Dynamic Cloud Resource Catalog Bundling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cloud service platforms lack a dynamic and flexible mechanism for offering catalogs, leading to challenges when dealing with multiple regulations and customer-specific setups, particularly in scenarios involving complex combinations of virtual and physical infrastructure, hardware, licenses, and consulting hours across multiple vendors.
Innovation Solution
A processing platform that enables interaction between multiple actors, including cloud vendors and customers, featuring a resource offering repository, matchmaking module, and bundling module to generate and display dynamic resource bundles based on customer attributes, overcoming the limitations of static catalogs and single-vendor systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a static catalog of services and products is used, then the catalog structure is simple and easy to maintain, but it becomes cumbersome when customers are subject to multiple regulations and constraints, requiring a variety of catalog entries and duplication of full catalogs for customer-specific setups
Solution Approach 1:
The catalog is segmented into hierarchical levels: a master catalog containing all possible services and products, and customer-specific catalog views that selectively present relevant items. This segmentation allows the system to maintain a comprehensive master catalog while generating simplified, customized views for different customer segments based on their regulations and constraints, eliminating the need to duplicate full catalogs for each customer.
Solution Approach 2:
The catalog system transitions from a static structure to a dynamic one where catalog entries can be automatically filtered, sorted, and presented based on customer attributes, regulations, and constraints. The catalog view dynamically adapts to different customer segments without requiring manual recreation of entire catalogs, enabling flexible presentation of services and products tailored to specific customer needs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing catalog systems focus on a single vendor with a static offering, then the system is simple to implement, but it proves challenging to execute complex combinations of virtual and physical infrastructure, hardware, licenses and consulting hours from various entities
Solution Approach 1:
The catalog system is designed with universal structures and data models that can accommodate multiple vendors, various service types (virtual and physical infrastructure, hardware, licenses, consulting), and different customer segments. The standardized catalog entry formats and attribute structures enable the system to handle diverse offerings from multiple vendors while maintaining consistent management and presentation across the entire ecosystem.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple catalog entries and duplication of full catalogs are created for customer-specific setups, then customer-specific requirements can be met, but increasing challenges arise in catalog management and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining customer segments with their specific regulations and constraints in the master catalog. Catalog entries are pre-tagged and categorized with attributes that indicate their applicability to different customer segments. This preliminary organization enables automatic generation of customized catalog views without requiring time-consuming manual assembly for each customer, significantly reducing maintenance effort.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus in one embodiment comprises a processing platform that includes a plurality of processing devices each comprising a processor coupled to a memory. The platform is configured to implement at least a portion of at least a first cloud-based system. The platform comprises interfaces configured to enable interaction between actors and the platform, wherein the actors comprise cloud-based vendors and customers of resource offerings. The platform additionally comprises a repository configured to maintain individual resource offerings and data pertaining thereto, and a matchmaking module configured to match individual resource offerings based on associated customer attributes. The platform further comprises a bundling module configured to generate resource bundle offerings based on a set of customer attributes and matching of the individual resource offerings, and a resource offering display module configured to output to a customer resource bundle offerings and/or individual resource offerings based on the customer's attributes.