may include a Customer Management System (CMS) delivery node module 202 in bidirectional communication with a Business Support Systems (BSS) product stack module or portal 210 (including any one or more of modules 212-220 shown in FIG. 2 ), as well as a CMS integration module or portal 206 for content management and integration with various repositories. A user / customer module or portal 224 (e.g., a user terminal or client device) may access the marketplace through communication with CMS delivery node module or portal 202. In some embodiments, user / customer module or portal 224 may also communicate with a Content Distribution Network (CDN) module or portal, which further communicates with module or portal 202 and module or portal 206. In some embodiments, the CMS delivery node module or portal 202 can handle a first customer interaction when the customer accesses the marketplace platform 200 according to one or more embodiments. For example, the CMS delivery node module or portal 202 can receive a request from the customer's user terminal or portal 224 to browse available products / services, retrieve product / service data from a product catalog, and generate / present a user interface graphical representation (e.g., columns, lists, etc.) showing available products / services of the marketplace platform or one or more service providers or vendors. Additionally, the product / content team module or portal 222 (e.g., a terminal or client device of a seller, service provider, vendor, etc.) can also communicate with the marketplace platform module or portal via communication with the CMS integration module or portal 206.In this case, the CMS integration module or portal 206 may generate and / or present graphical user interfaces related to sellers, service providers, vendors, etc. (e.g., user interfaces for listing products for sale, configuring sales listings, creating or editing customer or product configuration profiles, facilitating sales activities, etc.).

[0043] Within the scope of the invention disclosure described herein, it is contemplated that any user of the marketplace platform may first log in to the user management platform to determine the user's type or role, or access privileges, such as the appropriate user of module or portal 222 or module or portal 224. For example, a login page may be generated by the user management platform and then presented to the user via the respective module or portal 222 or module or portal 224, allowing the user to enter the user's credentials to log in to the marketplace platform. The user's credentials are provided to the user management platform to determine the user's type or role, or the user's access privileges. If the user management platform determines that the user is a service provider / vendor / seller (accessing the marketplace platform via product / content team module 222), the user management platform may connect the product / content team module 222 to the CMS integration module 206. Similarly, if the user management platform determines that the user is a customer / buyer (accessing the marketplace platform via user / customer module 224), the user management platform may connect the user / customer module 224 to the CMS delivery node module 202.

[0044] 2 , the marketplace platform module or portal 200, according to one or more embodiments, may also include a BSS product stack module or portal 210. Here, module 210 may further include a product catalog module or portal 212, which may be a repository / data storage for storing product / service data. Additionally, module 212 may also include and store product / service-level promotional offers, or price drop indicators or events associated with one or more stored products / services. Module 210 may also include a customer information management (CIM) module or portal 214, which may be a repository / data storage for storing customer information (e.g., name, contact information, ID, customer interest list, customer-level promotional offers or price drop events, etc.). Module 210 may also include a customer interaction management module or portal 216, according to one or more embodiments, which may be a repository / data storage for storing information about customer interactions with the marketplace platform (e.g., customer interaction history with graphical user interface (GUI) interaction elements, communications between the customer and service providers or other customers, etc.).

[0045] 2 , module 210 may also include a billing / invoice module or portal 218 that stores information associated with customer bills / invoices for services offered on the marketplace platform (e.g., previously generated invoices, billing history, etc.). Additionally, module 210 may also include a customer care / sales module or portal 220 that stores information on sales or customer-related activities (e.g., sales campaign history, promotions for specific types of customers, sales history analysis, etc.). In some embodiments, module 220 may identify data associated with sales activities and user experiences, retrieve / collect data from external data storage or any of modules or portals 212 through 218, store such data in a repository included in module 220, and provide such data to network service providers / vendors as needed. As shown, module 220 may also communicate with a product / content team module or portal 222, which may be a user or portal for users (e.g., vendors / service providers) who want to promote / sell their network services. Additionally, the product / content team module or portal 222 can be a lead conversion system or a user wanting to convert customer leads, analyze customer activity, and facilitate pre-sales and post-sales activities and marketing campaigns.

