Computer-readable medium and data structure for communicating technical architecture standards to vendors

• US 20070156728A1
• Filed: 12/12/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bradley, Michael, Rehkopf, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,617,244 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A computer-readable medium and a data structure for communicating information regarding the current and future components of a technical architecture standard to vendors are provided. The computer-readable medium includes a data structure having a data field containing data identifying a particular component of an information technology architecture for an organization, a data field containing data identifying a current standard for the component, and a data field containing data identifying a future standard for the component. The data structure includes one or more architectural component tags indicative of one component of an information technology architecture for an organization, one or more current standard tags corresponding to each architecture component tag indicative of a current standard for the component of the information technology architecture identified by the architecture component tag, and one or more future direction tags corresponding to each architecture component tag indicative of a future standard for the component of the information technology architecture identified by the architecture component tag.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure for enabling a computer to communicate information technology architecture for an organization, the data structure comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, will cause the computer to:

identify via data contained in a first data field of the data structure, a component of an information technology architecture for an organization;

identify via data contained in a second data field of the data structure, a current standard for the component of the information technology architecture identified via the data contained in the first data field;

identify via data contained in a third data field of the data structure, a future standard to be utilized for the component of the information technology architecture after the current standard is retired; and

the data structure is sent from an architecture lifecycle management server to a server operated by one or more vendor organizations and used by the vendor organizations to identify technologies compatible with the information technology architecture.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the data structure further comprises computer-readable information enabling the computer to identify via data contained in a fourth data field of the data structure, a technology trend for the component of technology architecture identified via the data contained in the first data field.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the data structure is expressed using an extensible markup language.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first data field comprises one or more of an application technical environment, application development components, network-based services, content management services, data management and movement, security, network and systems management, enterprise storage, server platform, network, and telephony.

5. An extensible markup language data structure for use in enabling a computer to communicate vendor directives to one or more vendor organizations, the extensible markup language data structure comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, will cause the computer to:

identify via one or more architectural component tags indicative of one component of an information technology architecture for an organization, the one component;

identify via one or more current standard tags corresponding to each architecture component tag and indicative of a current standard for the one component of the information technology architecture, the current standard; and

the data structure is sent from an architecture lifecycle management server to a server operated by the one or more vendor organizations and used by the vendor organizations to identify technologies compatible with the information technology architecture.

6. The extensible markup language data structure of claim 5, wherein the extensible markup language data structure further comprises computer-readable information enabling the computer to identify via one or more future direction tags corresponding to each architecture component tag and indicative of a future standard for the component of the information technology architecture, the future standard to be utilized after the current standard is retired.

7. The extensible markup language data structure of claim 5, wherein the extensible markup language data structure further comprises computer-readable information enabling the computer to identify via one or more trend tags corresponding to each architecture component tag, and indicative of technology trends for the one component of the information technology architecture.

8. The extensible markup language data structure of claim 5, wherein the architectural component tags comprise at least one from set of the following:

an application technical environment, application development components, network-based services, content management services, data management and movement, security, network and systems management enterprise storage, server platform, network and telephony.

9. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon the extensible markup language data structure of claim 5.

10. A system for enabling a computer to communicate information technology architecture for an organization, the system comprising:

a memory storage for information related to an information technology architecture, wherein the memory storage is searchable;

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

identify via data contained in a first data field of the data structure, a component of an information technology architecture for an organization;

identify via data contained in a second data field of the data structure, a current standard for the component of the information technology architecture identified via the data contained in the first data field; and

identify via data contained in a third data field of the data structure, a future standard to be utilized for the component of the information technology architecture after the current standard is retired,

wherein the information related to the information technology architecture is used by the vendor organizations to identify technologies compatible with the information technology architecture.

11. The system of claim 10 further comprising a database application adding, modifying and extracting the information related to the information technology architecture.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprising a management application for communicating with one or more vendor organizations.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the communication is via electronic mail.

14. The system of claim 10 further comprising an event calendar application for tracking scheduled meetings.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the information related to the information technology architecture is accessed using the Internet.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit is operative to identify via data contained in a fourth data field of the data structure, a technology trend for the component of technology architecture identified via the data contained in the first data field.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the information related to the information technology architecture is stored in a data structure.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the data structure is expressed using an extensible markup language.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the first data field comprises one or more of an application technical environment, application development components, network-based services, content management services, data management and movement, security, network and systems management, enterprise storage, server platform, network, and telephony.

20. The system of claim 10, wherein a vendor is provided with a subset of the information related to the information technology architecture when a vendor organization is a non-preferred vendor.