Cost allocation for derived data usage
AssigneeTangoe, Inc.
InventorsJaan Leemet, Paul Schmidt, Albert R. Subbloie, Jr., Christopher J. DeBenedictis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method that allows for information relating to data and communication resource usage to be gathered and analyzed such that particular data transactions and usage can be classified based on purpose and/or type. Further, the system and method provide reporting based on amount of usage and/or purpose or type of usage so that associated costs and usage can be calculated applied and allocated to particular accounts, divisions, groups or individuals within and outside of a company or entity. Further, the system may restrict data usage of devices to data usage that can be allocated to particular accounts based on purpose, source, destination or other.
Claims29
A system for allocating communication costs comprising:
- a computer;
- a storage containing data relating to a first and a second data transaction each having a value indicative of a device's data usage of a communication resource associated with an application wherein the first data transaction indicates a personal data usage and the second data transaction indicates a business data usage;
- software executing on said computer comparing a cost record indicative of a cost associated with the communication resource to the first and second data transactions to determine a first portion and a second portion of the cost attributed to the device based on the value associated respectively with the first and second data transactions;
- and
- said software allocating the first and second portions of the cost to different accounts thereby causing usage via the application to be allocated to different accounts.
A computer implemented method for allocating communication costs, the computer performing the steps of:
- accessing data corresponding to a plurality of data transactions associated with at least one device, each data transaction having a value indicative of the device's data usage of a communication resource associated with an application;
- accessing a cost record indicative of a cost associated with the communication resource;
- comparing the value of a first one and a second one of the plurality of data transactions to the cost record to determine a first and a second allocated cost respectively for the first one and the second one of the plurality of data transactions wherein the first data transaction indicates a personal data usage and the second data transaction indicates a business data usage;
- allocating the first and second allocated costs to different accounts thereby causing usage via the application to be allocated to the different accounts.
A system for allocating communication costs comprising:
- a computer;
- a storage accessible by said computer and containing a record of a first and a second data transaction each having a value indicative of a data usage of a communication resource by a device, where the data usage is associated with an application;
- software executing on said computer for generating a cost report by comparing cost data indicative of a cost associated with the communication resource to the first and second data transactions to allocate a first cost to a first account and a second cost to a second account, the first and second costs respectively associated with the first and second data transactions thereby causing usage via the application to be allocated to different accounts;
- wherein the first data transaction indicates a personal data usage and the second data transaction indicates a business data usage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.