[0046] 2 , marketplace platform module or portal 200 can also communicate with orchestrator module 230 (e.g., via an application programming interface (API)). In particular, any one or more of modules 210, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 319, 3

[0047] FIG. 3 illustrates a process flow for a customer using a network services marketplace platform in accordance with one or more embodiments. Referring to FIG. 3 , at step 300, a user (e.g., a customer, potential customer, or end user) accesses the marketplace platform's portal (e.g., accessing the CMS delivery node module 202 via the user / customer module 224) and can be presented with products / services based on a configuration profile predefined by the customer or a service provider or vendor for a particular product. In particular, at step 300, the CMS delivery node module 202 receives a request from the user (via the user / customer module 224) to view available products / services, retrieves product / service data from the product catalog module 212 based on the request, and generates / presents a graphical user interface (GUI) representation (e.g., a column, a list, etc.) showing available products / services from the marketplace platform or one or more service providers or vendors. Referring to FIGS. 6-8B , for illustrative purposes, "Product / Service 1" can be an available telecommunications network-related service or product presented to the user for purchase.

[0048] In step 302, a user can select a service or product from the list / catalog via a GUI, and the marketplace platform system can receive the user's selection of the service or product. In particular, indicators defining the selected product / service are sent from the user / customer module 224 to the marketplace platform's CMS delivery node module 202, which can then retrieve a configuration profile for the selected product or service from a respective data storage (e.g., product catalog module 212), generate a service detail page based on the configuration profile, and send the generated service detail page to the user / customer module 224 for further presentation to the user. The configuration profile can be created, defined, or predefined by a vendor or service provider to define how the service / product should be specifically promoted / presented on the marketplace platform to customers or end users (e.g., a particular customer, a collection / group of customers, or customers interested in a particular product / service). For example, the configuration profile can be criteria-based. Thus, the service / product details can include any appropriate information.

[0049] 3 , in step 304, the marketplace platform or user may optionally decide whether to apply a price discount to the selected service / product. If yes, in step 304A, the CMS delivery node module 202 retrieves price discount information (e.g., from the product catalog module 212 and / or the customer information management module 214, etc.) and applies the price discount to the original price of the selected service / product, and then proceeds to step 306. If no, the process proceeds to step 306 without applying any price discount. Notably, the price of a particular service / product may vary depending on the user or type of user (e.g., end user, vendor, etc.). In particular, the network service provider / vendor may provide users with price reduction indicators, options, or codes (e.g., discount coupons, time-based sales indicators, indicators for obtaining special offers or promotional discounts for special users, such as internal users or users who have complained about previous services, etc.), and the price reduction indicators may be presented on a per-product / service basis (e.g., receive a price reduction for only a specific product / service) or per-user basis (e.g., receive a price reduction for all services the user is viewing). In some embodiments, the per-product / service price reduction indicators are stored in the product catalog module 212, and the per-user price reduction indicators are stored in the customer information management module 214. Thus, when a user logs into the marketplace platform to select a particular service / product, the marketplace platform's CMS delivery node module 202 may retrieve the price reduction indicator associated with the user login information from its respective data storage (e.g., product catalog module 212, customer information management module 214, etc.), apply the price reduction to the original price of the service (as set by the service provider), and present the price reduction on the page.

[0050] With further reference to FIG. 3 , at step 306, the marketplace platform may receive a user's selection to add a particular selected service / product to a "product interest list" or purchase order list, and such information may be stored within (or retrieved from) the customer information management module 214. In particular, if the user is interested in the selected service / product or wishes to purchase / order / shortlist the service / product, the user may trigger an interaction element within the marketplace platform's portal (e.g., a dedicated button such as "Add to Purchase List," "Add to Interest List," or any other suitable GUI element). The marketplace platform may then add a configuration profile of the selected service(s) to the user's interest list, calculate information for the selected service(s), provide a pricing summary for the selected service(s), and further generate and present the interest list to the user via a GUI. With reference to FIG. 8A , for illustrative purposes, an interest list GUI is shown via the marketplace platform's portal.

