Abstract:
Methods and systems for providing services and/or computing resources are provided. A method may include receiving an application from an application provider. The method may further include receiving data from a data provider. The method may also include receiving a first request from the data provider to execute the application and apply the data as input to the application. Additionally, the method may include executing the application in response to receiving the first request. The method may also include storing output data resulting from execution of the application. The method may further include receiving a second request from the data provider to transmit the output data to the data provider. The method may additionally include communicating the output data to the data provider in response to the second request.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This disclosure relates in general to communication systems and more particularly to a method and system for providing computing resources to an application provider and a data provider. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Applications, also known as application programs, are computer-readable instructions configured to perform a singular or multiple related specific tasks. Typically, applications perform tasks based on data provided to the application, perform tasks that process and/or manipulate such provided data, and/or perform tasks that produce data. 
         [0003]    Often, the entities or parties providing an application and the data to be applied to the application are two independent parties: the application provider which owns the application, and the data provider which owns the data. In some instances, both the application provider and the data provider will desire that their respective properties (the application and the data) secure and protected from other parties. For example, an application provider may have an advanced, proprietary algorithm, while a data provider may have confidential data. The application provider may not desire to provide the application to the data provided because of a risk that the data provider may abuse the application and/or reverse engineer the application. In addition, the data provider may not desire to provide data to the application provider for fear that the confidential data may be compromised by the application provider. In addition, the data provider may desire that the results of execution remain private and/or may desire that the data provider&#39;s identity not be revealed to the application provider. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0004]    The present disclosure provides methods and systems for providing services and/or computing resources that substantially eliminates or reduces at least some of the disadvantages and problems associated with previous methods and systems. A method may include receiving an application from an application provider. 
         [0005]    The method may further include receiving data from a data provider. The method may also include receiving a first request from the data provider to execute the application and apply the data as input to the application. Additionally, the method may include executing the application in response to receiving the first request. The method may also include storing output data resulting from execution of the application. The method may further include receiving a second request from the data provider to transmit the output data to the data provider. The method may additionally include communicating the output data to the data provider in response to the second request. 
         [0006]    Technical advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure include allowing an application provider to provide an application with decreased risk of abuse and/or misuse of the application by a data provider, and allowing a data provider to apply data to the application with deceased risk of abuse and/or misuse of the data by an application provider. 
         [0007]    Other technical advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims. Moreover, while specific advantages have been enumerated above, various embodiments may include all, some or none of the enumerated advantages. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an example service provision system, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  illustrates a flow chart of an example method for providing services, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an example service provision system  100 , in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. According to the illustrated embodiment, service provision system  100  may include an application provider  102 , a data provider  104 , and a resource provider  106  in communication with each of the application provider  102  and data provider  104 . 
         [0012]    Application provider  102  may include any system, device, or apparatus configured to store one or more applications and/or upload such applications to resource provider  106  for execution. In some embodiments, application provider  102  may include a computer or similar device. Application provider  102  may include a user interface that allows a user and/or administrator to maintain and/or manage the one or more applications and/or the uploading of applications to resource provider  106 . 
         [0013]    Data provider  104  may include any system, device, or apparatus configured to store data and/or upload such data to resource provider  106  to be applied to execution of an application. In some embodiments, application provider  102  may include a computer or similar device. Data provider  104  may include a user interface that allows a user and/or administrator to maintain and/or manage the one or more applications and/or the uploading of applications to resource provider  106 . 
         [0014]    Resource provider  106  may include any system, device, or apparatus configured to execute applications uploaded by application provider  102 , including executing applications based on data uploaded by data provider  104 . In some embodiments, resource provider  106  may include a computer or similar device. Resource provider  106  may be in communication with application provider  102  and/or data provider  104  in any suitable manner. For example, in some embodiments provider  106  may be in communication with application provider  102  and/or data provider  104  via a communication network that may comprise all, or a portion of, a radio access network; a public switched telephone network (PSTN); a public or private data network; a local area network (LAN); a metropolitan area network (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a local, regional, or global communication or computer network such as the Internet; a wireline or wireless network; an enterprise intranet; or any combination of the preceding. In certain embodiments, resource provider  106  may execute a web server such that users of application provider  102  and/or data provider  104  may interact with resource provider via an Internet browser. 
         [0015]    Additional functionality and properties of each of application provider  102 , data provider  104 , and resource provider  106  are described in greater detail below. 
