Cloud Document Suggestion via Metadata Intermediary
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current cloud services do not effectively provide all network services, especially metadata management and document suggestion functionalities across multiple users and devices, due to limitations in data storage and synchronization, particularly in accessing and sharing files across firewalls and varying network architectures.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for suggesting relevant documents to local users by determining selection criteria, retrieving file statistics from a remote server, creating a table of suggestions, and synchronizing metadata across a cloud data storage system, using globally-unique identifiers to manage user and file information, and embedding this information in filenames for efficient storage and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cloud services are used for file storage, then file accessibility is improved, but metadata management and document suggestion functionalities are not effectively provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a metadata service as an intermediary component between cloud storage and users. This service collects, stores, and manages metadata from multiple cloud storage services, enabling document suggestion functionalities without requiring changes to the underlying cloud storage infrastructure. The metadata service acts as a mediator that aggregates information from various sources and provides enhanced functionality to users.
2Reliability
If file statistics are stored on remote servers, then data synchronization across users is improved, but access across firewalls and network architectures becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The metadata service is designed to work with multiple cloud storage services and different network architectures simultaneously. It implements universal protocols and interfaces that allow it to collect metadata from various sources (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.) and communicate with users across different network environments, including behind firewalls. The service uses standard web protocols and can operate in both cloud-connected and offline modes.
3Productivity
If metadata is collected and stored in the cloud, then document suggestion capability is improved, but agreement on storage location and management does not exist
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the metadata management system into distinct functional components: metadata collection agents that operate on user devices, a central metadata service that stores and processes metadata, and suggestion algorithms that generate recommendations. This segmentation allows each component to be independently developed, deployed, and scaled. The metadata can be stored in distributed locations across the cloud infrastructure, with the service coordinating access without requiring a single centralized storage location.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for suggesting relevant documents to a local user. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed comprising determining, at a local device, a set of selection criteria for suggestion of relevant documents to the local user, the suggestion criteria including at least one of keywords and document metadata; retrieving a plurality of file statistics from a remote server, wherein at least one of the file statistics has been created by a remote user; creating a table of suggestions from the plurality of file statistics and from the set of suggestion criteria; and suggesting at least one file to the local user based on the table of suggestion criteria.