Granted Patent B2

US 9,465,598 · App. 13/920,682 · Granted Oct 11, 2016

Abstract

Claims (25)

1. A system for branding and deploying backup software, the system comprising:

a branding interface stored in a first memory for receiving branding data from a partner associated with a partner machine;

a branding database having a second memory for storing the received branding data; an installer-generating server having a third memory for storing executable instructions for:

generating a generic full installer capable of installing a software program without branding data, wherein the software program is stored in a manage portal; and

generating a brand installation shell in response to a request from the partner and using the stored branding data;

wherein the branded installation shell, when executed by the partner machine, retrieves the generic, full installer from the installer-generating server,

provides branding data to the generic, full installer;

downloads the software program to a branded location on the partner machine from the manage portal, the branded location is specific to the partner machine; and

causes the generic, full installer to install the software program and the provided branding data in the specific branded location on the partner machine to make it appear as if the partner machine generated the software program installed by the generic, full installer rather than by the manage portal.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein branding data includes an image comprising one or more of partner-specified graphics, a name, and a website link.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the branding interface includes a web-based application.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the generic, full installer includes a loosely relational database structured as a component object model-structured storage file.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the partner is a managed services provider (MSP) that manages and assumes responsibility for providing data backup services to the partner machines.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the partner is a value-added reseller (VAR) that adds data backup services to an existing product, then resells it to end-users as an integrated data backup product.

7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a token server, wherein the branded installation shell is associated with a token, and the token is disabled once the generic full installer has completed installation on the partner machine.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stored branding data is a dynamic link library file.

9. An article of manufacture having computer-readable program portions embedded in a memory thereon for branding and deploying backup software, the embedded portions comprising instructions for:

retrieving, by a branding interface stored in a first memory, branding data from a partner associated with a partner machine;

storing the received branding data in a second memory of a branding database;

generating, by an installer-generating server, a generic, full installer capable of installing a software program without branding data, wherein the software program is stored in a manage portal;

generating, by the installer-generating server, a branded installation shell including the stored branded data, in response to a request from the partner;

retrieving, by the branded installation shell when the shell is executed by the partner machine, the generic, full installer from the installer-generating server;

providing branding data from the branded installation shell to the generic, full installer;

downloading the software program to a branded location on the partner machine from the manage portal, the branded location is specific to the partner machine; and

installing, by the generic full installer, the software program and the provided branding data in the specific branded location on the partner machine to make it appear as if the partner machine generated the software program by the generic, full installer rather than by the manage portal.

Assignments (10)