Cost Allocation Method for Computer Center Infrastructure Resources
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cost allocation methods for infrastructure resources, such as computer centers, fail to accurately distribute costs based on actual usage, leading to inefficient resource utilization and misallocation of costs across products and services due to differing units of measurement.
Innovation Solution
A method that calculates the total pro rata temporis costs of individual system resources, divides these costs by a key to determine performance shares, and then allocates these shares to services based on actual usage, ensuring costs are distributed according to causation and in a quantifiable manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If costs are allocated based on cost or turnover values, then the allocation process is simplified, but the accuracy of cost allocation reflecting actual resource usage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cost allocation process into multiple stages: first allocating costs to cost centers, then allocating cost center costs to individual services based on actual resource consumption. This segmentation allows simplified initial allocation while achieving precise final allocation through usage-based distribution in the second stage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cost centers as intermediary entities between infrastructure resources and individual services. Cost centers serve as mediators that aggregate resource consumption data and facilitate systematic cost distribution, enabling both operational simplicity and allocation accuracy through this intermediate layer.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different reference quantities are used for cost allocation, then flexibility in allocation methods is improved, but comparability and consistency of cost data deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the allocation parameter from cost/turnover values to actual resource consumption measurements (CPU time, storage space, network bandwidth). This parameter change maintains flexibility in choosing different allocation bases while ensuring consistency through standardized measurement of actual usage, enabling both adaptability and data stability.
3Productivity
If infrastructure resources are shared among multiple services, then resource utilization efficiency is improved, but the complexity of cost allocation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service cost allocation where the system automatically collects consumption data from services and autonomously performs cost distribution based on predefined rules. This eliminates manual allocation complexity while maintaining high resource sharing efficiency, as the system self-manages the allocation process without human intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes feedback mechanisms where actual resource consumption is continuously monitored and fed back into the cost allocation process. This feedback loop enables dynamic adjustment of cost distribution based on real usage patterns, simplifying the allocation complexity through automated response to actual service consumption behavior.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for allocating system costs of an infrastructure of a computer center includes the steps of: determining total pro rata temporis costs of individual system resources of the infrastructure for a billing period; dividing the total pro rata temporis costs of individual system resources into individual performances by a key; dividing the individual performances into individual performance shares for one service each, such that the division corresponds to a percentage share of the individual performance actually used by one service each; adding up for one service each for one system resource each the individual performance shares, thereby providing performance share sums; and adding up the performance share sums, which have been formed each for the same service but different system resources.