US 7,610,228 B2Granted

Automated service level management in financial terms

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsJoseph L. Hellerstein, Gautam Kar, Alexander Keller, W. Nathaniel Mills, III, John F. Morar

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Abstract

Electronic contracts or “eContracts” for representing service level agreements are provided. In one illustrative embodiment, the eContract may comprise information pertaining to: (a) descriptions of business transactions in IT terms; (b) financial implications of business transaction service levels; and (c) reporting to be done in business terms. Of course, the eContract may comprise other terms and conditions. In an illustrative aspect of the invention, a system for managing IT resources in terms of business financials comprises an electronic contract authoring system or “ecAuthoring system,” an electronic contract manager module or “ecManager,” and one or more electronic contract agent modules or “ecAgents” that may run on IT elements (e.g., components of the network) that are being managed. Analysts interact with the ecAuthoring system to construct eContracts. An eContract is input to an ecManager that interprets the contract to report on and optimize IT resources based on business financials. The ecManager collaborates with ecAgents to monitor, report, and enforce contracts expressed in such business terms.

Claims36

Dependent claims

Apparatus for use in managing a service level associated with resources in a distributed information technology (IT) system based on financial terms, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor operative to:
(i) construct and maintain an electronic contract that contains information pertaining to descriptions of one or more business transactions in IT terms, financial implications of one or more business transaction service levels, and reporting to be performed in one or more financial terms;
(ii) measure at least one service level of at least one distributed element of the IT system in terms of one or more business metrics based on the electronic contract and based at least in part on input received from at least one agent module located in the at least one distributed element;
(iii) determine at least one financial optimization based at least in part on the measured at least one service level of at least one element of the IT system and based at least in part on the electronic contract, the financial optimization being specified in the electronic contract at the time of construction such that, at the time the financial optimization is to be determined, the electronic contract is accessed to identify a particular financial metric of the financial optimization that is to be computed and to identify an operation for computing the particular financial metric, the one or more business metrics are converted to one or more financial equivalents wherein the one or more financial equivalents comprise a cost of a lost connection, a cost of down time, and a relationship between revenue and network latency;
and (iv) issue at least one control command based on the at least one financial optimization, the command to be executed on the at least one distributed element by the at least one agent module located in the at least one distributed element;
and
memory, operatively coupled to the at least one processor, for storing at least one of the electronic contract and results of the measurement operation.

4 more elements

Computer-based apparatus for use in managing a service level associated with resources in a distributed information technology (IT) system based on financial terms, the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors comprising:
an electronic contract manager module, operative to construct and maintain an electronic contract that contains information pertaining to descriptions of one or more business transactions in IT terms, financial implications of one or more business transaction service levels, and reporting to be performed in one or more financial terms and to determine at least one financial optimization based at least part on the measured at least one service level of at least one element of the IT system and based at least in part on the electronic contract, the financial optimization being specified in the electronic contract at the time of construction such that, at the time the financial optimization is to be determined, the electronic contract is accessed to identify a particular financial metric of the financial optimization that is to be computed and to identify an operation for computing the particular financial metric, the one or more business metrics are converted to one or more financial equivalents wherein the one or more financial equivalents comprise a cost of a lost connection, a cost of down time, and a relationship between revenue and network latency;
and
one or more electronic contract agent modules, operatively coupled to the manager module and located in one or more distributed elements of the IT system being monitored, operative to measure at least one service level of at least one distributed element of the IT system in terms of one or more business metrics based on the electronic contract and to execute at least one control command based at least in part on at least on the at least one distributed element;
and
one or more memories, operatively coupled to the one or more processors, for storing at least one of the electronic contract and results of the measurement operation.

3 more elements

A computer-based method for use in managing a service level associated with resources in a distributed information technology (IT) system based on financial terms, the method comprising the steps of:

automatically constructing and maintaining, via a processor of a computer, an electronic contract that contains information pertaining to descriptions of one or more business transactions in IT terms, financial implications of one or more business transaction service levels, and reporting to be performed in one or more financial terms;
automatically measuring, via the processor of the computer, the operation of at least one distributed element of the IT system in terms of one or more business metrics based on the electronic contract and based at least in part on input received from at least one agent nodule located in the at least one distributed element;
automatically determining, via the processor of the computer, at least one financial optimization based at least part on the measured one or more business metrics of the at least one distributed element of the IT system and based at least in part on the electronic contract, the financial optimization being specified in the electronic contract at the time of construction such that, at the time the financial optimization is to be determined, the electronic contract is accessed to identify a particular financial metric of the financial optimization that is to be computed and to identify an operation for computing the particular financial metric, the one or more business metrics are converted to one or more financial equivalents wherein the one or more financial equivalents comprise a cost of a lost connection, a cost of down time, and a relationship between revenue and network latency;
and
automatically issuing, via the processor of the computer, at least one control command based on the at least one financial optimization, the command to be executed on the at least one distributed element by the at least one agent module located in the at least one distributed element.

2 more elements

An article of manufacture for use in managing a service level associated with resources in a distributed information technology (IT) system based on financial terms, comprising a machine readable storage medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:

automatically constructing and maintaining an electronic contract that contains information pertaining to descriptions of one or more business transactions in IT terms, financial implications of one or more business transaction service levels, and reporting to be performed in one or more financial terms;
automatically measuring the operation of at least one distributed element of the IT system in terms of one or more business metrics based on the electronic contract and based at least in part on input received from at least one agent nodule located in the at least one distributed element;
automatically determining at least one financial optimization based at least part on the measured one or more business metrics of the at least one distributed element of the IT system and based at least in part on the electronic contract, the financial optimization being specified in the electronic contract at the time of construction such that, at the time the financial optimization is to be determined, the electronic contract is accessed to identify a particular financial metric of the financial optimization that is to be computed and to identify an operation for computing the particular financial metric, the one or more business metrics are converted to one or more financial equivalents wherein the one or more financial equivalents comprise a cost of a lost connection, a cost of down time, and a relationship between revenue and network latency;
and
automatically issuing at least one control command based on the at least one financial optimization, the command to be executed on the at least one distributed element by the at least one agent module located in the at least one distributed element.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/896,254Filed 29 Jun 2001
Published: US 2003/0004848 A12 Jan 2003
Granted: 27 Oct 2009
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G06Q 10/10
Administration; Management: office automation; Time management
G06Q 10/087
Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management: inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling,…
G06Q 40/00
Finance
G06Q 40/04
Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes: trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency…

Family

US 2003/0004848 A1Pre-grant publication · published 2 Jan 2003
US 7,610,228 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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