         [0016]    Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to system  100  without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The components and elements of system  100  described may be integrated or separated according to particular needs. Moreover, the operations of system  100  may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  illustrates a flow chart of an example method  200  for providing services, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. According to one embodiment, method  200  may begin at step  202 . As noted above, teachings of the present disclosure may be implemented in a variety of configurations of system  100 . As such, the preferred initialization point for method  200  and the order of the steps  202 - 222  comprising method  200  may depend on the implementation chosen. 
         [0018]    At step  202 , application provider  102  may upload an application to resource provider  106 . Such uploading may be performed manually and/or automatically. For example, a user of application provider  102  may, via a user interface of application provider  102 , instruct, command, or otherwise cause application provider  102  to upload an application. In some embodiments, such user may use a web browser executing on application provider  102  and interfaced to a web server executing on resource provider  106  in order to cause such upload. In the same or alternative embodiments, such upload may be triggered automatically in response to an event (e.g., an update or new version of the application becomes available, and application provider automatically uploads in response to a determination that the new update has occurred). In addition, in these and other embodiments, application provider  102  may also, in connection with the upload of an application, upload information regarding such application. Such information may include a cost to a data provider  104  of executing the application, a description of the application including an input/output data format for the application (if necessary), and any other suitable information. 
         [0019]    At step  204 , after upload of the application to resource provider  106 , resource provider  106  may generate a unique application identifier (ID) associated with the uploaded application and communicate such unique application ID to application provider  102 . 
         [0020]    At step  206 , a user of data provider  104  may, via a remote user interface of resource provider  106  accessible at data provider  106 , determine one or more desired applications stored on resource provider  106  to be executed upon data of data provider  104 . In some embodiments, the names of various applications stored on resource provider  106 , the unique application IDs of such applications, and information regarding such applications (e.g., the information uploaded in connection with an application in step  202 ) may be provided to the user via a remote user interface of resource provider  106  accessible at data provider  104  (e.g., via a web browser), and a user may base the determination of which application(s) to use based on his or her review of such information. 
         [0021]    At step  208 , data provider  104  may upload data to resource provider  106  including policies related to such data. Such upload may be initiated in response to an instruction, command, or another action of a user of data provider  104  indicating the user&#39;s desire to perform such upload. The policies related to the updated data may include the application(s) permitted to access the data (which a user may specify by providing the unique application IDs of such authorized applications), the length of time the data will remain valid and/or stored at resource provider  106 , persons and/or computing devices authorized to access data output of the executed application(s), and/or any other suitable parameters. 
         [0022]    At step  210 , in response to the receipt of data uploaded from data provider  104  to resource provider  106 , resource provider  106  may generate a unique data ID associated with the data and communicate such unique data ID to data provider  104 . 
         [0023]    At step  212 , data provider  104  may initiate execution of an application upon data uploaded to resource provider  106  by communicating the unique application ID and the unique data ID associated with the desired application and data to resource provider  106 . Such uploading may be performed manually and/or automatically. For example, a user of data provider  104  may, via a user interface of data provider  104 , instruct, command, or otherwise cause data provider  104  to communicate a unique application ID and a unique data ID to resource provider  106 . 
         [0024]    At step  214 , in response to receipt of a unique application ID and unique data ID from data provider  104 , resource provider  106  may execute the application associated with the unique application ID and apply the data associated with the unique data ID to the application. Resource provider  106  may also generate an execution reference ID and communicate such execution reference ID to data provider  104 . Using the execution reference ID, data provider  104  may poll resource provider  106  to determine an execution status of an application upon the data (e.g., executing, error, completed, etc.). 
         [0025]    At step  216 , upon completion of application execution, resource provider  106  may communicate an execution report to data provider  104 , including an output data ID, to data provider  104 . The execution report may include information regarding the execution of the application other than the output data ID, including execution time, cost of running the application, etc. 
         [0026]    At step  218 , resource provider  106  may communicate an execution report to application provider  102 . The execution report may include information regarding the execution of the application, including execution time, cost of running the application, etc. This execution report may be similar to the execution report communicated to data provider  104  in step  216 , with the exception that data-provider specific information is not included. 
         [0027]    At step  220 , data provider  104  may request download of the output data produced during execution of the application by communicating the output data ID to resource provider  106 . 
