Granted Patent B2

US 12,292,789 · App. 18/230,521 · Granted May 6, 2025

Inventor: Jeremy Guthrie (Fitchburg, WI)

Assignee: CDW LLC

G06F11/0793G06F9/45504G06F9/541H04L43/04H04L63/0428

Abstract

Claims (91)

1. A computer-implemented method for intelligent collection and selective sharing of information technology asset inventory over a managed services platform, comprising:

receiving, from a customer, a selection of one or more information technology services of an information technology service provider;

receiving, via a network tunnel between a machine avatar in a computing environment and a base management node, network traffic of the customer addressed to the one or more information technology services;

storing, by one or more processors, a portion of the network traffic;

generating, by the one or more processors, a service notification for the customer based on the portion of the network traffic; and

transmitting, by the one or more processors, the service notification to the machine avatar through the network tunnel.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, from the customer, a second selection of one or more sharing preferences for data corresponding to the one or more information technology services; and

sharing, by the one or more processors, the portion of the network traffic in accordance with the one or more sharing preferences.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the information technology service provider is one of a plurality of information technology service providers, and the method further comprises:

determining, by the one or more processors based on the second selection, that the customer authorizes sharing the data corresponding to the one or more information technology services with two or more information technology service providers of the plurality of information technology service providers; and

sharing, by the one or more processors utilizing two or more application programming interfaces (APIs), the data corresponding to the one or more information technology services with the two or more information technology service providers, wherein each API of the two or more APIs is associated with a respective information technology service provider of the two or more information technology service providers.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

encrypting, by the one or more processors executing an encryption algorithm, the portion of the network traffic;

receiving, at the one or more processors, a data request from the information technology service provider;

determining, by the one or more processors, that the portion of the network traffic should be shared with the information technology service provider based on the one or more sharing preferences;

decrypting, by the one or more processors executing the encryption algorithm, the portion of the network traffic; and

transmitting, by the one or more processors, the portion of the network traffic to the information technology service provider.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, at the one or more processors, information technology services data from the information technology service provider;

standardizing, by the one or more processors executing a standardization algorithm, the information technology services data; and

storing, by the one or more processors, the information technology services data into one or more standardized information technology services data files on the base management node.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , further comprising:

receiving, at the one or more processors, a data request from the customer across the network tunnel;

determining, by the one or more processors executing the standardization algorithm, at least one of the one or more standardized information technology services data files referenced by the data request; and

retrieving, by the one or more processors, standardized information technology services data from the at least one of the one or more standardized information technology services data files.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating, by the one or more processors, a proactive notification for the customer based on the portion of the network traffic, the proactive notification having a timed transmission threshold;

receiving, at the one or more processors, a response to the proactive notification;

responsive to determining that the timed transmission threshold is satisfied, storing, by the one or more processors, the response; and

forwarding, by the one or more processors, the response to a corresponding information technology service provider.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the one or more processors, the service notification to an internal workstation; and

connecting, by the one or more processors, a user device associated with the computing environment to the internal workstation via the network tunnel.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

initializing, by the one or more processors, the machine avatar in the computing environment by analyzing the one or more information technology services;

establishing, by the one or more processors, the network tunnel between the machine avatar and the base management node;

receiving, by the one or more processors, an information technology service provider information request from a user device associated with the computing environment; and

transmitting, by the one or more processors across the network tunnel, information technology services data indicating at least the one or more information technology services of the information technology service provider.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, at the one or more processors, a subscription request corresponding to a licensed asset;

provisioning, by the one or more processors based on the subscription request, an instance of the licensed asset; and

providing, via the network tunnel, the customer with access to the instance of the licensed asset.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the machine avatar of the customer includes a virtual machine, and the method further comprises:

generating the virtual machine and a virtual network interface corresponding to the machine avatar, wherein generating the virtual machine includes deploying the virtual machine in a cloud computing platform.

12. A computing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to:

receive, from a customer, a selection of one or more information technology services of an information technology service provider,

receive, via a network tunnel between a machine avatar in a computing environment and a base management node, network traffic of the customer addressed to the one or more information technology services,

store a portion of the network traffic,

generate a service notification for the customer based on the portion of the network traffic, and

transmit the service notification to the machine avatar through the network tunnel.

13. The computing system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to:

receive, from the customer, a second selection of one or more sharing preferences for data corresponding to the one or more information technology services; and

share the portion of the network traffic in accordance with the one or more sharing preferences.

14. The computer system of claim 13 , wherein the information technology service provider is one of a plurality of information technology service providers, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to:

determine, based on the second selection, that the customer authorizes sharing the data corresponding to the one or more information technology services with two or more information technology service providers of the plurality of information technology service providers; and

share, by utilizing two or more application programming interfaces (APIs), the data corresponding to the one or more information technology services with the two or more information technology service providers, wherein each API of the two or more APIs is associated with a respective information technology service provider of the two or more information technology service providers.

15. The computing system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to:

encrypt, by executing an encryption algorithm, the portion of the network traffic;

receive a data request from the information technology service provider;

determine that the portion of the network traffic should be shared with the information technology service provider based on the one or more sharing preferences;

decrypt, by executing the encryption algorithm, the portion of the network traffic; and

transmit the portion of the network traffic to the information technology service provider.

16. The computing system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to:

receive information technology services data from the information technology service provider;

standardize, by executing a standardization algorithm, the information technology services data;

store the information technology services data into one or more standardized information technology services data files on the base management node;

receive a data request from the customer across the network tunnel;

determine, by executing the standardization algorithm, at least one of the one or more standardized information technology services data files referenced by the data request; and

retrieve standardized information technology services data from the at least one of the one or more standardized information technology services data files.

17. The computing system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to:

generate a proactive notification for the customer based on the portion of the network traffic, the proactive notification having a timed transmission threshold;

receive a response to the proactive notification;

responsive to determining that the timed transmission threshold is satisfied, store the response; and

forward the response to a corresponding information technology service provider.

18. The computing system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to:

transmit the service notification to an internal workstation; and

connect a user device associated with the computing environment to the internal workstation via the network tunnel.

19. The computing system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to:

initialize the machine avatar in the computing environment by analyzing the one or more information technology services;

establish the network tunnel between the machine avatar and the base management node;

receive an information technology service provider information request from a user device associated with the computing environment; and

transmit, across the network tunnel, information technology services data indicating at least the one or more information technology services of the information technology service provider.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions that when executed, cause a computer to:

receive, from a customer, a selection of one or more information technology services of an information technology service provider;

receive, via a network tunnel between a machine avatar in a computing environment and a base management node, network traffic of the customer addressed to the one or more information technology services;

store a portion of the network traffic;

generate a service notification for the customer based on the portion of the network traffic; and

transmit the service notification to the machine avatar through the network tunnel.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (10)