Account Usage Grading for Cloud Subscription Cost Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Institutions incur unnecessary expenses due to paid subscriptions for cloud services used by members who do not utilize cloud services or use them infrequently, leading to inefficient pricing based on actual usage.
Innovation Solution
A method to assign ratings to accounts based on application usage, determining whether to provide a paid or free account in subsequent periods based on usage analysis data, considering factors like frequency of use and number of devices, and charging fees accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If paid subscriptions are assigned to all accounts in an institution, then cloud service availability is ensured for all members, but unnecessary expenses are incurred for members who do not use the services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the institution's accounts into different usage categories (active users, inactive users, occasional users) based on monitoring their cloud service usage patterns. This segmentation allows the system to apply different subscription strategies to different groups, assigning paid subscriptions only to active users who actually utilize the services, thereby eliminating unnecessary expenses while maintaining service availability for those who need it.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the subscription status parameter dynamically based on usage monitoring data. Accounts transition between paid and free subscription states according to their actual usage patterns observed over time. This parameter change approach ensures that paid subscriptions are maintained only when necessary, optimizing cost efficiency while preserving service reliability for active users.
2Loss of energy
If usage monitoring is implemented to identify non-users, then cost optimization is achieved, but system complexity increases due to monitoring infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service monitoring mechanism where the cloud service system automatically tracks and records usage patterns of accounts without requiring external monitoring infrastructure. The system itself collects usage data, analyzes patterns, and makes subscription status decisions autonomously. This self-service approach achieves cost optimization through usage-based identification while avoiding the added complexity of separate monitoring systems.
3Loss of energy
If free accounts are assigned to inactive users, then unnecessary expenses are reduced, but service availability may be compromised for users who later become active
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic reassessment of account usage patterns at predetermined intervals. Accounts that were previously classified as inactive and assigned free subscriptions are re-evaluated periodically to detect any change in usage behavior. This periodic action ensures that when users become active again, their subscription status is updated accordingly, maintaining service availability while optimizing costs during periods of non-usage.
Data Source
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AI summary
One objective of the embodiments according to the present disclosure is to enable reasonable fee charging based on the actual usage of each account for applications, including cloud infrastructure. To this end, a method for assigning ratings to accounts based on application usage according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a step of calculating application usage of the account in a first period by receiving usage analysis data for one or more predetermined monitoring target applications from each of one or more user devices associated with the account; and a step of determining, based on the application usage of the account in the first period, whether to assign a paid account or a free account to the account in a second period after the first period.