[0051] 3 , in step 308, the user can decide whether to customize the selected product / service. If yes, in step 308A, the CMS delivery node module 202 receives the product / service customization from the user / customer module 224 and applies the product / service customization to the listing or order, and the process proceeds to step 310. If no, the process proceeds to step 310 without applying the product / service customization. Here, the user can choose to customize the service / product order per the user's requirements (e.g., by triggering an interaction element such as a dedicated button "Modify Requirements"), send an order request to the service provider or seller by triggering an interaction element (e.g., a dedicated button "Contact Us" or any GUI element) (e.g., if the requested order is not available or the user is a new customer), or purchase the service / product by triggering an interaction element (e.g., a dedicated button "Quick Checkout" or any GUI element) (if the service / product is available and the user's customer details / identification / purchase history have previously been registered). With reference to FIG. 8B , for illustrative purposes, the customization options and process are shown via a GUI portal of the marketplace platform. Here, such interactions between the user and the marketplace platform may be stored in (or retrieved from) the customer interaction module 216 .

[0052] 3 , at step 310, the marketplace platform's CMS delivery node module 202 may receive a selection from a user to order a selected service / product or a selection from a user to submit a request for a customized service / product. In particular, if the user selects to purchase the selected service / product (e.g., by triggering or selecting a “quick checkout” button or any GUI element), and the CMS delivery node module 202 determines that the user is logged in to the marketplace platform (the user's details / identification / purchase history have been previously registered) and the selected service / product is predefined and available (e.g., based on data retrieved from the product catalog module 212), the CMS delivery node module 202 may generate and present a purchase page to the user. The price may be calculated based on the service provider-defined price in the configuration profile, the markdown index(es) retrieved from the product catalog module, the customer information management module, and / or other data storage (if any), and any customizations made by the user via the interest list. Additionally, the user can review and change their personal information (e.g., name, job title, company, contact information, etc.) and payment method (e.g., credit / debit card, bank transfer, payment by reward points, etc.). If the marketplace platform determines that the user is a guest user, the marketplace platform can direct the user to a user management system, which generates and presents a login page to require the user to log in before the marketplace platform presents the user with a purchase page or GIU portal. After confirming the purchase details, the user triggers or selects an interaction element (e.g., a dedicated button "Pay" or any GUI element, etc.), and the CMS delivery node module 202 sends a payment request to the billing / invoicing module 218, which then collects associated billing and charging data stored within the billing / invoicing module 218 and generates payment information based on the billing and charging data and the payment request.The billing / invoice module 218 then sends the payment information to the billing team or external payment platform for processing the payment. If the payment is successful, the billing team or external payment platform generates an invoice including the order reference ID and sends it to the billing / invoice module 218. The billing / invoice module 218 stores a copy of the generated invoice in a repository within the billing / invoice module 218 and then sends the invoice to the CMS delivery node module 202. The CMS delivery node module then presents the invoice (or just the order reference ID) to the user via the user / customer module 224.

[0053] Continuing with reference to FIG. 3 , in step 310, if the user chooses to place an order request for the selected service (e.g., by triggering a “touch” button or any GUI element) and the marketplace platform determines that the user is a “guest” user, the CMS delivery node module 202 directs the user to the user management system, which generates and presents a page requesting the user to log in (for registered customers) or create an order request (for new customers). If the user is a new customer, the user can trigger a dedicated button (e.g., “Create Order Request” or any GUI element). The user management system then notifies the CMS delivery node module to generate and present an order request creation page or GUI portal to the user. This page or GUI portal can include multiple input fields that allow the user to specify their identity information (e.g., company, location, name, contact information, job role, contact hours, etc.). In some embodiments, such information can be stored in (or retrieved from) the customer information management module 214. In one embodiment, the input fields can be pre-filled by the marketplace platform (e.g., based on the user's location information, etc.). After verifying the user's information details, the user can trigger or select an interaction element (e.g., a dedicated button "Submit" or any GUI element), after which the marketplace platform transmits the order information to a sales team for processing the order request, such as via the billing / invoice module 218 as described above. In some embodiments, the CMS delivery node module 202 transmits the entered user information to a user management platform to create a new user account for the new customer. The user management platform then provides the user's information (e.g., the user's purchase history, etc.) to the CMS delivery node module 202, which then stores the user information in the respective modules of the BSS product stack module 210.

