System and method for compliance based automation

• US 10,129,213 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2018
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Automation Anywhere, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Automation Anywhere, Inc.
• Inventors: Kakhandiki, Abhijit, Gunapu, Sidhar
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Application Number:
  US15/897,236
• Publication Number:
  US 20180205701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/033 Test or assess software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/034 Test or assess a computer or a system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

This invention generally relates to a process and computer code for enabling users to create adapters that enable application automation processes that allow customers to define compliance boundaries using a rules-based compliance firewall for their service providers and allow service providers to perform automation on customer machines remotely while adhering to customer'"'"'s compliance requirements.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions for:

A. executing one or more programs on one or more local or remote computers, said programs identifying one or more data relationships that exist between and utilized by one or more applications resident on one or more local or remote computers;

B. (1) employing in a first computer remote access technology to access and update software on one or more remote computers;

(2) determining a status of the one or more remote computers;

(3) utilizing the status to create one or more automation profiles for execution in one or more remote computers;

C. negotiating between the first computer and the one or more remote computers, a highest level protocol for the one or more remote computer compliance boundaries required to access an automation controller in the one or more remote computers;

D. (1) creating in the first computer a set of execution files having one or more nested tasks for deployment;

(2) appending a light weight play engine to the execution files;

(3) delivering the executable files to the one or more remote computer automation controllers using a remote access technology;

E. (1) creating in the one or more remote computers the light weight play engine having the appended execution files;

(2) reading the appended execution files; and

(3) updating the one or more remote computers.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling a service provider computer to perform automation on a remote customer computer, while adhering to remote customer computer compliance requirements.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling the remote computer (1) to define a compliance boundary that allows a service provider computer access to the remote customer; and

(2) to execute an automated application, subject to the compliance boundaries, such that the remote computer receives new applications and updates other applications.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling new and updated applications to determine the status of the remote computer, said status including one or more of;

processing power, current processing load, application footprint, application characteristics and application performance.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling new and updated applications by optionally making a local copy of the application in the remote computer.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling new and updated applications to scan the automated application to determine if it meets the security compliance for the remote computer.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling new and updated applications to track changes between an older and a newer version of an application on the remote computer.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling new and updated applications to update the remote computer by one or more of;

(a) an addition of one or more new data fields, (b) a removal of one or more data fields;

(c) a change in data field type, (d) a field layout;

(e) an underlying technology framework of the application.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 1, further including:

enabling new and updated applications to scan the automation application to check a nested task for task calls to other tasks.