Auction-based service selection

In a computer system that includes an information management server configured to orchestrate provision of customized services to data objects residing in the computer system, the computer system comprising a service provider, each service provider associated with an adapter configured to interface between the information management service and the service provider, a method for locating a service provider capable of providing services identified by service level objectives for each of the data objects, the method comprising:

• receiving, at an adapter associated with a service provider, an information management request comprising an inquiry as to whether or not the service provider is able to provide a service level objective for a category containing data objects that share a service level objective, the service level objective defining services to be provided for at least some of the data objects and a level of the services, and wherein the service level objective is customized for each of the data objects at the individual data object level;
• determining which service level objectives the service provider associated with the adapter is capable of providing;
• and
• sending a response containing information regarding which service level objectives the service provider is capable of providing, wherein the information management server selects the service provider for certain data objects based on the response from the service provider by determining whether the service provider can satisfy the service level objectives better than other service provider, wherein the response includes a measure of confidence reflecting a degree of ability to provide the service level objectives, wherein the service provider performs the services for the certain data objects according to the service level objectives of the certain data objects when selected by the information management server.

In a computer system that includes an information management server configured to orchestrate provision of customized services to data objects residing in the computer system, a method for locating a service provider capable of providing service level objectives for data objects, the method comprising:

• evaluating each of a plurality of the data objects on an individual basis so as to identify, at the data object level, a service level objective for each of the plurality of data objects, each of the service level objectives defining a service for the associated data object and a level of the service, wherein the service level objective is customized for each of the data objects at the individual data object level;
• sending an information management service request to a plurality of service providers, the information management request containing a target service package that includes multiple service level objectives associated with a single one of the data objects and potential storage locations for the data objects;
• receiving a response from each of the plurality of service providers, wherein each response identifies which of the plurality of services the corresponding service provider is capable of providing and the response also includes a storage location identifier for identifying which of the potential storage locations the service provider is capable of providing the service level objective to;
• and
• selecting specific service providers from the plurality of service providers to provide the services defined in the service level objectives, wherein the responses enable the information management server to determine which of the plurality of service provide can best satisfy the information management request based on a measure of confidence included in each of the received responses that reflects a degree of ability to provide the service level objectives, wherein the services are customized for each of the data objects and wherein the selected service providers provide services for each of the data objects according to the service level objectives of the data objects.