Intercepting Cloud Resource Requests for IT Governance

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Solution Overview

Problem

In enterprise IT environments, combining cloud technology with IT management processes leads to conflicts and inefficiencies, as out-of-the-box cloud web UIs often bypass necessary IT management processes, requiring additional façade UIs and maintenance efforts to ensure governance compliance.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method intercepts cloud computing resource requests, determines if an IT management process is required based on policy rules, and if so, creates a temporary representation identifier to simulate the resource until the IT management process is completed, allowing standard cloud web UIs to be used while ensuring governance compliance without continuous façade UI maintenance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If standard cloud web UIs are used to request cloud resources, then ease of operation is improved, but IT management process compliance deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of operationVSAvoidgovernance compliance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary component (the system that intercepts requests and manages temporary representation identifiers) between the user interface and the cloud computing environment. This intermediary ensures that all resource requests go through IT management process validation while maintaining the simplicity of the standard cloud web UI, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and governance compliance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a temporary representation identifier that copies or simulates the cloud resource before the actual resource is provisioned. This temporary representation allows the system to validate IT management process compliance without affecting the actual resource creation, enabling users to interact with standard cloud UIs while maintaining governance control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If IT management process is integrated into cloud resource creation, then governance compliance is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegovernance complianceVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the IT management process validation logic from the cloud resource creation flow and places it in a separate intermediary layer. This extraction allows the governance compliance checks to be isolated and managed independently, reducing the complexity of the overall system while maintaining compliance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary actions by creating a temporary representation identifier before the actual cloud resource is provisioned. This preliminary step allows IT management process validation to be completed in advance, and only after validation succeeds does the system proceed to create the actual resource, thereby managing complexity through staged operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If façade UI is created to ensure governance compliance, then governance compliance is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegovernance complianceVSAvoidease of operation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent makes the intermediary system universal by allowing it to work with standard cloud web UIs without requiring separate façade UIs. The same intermediary component that manages temporary representation identifiers also handles governance compliance validation, making the system multi-functional and eliminating the need for additional specialized interfaces, thus maintaining ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Reliability

If temporary representation identifier is created, then governance compliance is ensured, but loss of time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegovernance complianceVSAvoidloss of time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs the creation of the temporary representation identifier as a preliminary action before actual resource provisioning. By validating governance compliance in advance through this temporary representation, the system avoids time-consuming validation steps during the actual resource creation process, thereby minimizing overall time loss while ensuring compliance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10277526B2Injection of information technology management process into resource request flows

Publication Date: 2019.04.30 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION

AI summary

A computer-implemented method for performing a cloud computing resource operation in a cloud computing environment is herein provided. The method comprises receiving a request to create a resource from the cloud computing environment using a user interface and intercepting the request of the creation of the resource. The method further comprises determining whether an IT management process needs to be triggered based on a policy rule. In case of a positive outcome of the determination, the method comprises requesting a reserved resource identifier from the cloud computing environment relating to the request, creating a temporary representation identifier of the cloud computing resource, triggering the IT management process, receiving a process identifier from the cloud computing environment for the requested resource, creating the requested resource in the cloud computing environment, and on completion of the creation process, removing the temporary representation identifier.