[0054] 4 illustrates a process flow for a seller or service provider / vendor using a network services marketplace platform, according to one or more embodiments. Referring to FIG. 4 , in step 400, a user (e.g., a network service provider or vendor) may present a login GUI portal, where the user may log in to a dashboard / administrator / back-office portal of the marketplace platform, according to one or more embodiments, such as via the product / content team module 222, as described above. Specifically, after successful login, the product / content team module 222 connects to the CMS integration module 206, which collects information from the BSS product stack module 210 via the CMS delivery node module 202 and then generates and presents such information to the user via a dashboard or back-office GUI portal. Here, information about the user (e.g., buyer, seller, etc.) may be stored and managed within one or more modules 212-220 within the BSS product stack module 210 and / or any other suitable repository. In particular, the back-office portal may include a dashboard page / portal, a product catalog page / portal, a customer lead page / portal, a customer details or identification or purchase history page / portal, and an order page / portal. A user may choose to navigate among the various pages / portals / sub-portals by triggering or selecting respective interaction elements (e.g., buttons, shortcut keys, etc., or any GUI element). Additionally, the dashboard page / portal may include a graphical presentation (e.g., GUI, graphs, charts, etc.) showing the status of the service(s) associated with the user. For example, request for quote (RFQ) traffic or product interest for a service (e.g., the aforementioned "Product / Service 1") may be provided to the user via a dashboard page / portal such as the one illustrated in FIG. 9.

[0055] 4 , in step 402, the CMS integration module 206 may generate (e.g., based on information retrieved from the product catalog module 212) and present (via the product / content team module 222) various services / products associated with the user, such as a product catalog page / portal as illustrated in FIG. 10 . In particular, the product catalog page / portal may include sub-pages / sub-portals such as catalog (e.g., a group of products for Company A, including, among other things, 4G network services, 5G network services, etc.), category (e.g., cloud services associated with Company A, operational services associated with 4G services, digital experience services associated with 5G network services, etc.), product (Products A-C associated with cloud services, etc.), details (specifications of Product A, etc.), etc. Here, such products / services may be any type of hardware- or software-based or virtualized network-related service product, such as software virtualized network functions (VNFs) and / or software-defined networking (SDN) products or services. Additionally, further categories may include, among others, access services, cloud services, operation services, centralized cloud services, network function services, intelligent operation services, digital experience services, and internet / ecosystem services. Additional products or services may include, among others, end-to-end flexible RAN solutions for projects including Cloud RAN large-scale deployment test and development projects, virtualized NFC-compatible virtual base station solutions for both in-building wireless networks and macro networks, rural network deployments, indoor connectivity, fixed access, backhaul and IoT applications, indoor and outdoor massive MIMO, macro and small cells, interference management and dual connectivity to improve network performance, baseband, radio processor and radio access processing platforms, and network design and optimization services.In step 404, the user can also add, modify, and delete various types of product / service offers and promotions through the product catalog page / portal, such as those illustrated in Figures 11-14 for illustrative purposes. In some embodiments, the user can also add new catalogs, new categories, new products, and new specifications through the respective sub-pages according to one or more embodiments. In addition, the user can also modify the catalogs, categories, products, and specifications that they have created through the respective sub-pages.

[0056] Continuing with reference to FIG. 4 , in step 406, the CMS integration module 206 can retrieve and present to the user (via the product / content team module 222) various types of customer leads / prospects, customer information, customer identities, customer interest lists, and customer order / purchase histories (from the customer information management module 214, the customer interaction module 216, and / or any other suitable repository). In particular, a customer lead or prospect page / portal subpage shows contacts / representatives from each business partner / customer (e.g., a service provider or vendor) with whom the user is connected or communicating. The user can then view customer lead or prospect information within the lead subpage or subportal, modify customer lead information included in the subpage, and add new or additional leads or prospects to the subpage. In particular, a customer subpage or subportal can show customers (e.g., specific customers from an association / company, individual customers, etc.) associated with services / products provided / managed / offered by the user (e.g., a service provider or vendor). The user can view the customer's information within this subpage, modify the customer's information contained within this subpage, and add new customers to this subpage or subportal.

