Method and apparatus for providing vendor remote support and management

Abstract

An approach is provided for establishing a vendor portal configured to provide remote control and management of one or more devices of a customer by a plurality of vendors. The device can then be remotely controlled, accessed, or operated upon via the vendor portal.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method comprising:
 establishing, by at least one computing device, an access session comprising a network connection between a support device and a customer device;   receiving, by the at least one computing device, a first request from the support device for third-party assistance;   transmitting, by the at least one computing device, a second request to a vendor device to provide the third-party assistance;   providing, by the at least one computing device, a remote support application to the vendor device for download; and   joining, by the at least one computing device and the remote support application, the vendor device into the access session between the support device and the customer device to provide support.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising disconnecting, by the at least one computing device, the support device from the access session subsequent to the joining of the vendor device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the vendor device has view access to the access session. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the vendor device is configured to execute the remote support application to join the access session. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the customer device is not connected to the internet and the method further comprising providing, by the at least one computing device, a proxy for the customer device to access the internet. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the remote support application is configured to be downloaded from a web interface. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein web browser based remote control of the customer device is provided by the vendor device via the remote support application. 
     
     
         9 . A system comprising:
 a data store comprising identifying information for a plurality of customer devices; and   at least one computing device in communication with the data store, the at least one computing device configured to:
 establish an access session comprising a network connection between a support device and a customer device of the plurality of customer devices; 
 receive a first request from the support device for third-party assistance; 
 transmit a second request to a vendor device to provide the third-party assistance; 
 provide a remote support application to the vendor device for download; 
 receive a connection request from the remote support application executed by the vendor device; and 
 in response to the connection request, join the remote support application into the access session between the support device and the customer device to provide support. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising at least one second computing device configured to:
 transmit a third request to a second vendor device to provide assistance to the vendor device; and   establish a second access session comprising a second network connection between the second vendor device and the vendor device.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising at least one second computing device configured to configure the at least one computing device to host a plurality of vendor portals including a particular vendor portal, wherein the connection request from the remote support application is received via the particular vendor portal. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the connection request comprises a login request to a public Uniform Resource Locator (URL) corresponding to the at least one computing device. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one computing device is coupled to the customer device via a local-area network and the at least one computing device is coupled to the vendor device via a wide-area network. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one computing device is configured to provide the remote support application by pushing the remote support application, wherein the vendor device executes the remote support application and the remote support application connects back to the at least one computing device. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:
 record a stream of a screen corresponding to the customer device during the access session; and   store the stream of the screen in the data store.   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a program that, when executed by at least one computing device, causes the at least one computing device to:
 establish an access session by connecting a support device with a customer device over a network;   receive a first request from the access session for third-party assistance;   transmit a second request to a vendor device to provide the third-party assistance;   provide a remote support software to the vendor device for download;   receive a connection request from the remote support software executed by the vendor device; and   connect the remote support software into the access session to provide additional support.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the program further causes the at least one computing device to:
 transmit a third request to the vendor device to provide assistance for one of a plurality of customer devices, wherein the plurality of customer devices comprises the customer device;   receive a connection request from the remote support software already installed on the vendor device; and   establish a second access session by connecting the remote support software with the one of the plurality of customer devices.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the program further causes the at least one computing device to:
 record data relating to remote access by the vendor device; and   perform an audit on the data recorded to determine compliance with a predetermined regulation.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the program further causes the at least one computing device to:
 assign a security policy to the vendor device; and   control access rights and remote control permission of the vendor device based on the security policy.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein a first firewall is positioned between the vendor device and the at least one computing device and a second firewall is positioned between the at least one computing device and the customer device. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the vendor device comprises a vendor representative system and a remote support and management appliance.