Provisioning web services

• US 7,506,021 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2003
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Stephenson, John W., Rothenstein, Gabi, Joannidis, Marika, Roberts, Stephen P., Polan, Michael G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin; Kenny S
• Assistant Examiner(s): WIDHALM, ANGELA M
• Application Number:
  US10/666,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20040068565A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,007 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/221, 709/223, 709/225, 709/229, 709/230, 719/328, 719/330
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

A web service provisioning system including a subscription system having a web service description data correlated to the at least one web service, and provisioning processes data correlated to the at least one web service. The provisioning system also includes an invocation system operatively coupled to the subscription system. A method of provisioning at least one web service, the method including the steps of providing user profile data; providing web service description data correlated to the at least one web service; providing provisioning processes data correlated to the at least one web service; selecting at least one web service; and invoking the provisioning processes data correlated to the selected at least one web service.

Claims

1. A web service provisioning system for provisioning a plurality of web services, the provisioning system comprising:

a subscription system including;

web service description data storage for storing web service description data correlated to each web service of the plurality of web services, wherein the web service description data defines the respective web service in Web Services Definition Language, and

provisioning processes data storage for storing respective provisioning processes data for each web service of the plurality of web services and for each of a plurality of provisioning web services that correlate to respective administrative systems supporting the plurality of web services, wherein the provisioning processes data comprises a plurality of nodes, and wherein each node of the plurality of nodes comprises web service invocation data for invoking the respective provisioning web service, and wherein the provisioning processes data is in Web Services Flow Language; and

an invocation system operatively coupled to the subscription system and configured for;

receiving a selection of a first web service,

invoking the respective provisioning processes data for the first web service, and

invoking the respective provisioning processes data for each provisioning web service that correlates to an administrative system supporting the first web service.

2. The web service provisioning system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a service catalog system configured to present the plurality of web services using the correlated web service description data and to allow selection of a desired web service.

3. The web service provisioning system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the service catalog system is further configured to determine user profile data.

4. The provisioning system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of provisioning web services for administering the plurality of web services correlate to administrative systems chosen from a group consisting of a billing system, a security system, and a user profile system.

5. A method of provisioning a plurality of web services, the method comprising:

providing web service description data correlated to each web service of the plurality of web services, wherein the web service description data is in Web Services Definition Language;

providing respective provisioning processes data for each web service of the plurality of web services and for each of a plurality of provisioning web services that correlate to respective administrative systems supporting the plurality of web services, wherein the provisioning processes data comprises a plurality of nodes, and wherein each node comprises web service invocation data correlated to invoking a respective provisioning web service, and wherein the provisioning processes data is in Web Services Flow Language;

receiving a selection of a first web service;

invoking the respective provisioning processes data for the first web service; and

invoking the respective provisioning processes data for each provisioning web service that correlates to a respective administrative system supporting the first web service.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of provisioning web services for administering the plurality of web services correlate to administrative systems chosen from a group consisting of a billing system, a security system, and a user profile system.