Service delivery framework

• US 8,965,957 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2010
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Barros, Alistair
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazaro, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUQ, FARZANA B
• Application Number:
  US12/969,141
• Publication Number:
  US 20120158821A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709217-218, 709/220, 709226-228, 709/248
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/254 Extract, transform and load [ETL] procedures, e.g. ETL data flows in data warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine

Abstract

Implementations include receiving service information regarding one or more services provided by one or more service providers, the services being executed by one or more service computing devices, storing the service information on a computer-readable storage device that is in communication with the one or more broker computing devices, receiving user input at the one or more broker computing devices, the user input being transmitted to the one or more broker computing devices from one or more consumer computing devices over a service channel that corresponds to a service being accessed by a service consumer, transmitting the user input to the one or more service computing devices, receiving service output from the one or more service computing devices, the service output generated based on processing of the user input using the service, and transmitting the service output to the one or more consumer computing devices over the service channel.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for provisioning and delivering services in a business network, comprising:

receiving, at one or more broker computing devices, service information regarding one or more services provided by one or more service providers in the business network, the services being executed by one or more service computing devices;

storing the service information on a computer-readable storage device that is in communication with the one or more broker computing devices;

receiving, at the one or more broker computing devices, a request of a service consumer for accessing and using a service of the one or more services, the request being transmitted to the one or more broker computing devices from one or more consumer computing devices;

determining, at the one or more broker computing devices, that the service consumer is identified to a required level to meet authentication requirements for the service being accessed;

receiving user input at the one or more broker computing devices, the user input being input by the service consumer accessing and using the service, the user input being transmitted to the one or more broker computing devices from the one or more consumer computing devices over a service channel that corresponds to the service being accessed by the service consumer;

transmitting the user input from the one or more broker computing devices to the one or more service computing devices;

receiving service output at the one or more broker computing devices from the one or more service computing devices, the service output generated based on processing of the user input using the service; and

transmitting the service output from the one or more broker computing devices to the one or more consumer computing devices over the service channel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating service delivery logic at the one or more broker computing devices, the delivery logic being based on the service information and the service channel.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing data corresponding to business-to-business (B2B) gateway services in the computer-readable storage device;

receiving a search query from a service provider of the one or more service providers;

generating a list of candidate B2B gateway services based on the search query and the data; and

transmitting the list of candidate B2B gateway services to the service provider.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a selection from the service provider, the selection identifying a B2B gateway service from the list of candidate B2B gateway services; and

providing an interface adaptation between one or more service computing devices of the service provider and the B2B gateway service.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving data regarding an aggregate service from one or more aggregator computing devices associated with a service aggregator, the aggregated service comprising one or more services provided by the one or more service providers;

storing the data in the computer-readable storage device;

receiving a search query regarding services brokered through the one or more broker computing devices;

identifying the aggregate service based on the data and the search query; and

transmitting information regarding the aggregate service to a source of the search query.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the one or more services of the aggregated service executes in a respective operating environment that is accessed through the one or more broker computing devices based on a corresponding delivery model.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving data regarding one or more service channels, the data being provided from one or more channel maker computing devices;

storing the data in the computer-readable storage device, the data comprising service channel specifications and constraints; and

associating at least one of the one or more service channels with the service.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving data from the one or more consumer computing devices, the data indicating a specialist service channel;

generating a list of candidate service channels based on the data;

transmitting the list of candidate service channels to the one or more consumer computing devices; and

receiving a selection from the one or more consumer computing devices, the selection indicating the service channel.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a search query from the one or more consumer computing devices;

comparing the search query to one or more service descriptions stored at the computer-readable storage device, each of the one or more service descriptions corresponding to a particular service; and

identifying the service based on the comparing.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the search query is specific to a type of the one or more consumer computing devices.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the service descriptions are stored in a service catalogue, the service descriptions comprising attributes describing functional, non-functional and structural aspects of services.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing one or more user profiles in the computer-readable storage medium, a user profile of the one or more user profiles corresponding to the service consumer.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

executing a certification check based on the service; and

registering the service at the one or more broker computing devices when a certification of the service is approved.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing one or more service broker modules at the one or more broker computing devices, the one or more service broker modules communicating with one or more service provider modules executed at the one or more provider computing devices and one or more service consumer modules executed at the one or more consumer computing devices using respective application program interfaces (APIs).

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more service computing devices are provided at a service hoster that is a partner of the service provider, the service hoster providing a backend computing environment that is interfaced with through the one or more broker computing devices.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

monitoring performance of the service hoster using a service hoster interface executed on the one or more broker computing devices to generate monitoring information; and

transmitting the monitoring information to the service provider.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

identifying hosting requirements from the service information, the hosting requirements comprising at least one of platform service requirements and operating service requirements;

comparing the hosting requirements to a plurality of hosting capabilities associated with a plurality of service hosters, information regarding the hosting capabilities being stored on the computer-readable storage device, to generate a list of one or more candidate service hosters;

providing the list of one or more candidate service hosters to a service provider of the service; and

receiving feedback from the service provider, the feedback identifying the service hoster.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the service consumer is one of a human user, and an application executed by the one or more consumer computing devices.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for provisioning and delivering services in a business network, the operations comprising:

receiving, at one or more broker computing devices, service information regarding one or more services provided by one or more service providers in the business network, the services being executed by one or more service computing devices;

storing the service information on a computer-readable storage device that is in communication with the one or more broker computing devices;

receiving, at the one or more broker computing devices, a request of a service consumer for accessing and using a service of the one or more services, the request being transmitted to the one or more broker computing devices from one or more consumer computing devices;

determining, at the one or more broker computing devices, that the service consumer is identified to a required level to meet authentication requirements for the service being accessed;

receiving user input at the one or more broker computing devices, the user input being input by the service consumer accessing and using the service, the user input being transmitted to the one or more broker computing devices from the one or more consumer computing devices over a service channel that corresponds to the service being accessed by the service consumer;

transmitting the user input from the one or more broker computing devices to the one or more service computing devices;

receiving service output at the one or more broker computing devices from the one or more service computing devices, the service output generated based on processing of the user input using the service; and

transmitting the service output from the one or more broker computing devices to the one or more consumer computing devices over the service channel.

20. A system, comprising:

one or more broker computing devices; and

a computer-readable storage device coupled to the one or more broker computing devices and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more broker computing devices, cause the one or more broker computing devices to perform operations for provisioning and delivering services in a business network, the operations comprising;

receiving service information regarding one or more services provided by one or more service providers in the business network, the services being executed by one or more service computing devices;

storing the service information on the computer-readable storage device that is in communication with the one or more broker computing devices;

receiving a request of a service consumer for accessing and using a service of the one or more services, the request being transmitted to the one or more broker computing devices from one or more consumer computing devices;

determining that the service consumer is identified to a required level to meet authentication requirements of the service being accessed;

receiving user input, the user input being input by the service consumer accessing and using the service, the user input being transmitted to the one or more broker computing devices from the one or more consumer computing devices over a service channel that corresponds to the service being accessed by the service consumer;

transmitting the user input from the one or more broker computing devices to the one or more service computing devices;

receiving service output at the one or more broker computing devices from the one or more service computing devices, the service output generated based on processing of the user input using the service; and

transmitting the service output from the one or more broker computing devices to the one or more consumer computing devices over the service channel.