Systemic enterprise management method and apparatus

• US 7,881,920 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2007
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: X-Act Science Inc.
• Original Assignee: Annie Drucbert, Nabil A. Abu El Ata
• Inventors: Abu El Ata, Nabil A., Drucbert, Annie
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Kamini S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Saxena; Akash
• Application Number:
  US11/707,742
• Publication Number:
  US 20070203740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 703/2, 703/22, 705/11, 705/348
• US Class Current: 703/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

An automated system and method provides a diagnosis and remedy to a business information system. From an initial model of a proposed system architecture, performance metrics are modeled and compared against a set of user-defined corporate and business requirements. The performance metrics include cost, quality of service and throughput. From these metrics and requirements, a business ephemeris or precalculated table is produced, to cross reference enterprise situation and remedy. From the ephemeris, cases can be generated to comprise characteristics, diagnosis and proposed solutions relating to states of the model or business information system. A matching engine matches a case to a state of the model or information system. The matching case can be employed to report a diagnosis and proposed remedial actions, as well as to implement remedial actions automatically. Off line a mathematical modeling member provides feedback to further update the business ephemeris and case base.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for providing information system management, comprising:

obtaining a business ephemeris associated with a multi-layer mathematical model of an information system architecture of an enterprise, the business ephemeris having a predetermined lookup table cross referencing state of the information system architecture to remedy, the state being a plurality of data points associated with the mathematical model at a given time, the data points including quality of service, cost and throughput, the mathematical model including a business layer, an application layer and a technology layer;

generating, from the business ephemeris, a set of cases relating to states of the mathematical model, the set of cases comprising characteristics, diagnosis and proposed solution for each state;

matching a case of the set of cases to characteristics of the enterprise; and

reporting a diagnosis and solution corresponding to the case.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a proposed solution corresponding with the diagnosis to the information system architecture.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the proposed solution is applied without user intervention.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reporting includes providing at least one report that is specific to a subset of the enterprise.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the subset is one of corporate management, business management, application and data management, and network management.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one report includes performance metrics, the performance metrics being at least one of scalability, productivity, service quality and cost effectiveness.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the set of cases, the updating comprising:

applying characteristics of the enterprise to the mathematical model to produce an associated new state of the mathematical model;

from said new state, updating the business ephemeris to include situations and remedies related to the performance metrics;

from the updated business ephemeris, generating a new case relating to the new state, the new case including characteristics, diagnosis and proposed solution for the new state; and

including the new case in the set of cases.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said updating the set of cases is performed in response to an indication that characteristics of the enterprise do not match a case of the set of cases.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising collecting data from a plurality of monitors monitoring characteristics of the enterprise information system.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of monitors monitor at least one of a network, data center, software application, business information system structure and corporate information system structure.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising transforming collected data for at least one of matching to a case of the set of cases and updating the mathematical model.

12. A computer system for providing information system management, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

a computer processor configured, responsive to the computer-readable medium, to provide;

a business ephemeris associated with a multi-layer mathematical model of an information system architecture of an enterprise, the business ephemeris having a predetermined lookup table cross referencing state of the enterprise information system architecture to remedy, the state being a plurality of data points associated with the mathematical model at a given time, the data points including quality of service, cost and throughput, the mathematical model including a business layer, an application layer and a technology layer;

a set of cases relating to states of the mathematical model, the set of cases comprising characteristics, diagnosis and proposed solution for each state;

a matching engine to match a case of the set of cases to characteristics of the enterprise; and

an interpreter to report a diagnosis and proposed solution corresponding to the case.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a user interface that conveys information relating to the diagnosis and solution and enables a user to apply a proposed solution corresponding with the diagnosis to the information system architecture.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising an action agent that applies the proposed solution without user intervention.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the information includes at least one report that is specific to a subset of the enterprise.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the subset is at least one of corporate management, business management, application and data management, and network management.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one report includes performance metrics, the performance metrics being at least one of scalability, productivity, service quality and cost effectiveness.

18. The system of claim 12, further comprising an updating module to update the set of cases, the update comprising:

applying characteristics of the enterprise to the mathematical model to produce an associated new state of the mathematical model;

from said new state, updating the business ephemeris to include situations and remedies related to the performance metrics;

from the updated business ephemeris, generating a new case relating to the new state, the new case including characteristics, diagnosis and proposed solution for the new state; and

including the new case in the set of cases.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said update to the set of cases is performed in response to an indication that characteristics of the enterprise do not match a case of the set of cases.

20. The system of claim 12, further comprising collectors to collect data from a plurality of monitors monitoring characteristics of the enterprise information system.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of monitors monitor at least one of a network, data center, software application, business information system structure and corporate information system structure.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the matching engine transforms collected data for matching to a case of the set of cases.