[0057] 4 , in step 406, the CMS integration module 206 retrieves (e.g., from the customer interaction module 216, the billing / invoice module 218, the customer care / sales module 220, etc.) orders associated with services / products provided / offered / managed by the user (e.g., a service provider or vendor) and presents them in an orders subpage / subportal. The user can then view the order information within this subpage, modify the order information contained in this subpage / subportal, and add new orders to this subpage / subportal, as shown for illustrative purposes in FIGS. 15-17B. Furthermore, in other embodiments, once a user receives an order request from a customer, the user can use the back office to customize the service / product based on the customer's requirements and then publish the customized service / product to the marketplace platform for other users to select and purchase. The custom configuration parameters entered by the user can be saved as a configuration profile in data storage (e.g., product catalog module 212, customer information management module 214, or any other suitable repository) so that when another customer accesses the marketplace platform, the marketplace platform can retrieve the customer's configuration profile and present the service / product to the customer based on the configuration profile associated with the customer. Once the customized service is prepared, the user can store / load the service / product through the marketplace platform so that the marketplace platform's orchestrator (orchestrator module 230 of FIG. 2 ) can schedule delivery of the service / product to the customer. Here, such customer information can be stored in (or retrieved from) the customer information management module 214, the customer interaction module 216, and any other suitable repository.

[0058] 5 illustrates a process flow for a user (e.g., a service provider / vendor) using a network services marketplace platform, according to one or more embodiments. Referring to FIG. 5, in step 500, a user (e.g., a seller, vendor, service provider, etc.) may be presented with a login GUI portal of a user management platform through which the user can log in to a dashboard portal / administrator portal / back-office portal of the marketplace platform, according to one or more embodiments, such as via product / content team module 222 as described above. After successful login, product / content team module 222 connects to BSS product stack module 210. Additionally, product / content team module 222 may retrieve any information (from any module 212-220 of BSS product stack module 210) that may be useful in building a sales or promotional plan. The user can then use the information to build a sales or promotional plan.

[0059] Next, in step 502, the product / content team module 222 retrieves and presents to the user, among other things, customer information, browsing history, purchase history, and interest list (from the customer information management module 214, the customer interaction module 216, and / or any other suitable repository). In particular, the browsing history, purchase history, interest list, etc. of registered customers of the marketplace platform can be transferred by the marketplace platform's BSS product stack module 210 to the product / content team module 222 (e.g., to a terminal of a user of a service provider / vendor / internal content team). Here, the registered customer's sub-pages / sub-portals, such as browsing history, purchase history, interest list, etc., can be taken into consideration by the user when creating a sales / promotion plan based on the registered customer's information (e.g., role / company / location, etc.). For example, registered customer A has role A at company A, and the marketplace platform can provide information about another registered customer B who has role A at company A, information about another registered customer C who has role A at company Z, and information about another registered customer D who has role B at company A, etc. to a user (e.g., a network service provider / vendor) for consideration, so that the user can more accurately promote services (e.g., suggest related products, adjust price ranges, etc.) to any of registered customers (users) A, B, C, or D.

