Set-Top Box Customer Profile Data Query and Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cable services networks face challenges in providing customer-specific services and product offerings due to the variety of services subscribed by customers and their geographical dispersion, making it difficult to tailor services and information content effectively for individual customers.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for preparing, updating, and maintaining customer profiles using a set-top box that queries a server-side computing system to gather and store customer data, allowing for tailored interactive services, product offerings, and information content based on customer-specific information, including querying disparate data services systems via a web services system and using Extensible Markup Language for data formatting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If customer-specific services and information content are provided, then service relevance and customer interaction are enhanced, but system complexity and data management requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments customer data into distinct profile elements stored in database fields, allowing selective retrieval and application of specific customer attributes. This segmentation enables customized service delivery without requiring the entire system to be reconfigured for each customer.
Solution Approach 2:
A profile data structure acts as an intermediary layer between the customer database and service delivery mechanisms. This intermediate profile structure simplifies complex data retrieval by pre-organizing customer-specific information in a standardized format that services can directly consume.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive customer profile data is collected and maintained, then targeted advertising and information content can be provided, but data privacy concerns and security requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different security and access control qualities to different fields within the customer profile data structure. Sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and credit history have restricted access, while less sensitive information like name and address can be more freely accessed by authorized services.
3Reliability
If real-time customer profile updates are implemented, then service accuracy is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system retrieves and updates customer profile data periodically or on-demand rather than continuously. The set-top box queries the application server for profile data at appropriate intervals or when service requests are made, balancing data freshness with processing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for preparing, updating and maintaining customer profile data that may be utilized in an interactive television system for providing tailored customer-specific interactive services, and product offerings and helpful information content. The customer's set-top box queries an application server for profile data corresponding to the customer. A web services system queries each of a number of data services associated with the interactive television services provider to obtain profile data for the customer. Available customer data is passed to the application server. The application server prepares a customer profile from the customer data and formats the customer profile for use by the client-side set-top box. After the customer profile is stored at the set-top box, customer-specific services and product offerings may be presented to the customer in the form of targeted advertising, and customer-specific information content may be presented to the customer.