1. A method for collecting information at a customer site, comprising: determining, at a support engineer site, to have particular information collected; creating an XML file at the support engineer site that includes a collection instruction that, when being executed, permits the particular information to be collected at the customer site; sending, from the support engineer site to the customer site, the collection instruction to a recipient associated with the customer site; transporting the collection instruction to a collection system having a collection software at the customer site; the collection software having the XML file as input, upon recognizing that it supports the collection instruction, invokes the collection software which together with the collection system executes the collection instruction included in the XML file so that the collection software collects the particular information at the customer site as determined at the support engineer site and identified by the collection instruction; and sending the particular information, prior to analysis of the particular information, from the customer site to the support engineer site for analysis.
1. A method for collecting information at a customer site, comprising: determining, at a support engineer site, to have particular information collected; creating an XML file at the support engineer site that includes a collection instruction that, when being executed, permits the particular information to be collected at the customer site; sending, from the support engineer site to the customer site, the collection instruction to a recipient associated with the customer site; transporting the collection instruction to a collection system having a collection software at the customer site; the collection software having the XML file as input, upon recognizing that it supports the collection instruction, invokes the collection software which together with the collection system executes the collection instruction included in the XML file so that the collection software collects the particular information at the customer site as determined at the support engineer site and identified by the collection instruction; and sending the particular information, prior to analysis of the particular information, from the customer site to the support engineer site for analysis. 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the information is desired by a vendor and for use in solving a problem of a customer of the vendor; the customer being associated with the customer site; the vendor being associated with the support engineer site.