Application Directory for Automated Inventory Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current business continuity planning (BCP) methods face challenges in maintaining an accurate and up-to-date inventory of computing resources, as manual tracking is prone to inaccuracies and becomes outdated due to frequent changes in hardware and applications, making it difficult for organizations to quickly recover from disruptions.
Innovation Solution
An application directory system that facilitates automated and standardized data collection and management of applications, using browser-rendered interfaces to organize data hierarchically and provide a centralized inventory, allowing authorized users to query and manage applications effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual tracking methods are used to maintain inventory of computing resources, then initial setup is simple, but accuracy and up-to-dateness of inventory data deteriorates over time
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables computing resources to self-register and self-report their status automatically. Applications and hardware components autonomously provide information about themselves through standardized interfaces, eliminating the need for manual tracking while maintaining high data accuracy and up-to-dateness without increasing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tracking processes with an automated software-based discovery and registration system. The manual inventory tracking mechanism is substituted with an automated system that uses software interfaces, data protocols, and processing modules to collect, validate, and maintain accurate inventory records dynamically.
2Productivity
If manual data collection processes are used for inventory entry, then system complexity is low, but productivity and timeliness of inventory updates deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous automatic discovery and registration of computing resources rather than periodic manual updates. The continuous operation of discovery processes ensures inventory data is constantly updated and current, significantly improving productivity and timeliness while the automated nature eliminates the complexity of manual coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual data collection processes are replaced with automated software-based discovery mechanisms that continuously monitor and register computing resources. This substitution dramatically improves update speed and productivity while the standardized automated protocols reduce overall system complexity compared to manual processes.
3Reliability
If comprehensive tracking of all computing resources is implemented, then accuracy of business continuity planning improves, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Computing resources automatically register and report their own status through standardized interfaces, making comprehensive tracking reliable without requiring manual intervention. Applications and hardware self-manage their inventory records, maintaining high reliability for business continuity planning while preserving ease of operation through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses universal standardized interfaces and protocols that enable diverse computing resources to automatically report their status. This multi-functionality allows comprehensive tracking of all resources through a single unified mechanism, improving reliability while maintaining ease of operation through standardization rather than complex resource-specific tracking.
Data Source
AI summary
Building and maintaining an accurate and up-to-date inventory of applications deployed throughout an organization are described. In one aspect, an application directory facilitates automated and standardized entry of information on an application. The application directory provides a series of browser-rendered interfaces that collects data about the application. These different types of data are organized according to a logical data model that defines multiple hierarchical levels of data types and relationships amongst the hierarchical levels. The collection of registered applications forms an inventory that may be used to manage these assets. In another aspect, the application directory allows authorized users to manage the inventory of applications.