Enterprise Data Container for Secure Cross-Environment Transfer

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing enterprise data management (EDM) solutions are proprietary and not applicable across different computing environments, leading to inconsistent security and data handling policies, enabling data access by unauthorized actors and preventing cross-environment tracking.

Innovation Solution

An enterprise data container (EDC) that serves as a message wrapper, encapsulating data with metadata, handling information, and signatures, providing a uniform interface across computing environments, ensuring secure and trackable data transfer.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If proprietary EDM solutions are implemented in a particular computing environment, then security and data handling policies are enforced within that environment, but the solution is not applicable to or functional in other computing environments

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplicability across computing environmentsVSAvoidproprietary solution complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a universal data container format that can be processed by data boundary enforcement mechanisms across different computing environments. The container includes standardized fields (metadata, handling information, digital signature) that enable consistent policy enforcement regardless of the originating or destination environment, making the solution universally applicable without requiring environment-specific proprietary formats.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The data container serves as an intermediary structure that bridges different computing environments. It carries handling information and digital signatures that enable the data boundary enforcement mechanism in the destination environment to verify and enforce policies without needing to understand or trust the source environment's proprietary security implementation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If data is transmitted between computing environments without a standardized container, then transmission is simpler, but security policies are not consistently enforced and data access by unauthorized actors is enabled

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity policy enforcement consistencyVSAvoiddata container structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the data transmission structure into distinct functional components: metadata (for identification and tracking), handling information (for policy enforcement), digital signature (for authenticity verification), and the actual data payload. This segmentation allows each component to serve its specific security function while maintaining an overall simple and manageable container structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The data container is prepared in advance with all necessary security attributes (handling information, digital signature, metadata) before transmission. This preliminary action ensures that the destination environment's data boundary enforcement mechanism can immediately verify and enforce policies without requiring complex runtime security negotiations or additional authentication steps.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of information

If proprietary EDM solutions are used in each computing environment, then local data security is maintained, but cross-environment tracking of data is prevented

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecross-environment data tracking capabilityVSAvoidenvironment-specific solution compatibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The standardized data container includes metadata fields that are universally recognized and can be processed by data boundary enforcement mechanisms across different computing environments. This enables tracking of data lineage, access history, and policy enforcement actions as the data moves between environments, preventing loss of tracking information while maintaining compatibility across diverse systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS20260105170A1Enterprise data container

Publication Date: 2026.04.16 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Examples of the present disclosure describe systems and methods for an enterprise data container (EDC) that facilitates the secure transfer of data between data boundaries of one or more computing environments. In examples, the EDC serves as a message wrapper for transmitted data. The EDC includes metadata, identification, tracking, security attributes, authenticity, and handling caveats relevant to the operational constraints of one or more computing environments through which data is transferred. The EDC is computing environment agnostic and agnostically manages the data wrapped in the EDC.