Use of marketplace platform instances for reselling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10528995-B2
Application number	US-201615344068-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 4, 2016
Priority date	Nov 4, 2016
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

An example method may include creating multiple instances of a marketplace platform, using a first instance of the marketplace platform to aggregate multiple catalogs of service vendors into an aggregated catalog of the first instance, and additional instances of the marketplace platform (reseller instances) to aggregate the aggregated catalog of the first instance (or the aggregated catalog of another reseller instance) into the aggregated catalog of the respective reseller instance into the aggregated catalog of the respective reseller instance. Each instance of the marketplace platform may be such that, when it is run by processing circuitry, it aggregates input catalogs into an aggregated catalog of the respective instance. Each instance of the marketplace platform may also include a customer portal that is to present offerings of the corresponding aggregated catalog for sale to users. The method may further include onboarding resellers and associating separate instances of the marketplace platform (the reseller instances) with the onboarded resellers, respectively. The method may further include, in response to a given offering being purchased via the customer portal of one of the reseller instances, causing one of the instances of the marketplace platform to orchestrate fulfillment of the given offering.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a system comprising a hardware processor, comprising:
creating a first instance of a marketplace platform comprising machine readable instructions, wherein the first instance of the marketplace platform is to, when run by processing circuitry, aggregate catalogs of service vendors into a first aggregated catalog of the first instance of the marketplace platform, and the first instance of the marketplace platform includes a first user portal to present services of the first aggregated catalog to users;
onboarding a reseller and associating a second instance of the marketplace platform with the onboarded reseller, the second instance of the marketplace platform comprising a second user portal;
aggregating, by the second instance of the marketplace platform, the first aggregated catalog into a second aggregated catalog of the second instance of the marketplace platform;
presenting services of the second aggregated catalog in the second user portal; and
in response to a first service of the second aggregated catalog being purchased via the second user portal, causing the second instance of the marketplace platform to orchestrate fulfillment of the first service.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the first instance of the marketplace platform and the second instance of the marketplace platform is one of: a separate instance of a virtual appliance, a separate instance of a container or set of containers, or a separate installation of a program.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second instances of the marketplace platform are hosted in a cloud of an operator of the aggregated first instance of the marketplace platform.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second instance of the marketplace platform is hosted in an infrastructure of the reseller.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second instance of the marketplace platform includes a catalog management tool that allows selection of which services are aggregated into the second aggregated catalog.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second instances of the marketplace platform includes a catalog management tool that allows creation of a service in the respective first aggregated catalog or the second aggregated catalog.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second instance of the marketplace platform includes a catalog management tool that allows an operator of the second instance of the marketplace platform to add a service of the operator in the second aggregated catalog.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising associating a third instance of the marketplace platform with a first service vendor of the service vendors and with a catalog of the first service vendor, wherein the first instance of the marketplace platform is to aggregate the catalog of the first service vendor.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
dynamically creating and tearing down the second instance of the marketplace platform.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
billing a customer for the first service via one of a first billing platform and a second billing platform, the first billing platform being operated by an operator of the first instance of the marketplace platform, and the second billing platform being operated by the reseller; and
responsive to the billing for the first service, causing one of the first billing platform and the second billing platform to perform settlement, according to a revenue sharing agreement, between the operator of the first instance of the marketplace platform and the reseller.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reseller is distinct from the service vendors and an operator of the first instance of the marketplace platform.

12. A system comprising:
a number of processors;
a first instance of a marketplace platform executable by at least one of the number of processors to aggregate catalogs of service vendors into a master catalog of the first instance of the marketplace platform, the master catalog comprising information of services of the catalogs of the service vendors; and
a reseller management platform to onboard a reseller and cause a reseller instance of the marketplace platform to be associated with the reseller,
wherein the reseller instance of the marketplace platform comprises a customer portal to present services of a reseller catalog, and the reseller instance of the marketplace platform is executable by at least one of the number of processors to:
aggregate the master catalog into the reseller catalog of the reseller instance of the marketplace platform, the reseller catalog comprising information of services of the master catalog and of other services, and
in response to a first service of the reseller catalog being purchased via the customer portal, initiate fulfillment of the first service.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first instance of the marketplace platform and the reseller instance of the marketplace platform are separate instances of one of: a virtual appliance, or a container or set of containers.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first instance of the marketplace platform and the reseller instance of the marketplace platform are hosted on a shared infrastructure in a cloud of an operator of the first instance of the marketplace platform.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the reseller is distinct from the service vendors and an operator of the first instance of the marketplace platform.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the fulfillment of the first service comprises provisioning an infrastructure for execution of the first service.

17. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions that upon execution cause a system to including:
create a first instance of a marketplace platform, and use the first instance of the marketplace platform to aggregate catalogs of service vendors into a master catalog of the first instance of the marketplace platform, the catalogs of the service vendors presenting respective cloud services of the service vendors, and the master catalog presenting the cloud services of the service vendors;
onboard a reseller;
create a reseller instance of the marketplace platform associated with the reseller that has been onboarded, and use the reseller instance of the marketplace platform to aggregate the master catalog into a reseller catalog of the reseller instance of the marketplace platform, the reseller catalog presenting the cloud services of the master catalog and other cloud services; and
responsive to a user selection, in a portal, of a first cloud service presented by the reseller catalog, cause fulfillment of the first cloud service by the reseller instance of the marketplace platform.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the reseller is distinct from the service vendors and an operator of the first instance of the marketplace platform.

19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the fulfillment of the first cloud service comprises provisioning computer resources for execution of the first cloud service.

Assignees

• Hewlett Packard Entpr Dev Lp
• Micro Focus Llc

Inventors

• Maes Stephane Herman

Classifications

• G06Q30/0603 Primary

  Catalogue creation or management · CPC title

• G06Q30/0605 Primary

  Pooling transaction partners, e.g. group buying or group selling · CPC title

• G06Q30/06031

  Aggregating catalogue data from multiple providers · CPC title