[0060] 5 , in step 504, the product / content team module 222 may receive a selection from the user and create a promotional campaign plan for a product / service available on the marketplace platform (e.g., a product / service available in the product catalog module 212). In particular, the user or the marketplace platform may analyze received customer history information (e.g., via information retrieved from the customer management module 214, the customer interaction module 216, etc.) and / or received sales history information (e.g., an analysis of sales history retrieved from the customer care / sales module 220), and then build a plan to promote / market / sell the service(s) or product(s) to registered customers based thereon. In step 506, the user may decide (via the product / content team module 222) whether to optionally create a price reduction / change indicator or event for a particular service / product and / or a particular user / user group. If so, in step 506A, the process or user creates a price reduction event for the product / service and promotional campaign or plan, e.g., via the product catalog module 212. If no, then in step 506B, the process or user does not create any price reduction events for the product / service and promotional campaign or plan. In particular, the user may create a price reduction event for a particular catalog / category / product / service (e.g., because customers interested in said particular catalog / category / product / service would receive a price reduction) and provide the price reduction offer to a particular workgroup / user / customer, or combination thereof. With reference to Figures 16-17B, for illustrative purposes, dashboard pages and price reduction / change processes, among others, are shown in relation to various GUI portals (or screens) according to one or more embodiments.

[0061] 6 illustrates one non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a GUI portal for a list / catalog of available network products / services of the network services marketplace platform, from which a user may select network products / services of interest. The GUI portal illustrated in FIG. 6 may be generated and / or populated by the CMS distribution node 202 based on product / service data retrieved from the product catalog module 212.

[0062] 7 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a GUI portal for product / service details of a network services marketplace platform, from which a user may review details of a selected network product / service (e.g., from the GUI portal of FIG. 6) and add the network product / service to a purchase list / product interest list.

[0063] 8A illustrates another non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a GUI portal of a product / service purchasing page of a network services marketplace platform, further showing a product interest list including details of the particular selected product / service, such as the number of users, data storage size, and price. From here, the user may check out and submit their order or purchase request to the network services marketplace platform of the present disclosure described herein. Furthermore, the user may also choose to specify their requirements for the selected product / service. Furthermore, the user may also choose to continue browsing other network products / services.

[0064] FIG. 8B illustrates another non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a GUI portal of a product / service customization page of a network services marketplace platform, further illustrating options for users to optionally configure or customize their product / service selections.

[0065] 9 illustrates one non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a GUI portal for a back-office dashboard page of a network services marketplace platform. The GUI portal for the back-office dashboard page may include the status of services associated with a user, such as service request for quote (RFQ) traffic and product interest. Here, the back-office dashboard also includes GUI menu elements for selecting additional sub-pages or sub-portals with information about the product catalog (including additional sub-pages or sub-portals for catalogs, categories, products, and specifications), leads, orders, and customers.

[0066] 10 illustrates one non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a GUI portal for the Products subpage of the back-office dashboard, including a view of each network service / product associated with a user (e.g., a seller, vendor, service provider, etc.). The Products subpage GUI portal may include a list of products, which may further include each product's status, each product's category, and any other suitable information for the product / service. From here, the user may also create new products / services (e.g., by triggering a "New Product" button or any other suitable option that triggers the creation of a new product / service) and further add various features, pricing, and options to each product and product specification, as shown in FIGS. 11-12 for illustrative purposes.

[0067] FIG. 11 illustrates a GUI portal for defining specifications for a new product. As shown in FIG. 11, a user may select an existing (i.e., predefined and stored) specification or create a new specification. For example, if the user selects "Use an existing specification," a list of existing specifications may then be presented, from which the user may select the specification to use. Otherwise, the user may create a new specification by filling in one or more of the fields illustrated in the exemplary GUI portal of FIG. 11. For example, the user may provide (manually or by searching and selecting from among predefined product types) the title or name of the specification, a description of the specification, the product number of the corresponding product to which the specification applies, the validity period of the specification, and the product type. It is understood that one or more of the illustrated fields may be required (i.e., must be defined by the user) and one or more may be optional (e.g., the user may not define or set the validity period). Additionally, one or more additional fields may be included. For example, one or more parameters or characteristics of a product may be defined, such as various selectable parameters (e.g., number of user accounts or licenses, size of data storage, etc.) that a user (buyer or customer) may set when purchasing the product, default values ​​for selectable options, etc. In this case, the parameters or characteristics may be set to be defined by the customer (e.g., the customer may manually enter the number of user accounts or size of data storage), or the user may define the selectable options in the specifications. The parameters or characteristics may be manually defined or created by the user, or may be pre-defined or associated with the type of product selected by the user (and may then be edited by the user on the specifications page).

