Getting a patent has never been easy, but if you think it’s difficult, try patenting software. Not so hard in the USA, but in Europe you need a really compelling case to show you have something that is truly unique. And that’s exactly what we have done with the Threads Intelligent Message Hub.
First submitted in 2014, European patent application 15709729.6: “A Digital Messaging System” has now passed all the European patent hurdles to become a full patent.
So what is so novel about the Threads Intelligent Message Hub?
Well, Threads is a Cloud-based web application that ingests all of companies messages into one database that can be searched at will by any authorised user. A message is really any digital communication – it could be an email, a tweet, or more interestingly a telephone call.
Once Threads ingests the calls, then users can not only listen to them at will, but also “see” them in the context of the other communications such as emails. It is impossible to over emphasise the value of seeing a whole thread of communications between two companies. Not just the emails in one user’s inbox but emails and phone calls of all staff. The perspective it gives on a business is a revelation.
And if Threads users can search emails, then why shouldn’t they search phone calls too? By applying Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) to phone calls, Threads can obtain a transcription of each call that allows them to be searched for keywords just as they can with emails. Uniquely Threads is able to intelligently learn from email conversations and use that information to improve the speech recognition. This is really clever.
That is not the only thing. If you are going to share your messages with your colleagues, then you want to be 100% sure you are not sharing private messages. Threads uses a innovative method for ensuring that private messages stay private.
These are just a few of the features of Threads that are described in the 14,000 word patent application. Its very novel, but more important, it uses that innovation to save you money and makes your business run better.