COMPARING UTILITY AND WARRANTY OF SERVICES

• US 20160371621A1
• Filed: 09/06/2016
• Published: 12/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Angell, Robert L., Durniak, Timothy, Friedlander, Robert R., Kraemer, James R.
• Granted Patent: US 10,380,525 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/00 Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing

Abstract

An invention for comparing utility and warranty of services in an information (IT) stack is provided. Embodiments of this invention are directed to comparing utility and warranty of services in an information technology (IT) stack comprising a plurality of layers, at least one of the plurality of layers having a set of services. In these embodiments, a utility and warranty tool provides this capability. Specifically, the utility and warranty tool comprises a determination component configured to determine, at each layer of the IT stack, a required utility and warranty (RUW) value for each of the set of services, wherein the RUW value represents a desired solution for implementing a business process; and determine, at each layer of the IT stack, an available utility and warranty (AUW) value for each of the set of services, wherein the AUW value is a measure of an ability of each of the set of services to satisfy the RUW at each layer of the IT stack. The utility and warranty tool further comprises a comparison component configured to compare the RUW value against the AUW value at each layer of the IT stack to determine whether each of the set of services satisfies the desired solution for implementing the business process.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for comparing utility and warranty of services in an information technology (IT) stack, the computer implemented method comprising:

calculating, at each layer of the IT stack, a required utility and warranty (RUW) value for each of a set of services, by starting with an end user layer at a top hierarchical layer of the IT stack and continuing towards a data center layer of the IT stack, wherein the RUW value is determined from component availability, wherein the RUW value represents a desired solution for implementing a business process;

calculating, at each layer of the IT stack, an available utility and warranty (AUW) value for each of the set of services by starting with the data center layer of the IT stack and continuing towards the end user layer of the IT stack, wherein the AUW value is determined from component availability, wherein the AUW value is a measure of an ability of each of the set of services to satisfy the RUW value at each layer of the IT stack; and

comparing the RUW value against the AUW value at each layer of the IT stack to determine whether each of the set of services satisfies the desired solution for implementing the business process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculation of the RUW value is based on a mathematical model.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculation of the AUW value is based on a mathematic model.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the mathematical model is one of dynamical systems, statistical systems, or differential equations.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the mathematical model is one of dynamical systems, statistical systems, or differential equations.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculation of the RUW value and the calculation of the AUW value are each based on actual observed values.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculation of the RUW value and the calculation of the AUW value are each based on at least one of floor space, network bandwidth, software change control processes, or datacenter maintenance policies.

13. The utility and warranty tool according to claim 6, wherein the calculation of the RUW value and the calculation of the AUW value are each based on actual observed values.

14. The utility and warranty tool according to claim 6, wherein the calculation of the RUW value and the calculation of the AUW are each based on at least one of floor space, network bandwidth, software change control processes, or datacenter maintenance policies.

8. A system for comparing utility and warranty of services in an information technology (IT) stack comprising a plurality of layers, at least one of the plurality of layers having a set of services, the system comprising:

at least one processing unit;

memory operably associated with the at least one processing unit; and

a utility and warranty tool storable in memory and executable by the at least one processing unit, the utility and warranty tool comprising;

a determination component configured to;

calculate, at each layer of the IT stack, a required utility and warranty (RUW) value for each of a set of services, by starting with an end user layer at a top hierarchical layer of the IT stack and continuing towards a data center layer of the IT stack, wherein the RUW value is determined from component availability, wherein the RUW value represents a desired solution for implementing a business process;

calculate, at each layer of the IT stack, an available utility and warranty (AUW) value for each of the set of services by starting with the data center layer of the IT stack and continuing towards the end user layer of the IT stack, wherein the AUW value is determined from component availability, wherein the AUW value is a measure of an ability of each of the set of services to satisfy the RUW value at each layer of the IT stack;

a comparison component configured to compare the RUW value against the AUW value at each layer of the IT stack to determine whether each of the set of services satisfies the desired solution for implementing the business process.

9. The utility and warranty tool according to claim 8, wherein the calculation of the RUW value is based on a mathematical model.

10. The utility and warranty tool according to claim 8, wherein the calculation of the AUW value is based on a mathematical model.

11. The utility and warranty tool according to claim 9, wherein the mathematical model is one of dynamical systems, statistical systems, or differential equations.

12. The utility and warranty tool according to claim 10, wherein the mathematical model is one of dynamical systems, statistical systems, or differential equations.

15. A computer-readable medium storing computer instructions, which when executed, enables a computer system to compare utility and warranty of services in an information technology (IT) stack comprising a plurality of layers, at least one of the layers having a set of services, the computer instructions comprising:

calculate, at each layer of the IT stack, a required utility and warranty (RUW) value for each of a set of services, by starting with an end user layer at a top hierarchical layer of the IT stack and continuing towards a data center layer of the IT stack, wherein the RUW value is determined from component availability, wherein the RUW value represents a desired solution for implementing a business process;

calculate, at each layer of the IT stack, an available utility and warranty (AUW) value for each of the set of services by starting with the data center layer of the IT stack and continuing towards the end user layer of the IT stack, wherein the AUW value is determined from component availability, wherein the AUW value is a measure of an ability of each of the set of services to satisfy the RUW value at each layer of the IT stack; and

compare the RUW value against the AUW value at each layer of the IT stack to determine whether each of the set of services satisfies the desired solution for implementing the business process.

16. The computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the calculation of the RUW value is based on a mathematical model.

17. The computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the calculation of the AUW value is based on a mathematical model.

18. The computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the mathematical model is one of dynamical systems, statistical systems, or differential equations.

19. The computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the calculation of the RUW value and the calculation of the AUW value are each based on actual observed values.

20. The computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the calculation of the RUW value and the calculation of the AUW value are each based on at least one of floor space, network bandwidth, software change control processes, or datacenter maintenance policies.