[0068] FIG. 12 illustrates a GUI portal for defining product details for a new product. For example, once the definition of the specifications for a new product is complete, a product details page may be displayed. Through the product details GUI illustrated in FIG. 12, by way of example, a user may define or set a product title, product description, market segment, sales channel, product category (e.g., by selecting one of multiple predefined categories or by manually creating a new category), product validity period, and attachments (e.g., product images, product manuals, technical specifications, etc.). A user may also set a price for the product (or various prices corresponding to different customizable options) through the product details page, locations where the product / service may be offered, etc.

[0069] Within the Products subpage shown in FIG. 10, a user may also select a product / service listed therein to edit the product / service, edit the product / service specifications, view product / service details, assign the product / service to a product / service category, apply a sales or offer schedule to the product / service, include technical information or manuals about the product, create additional pricing options for the product / service (such as a monthly recurring fee or a one-time fee), and, for illustrative purposes, view and add linked or associated products / services, as shown in FIGS. 13-14, among others.

[0070] Figures 13 and 14 illustrate a GUI portal for editing product details of a previously created product / service. As shown in Figures 13 and 14, any of the product detail values ​​or information that can be defined when creating a product / service may be subsequently edited.

[0071] 15 shows one non-limiting example embodiment of a GUI portal for the Orders sub-page of the Back Office Dashboard, which includes, among other things, viewing customer orders and their status. From here, a user may also view a particular order, view and select workflow options for the order (e.g., Processing, Pending, Completed, Cancel, Refund, and Pending Payment), edit a particular order (including viewing products / services to add / replace), and further select or define the price of the order.

[0072] 16 illustrates another non-limiting example embodiment of an Orders or Products subpage of the Back Office Dashboard, from which a user can select and customize prices and pricing options for a particular order or a particular product / service.

[0073] Figure 17A shows another non-limiting example embodiment of the Orders or Products subpage of the back office dashboard. From here, a user can apply a price event (such as a price drop) to a specific order or product / service, as shown in Figure 17B. As shown in Figure 17B, the user may add the name of the price event and include the price, frequency, interval, and duration of the price event.

[0074] It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes / flowcharts disclosed herein represents example approaches. Based on design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks within the processes / flowcharts may be rearranged. Also, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present various block elements in a sample order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0075] Some embodiments may relate to systems, methods, and / or computer-readable media at any possible level of technical detail of integration. Furthermore, one or more of the components described above may be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor (and / or may include at least one processor). The computer-readable medium may include one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media having computer-readable program instructions for causing a processor to perform operations.

[0076] Alternatively, a computer-readable storage medium may be a tangible device capable of holding and storing instructions for use by an instruction-execution device. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of computer-readable storage media includes the following: portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), static random access memory (SRAM), portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), memory stick, floppy disk, mechanically encoded devices such as punch cards or groove ridge structures having instructions recorded therein, and any suitable combination thereof. As used herein, computer-readable storage media should not be construed as being, per se, transitory signals such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission medium (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through wires.

[0077] The computer-readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded from a computer-readable storage medium to each computing / processing device or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, and / or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fiber, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing / processing device receives the computer-readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer-readable program instructions for storage in a computer-readable storage medium in the respective computing / processing device.

[0078] The computer-readable program code / instructions for performing operations may be either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, configuration data for integrated circuits, or object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk and C++, and procedural programming languages ​​such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer-readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computer (e.g., through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, an electronic circuit, including, for example, a programmable logic circuit, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a programmable logic array (PLA), may execute computer-readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer-readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuit to perform an aspect or operation.

[0079] These computer-readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, executing via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, produce means for performing the functions / acts specified in the block or blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. These computer-readable program instructions may also be stored on a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer, programmable data processing apparatus, and / or other device to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-readable storage medium on which the instructions are stored comprises a product containing instructions that perform aspects of the functions / acts specified in the block or blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams.

