Compliance Service for Multi-Cloud Backup Systems

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing data storage and protection systems face challenges in managing diverse and changing regulatory requirements across industries and jurisdictions, particularly in cloud-based environments, leading to compliance issues due to complex regulations and the difficulty in determining appropriate data storage locations.

Innovation Solution

A cloud-based compliance service that provides regulatory requirement compliance as a service, utilizing databases to store and manage compliance rules and metadata, allowing users to define policies and notify of compliance violations, and integrating with data protection systems through APIs to ensure data is stored according to business needs and regulatory guidelines.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If data is stored in multiple cloud environments to meet business needs, then data availability and accessibility are improved, but compliance with regulatory requirements becomes more difficult to ensure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata availabilityVSAvoidcompliance management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a compliance service as an intermediary layer between the multi-cloud storage system and regulatory requirements. This service monitors data placement across clouds, evaluates compliance status, and provides guidance without requiring changes to the underlying storage architecture, thus maintaining data availability while simplifying compliance management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous feedback mechanisms where the compliance service regularly assesses data placement against current regulatory requirements and provides real-time or periodic feedback to users. This allows organizations to maintain compliance in multi-cloud environments by receiving ongoing guidance rather than performing manual compliance checks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If users manually define retention policies for different data types, then data storage compliance can be addressed, but the complexity and time required to manage varying regulatory requirements increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompliance assuranceVSAvoidpolicy management time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The compliance service enables self-service by automatically monitoring data placement, evaluating compliance status, and providing actionable recommendations. Users do not need to manually track regulatory requirements or define complex retention policies; the system performs these functions autonomously while users can query compliance status and receive guidance when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary compliance evaluation by assessing data placement against regulatory requirements before compliance issues arise. The compliance service continuously monitors and identifies potential compliance violations in advance, allowing users to take corrective action before violations occur, thus ensuring reliability without requiring constant manual intervention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If cloud providers move data centers or create new ones, then service flexibility and responsiveness to business needs are improved, but tracking and ensuring regulatory compliance becomes even more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice flexibilityVSAvoidcompliance tracking difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The compliance service implements continuous feedback loops that automatically detect data center movements and new data center creations. By monitoring cloud provider infrastructure changes and evaluating their impact on data placement, the system provides ongoing compliance status updates without requiring users to manually track infrastructure changes, thus maintaining service flexibility while improving compliance tracking.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Reliability

If encrypted data is stored in the cloud for security reasons, then data protection is improved, but the ability to search and verify compliance with regulatory requirements is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata securityVSAvoidcompliance verification difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The compliance service acts as an intermediary that can verify compliance without requiring decryption of stored data. It monitors metadata, data placement locations, and access patterns to assess compliance status, allowing encrypted data to remain secure in the cloud while enabling compliance verification through alternative means that do not compromise security.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11513910B2Compliance as a service for multi-cloud backup systems

Publication Date: 2022.11.29 EMC IP HLDG CO LLC

AI summary

Embodiments of a compliance service that will enable users be compliant with all regulatory, industry processes and business needs at all times. The service is available to storage and data protection systems through a set of APIs that will enable such compliance be achieved and maintained with no user intervention and without labor-intensive manual work. The service will also allow storing the configuration of the data protection policies and create alerts when compliance changes. A data backup platform may include a data protection system that integrates with such a service and provides full regulatory/industry compliance.