         [0028]    At step  222 , in response to receipt of the output data ID, resource provider  106  may communicate the output data to data provider  104 . 
         [0029]    Although  FIG. 2  discloses a particular number of steps to be taken with respect to method  200 , method  200  may be executed with greater or lesser steps than those depicted in  FIG. 2 . In addition, although  FIG. 2  discloses a certain order of steps to be taken with respect to method  200 , the steps comprising method  200  may be completed in any suitable order. 
         [0030]    Method  200  may be implemented using system  100  or any other system operable to implement method  200 . In certain embodiments, method  200  may be implemented partially or fully in software and/or firmware embodied in a memory or other computer-readable media. 
         [0031]    In addition to the functionality described above, the various components of system  100  may have other functionality. For example, to provide further protection for data and applications, application provider  102  and/or data provider  104  may be configured to destroy or delete applications and/or data, as appropriate, that are uploaded to resource provider  106 . As a specific example, data provider  104  may be configured to delete data uploaded to resource provider  106  by communicating an explicit request to resource provider  106  or by defining a policy (e.g., in connection with the policy uploaded at step  208  of  FIG. 2 ) that the data is deleted after a certain amount of time or after a certain number of application executions (e.g., after one week or after the data is applied to one application execution). Similarly, application provider  102  may also delete an application uploaded to resource provider  10  or by defining a policy. 
         [0032]    As another example, resource provider  106  may provide logging with respect to applications and data uploaded to it. As a specific example, resource provider  106  may store a data log with respect to data uploaded to it, wherein such data log may include when the data was uploaded, when the data is applied to an application, which application(s) are applied to the data, when the data was deleted, etc. Such data log may be retrieved from resource provider  106  by data provider  104 . Similarly, resource provider  106  may store an application log with respect to an application uploaded to it, wherein such application log may include when the application was uploaded, when the application was executed, which data is applied to the application, when the application was deleted, etc. Such data log may be retrieved from resource provider  106  by data provider  104 . 
         [0033]    In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a user at data provider  104  may upload data to resource provider  106 , but not specify an application to be associated with the data. Instead, the data may be uploaded with a description, wherein such description may include information regarding the desired operation to be undertaken or problem to be solved with respect to the data, the cost the user of the data provider  104  is willing to pay to have the operation undertaken or problem solved, and/or other suitable information. A user of application provider  102  may review such descriptions for data uploaded to resource provider  106  and may then upload an application that is capable to execute the operation or solve the problem. If the operation is successful or the problem is solved, the user of application provider  102  may be compensated for the execution of the application. 
         [0034]    In these and other embodiments, resource provider  106  may allow a use of a data provider  104  to select among a plurality of execution plans. The execution plans may each include a quantity of resources to be dedicated to execution of an application and a cost associated with executing an application according to such execution plan. Given that an application may execute faster if more resources are dedicated to the application, selection of a particular execution plan may allow a user at data provider  104  to select an efficiency/cost combination suitable to the user. Data provider  104  may communicate selection of such an execution plan via a policy uploaded in connection with an upload of data. 
         [0035]    A component of system  100  may include an interface, logic, memory, and/or other suitable element. An interface receives input, sends output, processes the input and/or output, and/or performs other suitable operation. An interface may comprise hardware and/or software. 
         [0036]    Logic performs the operations of the component, for example, executes instructions to generate output from input. Logic may include hardware, software, and/or other logic. Logic may be encoded in one or more tangible computer readable storage media and may perform operations when executed by a computer. Certain logic, such as a processor, may manage the operation of a component. Examples of a processor include one or more computers, one or more microprocessors, one or more applications, and/or other logic. 
         [0037]    A memory stores information. A memory may comprise one or more tangible, computer-readable, and/or computer-executable storage media. Examples of memory include computer memory (for example, Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), database and/or network storage (for example, a server), and/or other computer-readable medium. 
         [0038]    Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to system  100  without departing from the scope of the invention. The components of system  100  may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of system  100  may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally, operations of system  100  may be performed using any suitable logic. As used in this document, “each” refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set. 
         [0039]    Certain embodiments of the invention may provide one or more technical advantages. A technical advantage may be that data may be applied to an application with a reduction or elimination of risks that: (i) the application provider may abuse or misuse the applied data; and/or (ii) the data provider may abuse or misuse the application, as compared to such risks present in traditional approaches. 
         [0040]    Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, as defined by the following claims.