[0080] The computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device to execute a series of operational steps to create a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions executing on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device perform the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0081] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer-readable media according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, including one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). The methods, computer systems, and computer-readable media may include additional, fewer, different, or differently arranged blocks than those shown in the figures. In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur in a different order than noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may actually be executed concurrently or substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functionality involved. It should also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart diagrams, can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified functions or operations or executes a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0082] It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein may be implemented in various forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not intended to limit the implementation. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, and it will be understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

Claims

1. 1. A method for trading telecommunications related services over a centralized market network, comprising: presenting a first telecommunication-related service to a first user, the first telecommunication-related service being based on a configuration profile defined by a second user; receiving a selection of the first telecommunication-related service by the first user; receiving a purchase order request from the first user for the selected first telecommunications-related service; receiving input from the first user regarding customizing or configuring the first telecommunication-related service; receiving input from the first user adding the customized or configured first telecommunication-related service to the purchase order request; applying a price change or discount to the first telecommunications-related service or the purchase order request.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration profile further comprises the price change or price reduction, the price change or price reduction being associated with the first user.

3. receiving one or more identification information about the first user, the identification information consisting of one or more of a name, a location, a company, a job role, and contact times; The method of claim 1.

4. receiving a request to access a dashboard portal from the second user; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the dashboard portal comprises at least one of a product or service catalog portal, a customer lead or prospect information portal, a customer purchase history portal, or a product or service ordering portal.

6. receiving a request from the second user to create a second telecommunications-related product or service within the product or service catalog portal; The method of claim 5 further comprising:

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the created second telecommunications-related product or service is a software-based network service or a virtual network service.

8. receiving a request from the second user to create one or more customer leads or prospects within the customer lead or prospect information portal; The method of claim 5 further comprising:

9. receiving a request from the second user from the customer purchase history portal or the product or service ordering portal to create one or more promotional campaigns for a second telecommunications-related product or service based on the purchase history of the first user or a third user; The method of claim 5 further comprising:

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user comprises an end user and the second user comprises a network service provider.

11. 1. An apparatus for trading telecommunications related services over a centralized market network, comprising: memory storage for storing computer-executable instructions; a processor communicatively coupled to the memory storage, the processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions, the device comprising: presenting a first telecommunication-related service to a first user via a central server, the first telecommunication-related service being based on a configuration profile defined by a second user; receiving a selection of the first telecommunication-related service from the first user; receiving a purchase order request from the first user for the selected first telecommunications-related service; receiving input from the first user regarding customizing or configuring the first telecommunication-related service; receiving input from the first user adding the customized or configured first telecommunications-related service to a purchase order request; a processor that applies a price change or reduction to the first telecommunications-related service or the purchase order request; An apparatus comprising:

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the configuration profile further comprises the price change or price reduction, the price change or price reduction being associated with the first user.

13. The computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the device to: The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising: receiving one or more identifying information about the first user, the identifying information consisting of one or more of a name, a location, a company, a job role, and contact times.

14. The computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the device to: The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising: receiving a request from the second user to access a dashboard portal.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the dashboard portal comprises at least one of a product or service catalog portal, a customer lead or prospect information portal, a customer purchase history portal, or a product or service ordering portal.

16. The computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the device to: The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising: receiving a request from the second user to create a second telecommunications-related product or service within the product or service catalog portal.

17. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first user comprises an end user and the second user comprises a network service provider.

18. 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for trading telecommunications-related services over a centralized market network by an apparatus, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one processor of the apparatus, causing the apparatus to: presenting a first telecommunication-related service to a first user, the first telecommunication-related service being based on a configuration profile defined by a second user; receiving a selection of the first telecommunication-related service by the first user; receiving a purchase order request from the first user for the selected first telecommunications-related service; receiving input from the first user regarding customizing or configuring the first telecommunication-related service; receiving input from the first user adding the customized or configured first telecommunications-related service to a purchase order request; A non-transitory computer-readable medium that applies a price change or price reduction to the first telecommunications-related service or the purchase order request.

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