Hybrid Liability Model for Mobile Device Cost Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Companies face challenges in managing and allocating costs for mobile devices used by employees for both work and personal purposes, leading to excessive data usage and overage charges, as employees often mix personal and work usage, resulting in difficulty in controlling costs and integrating diverse devices.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid liability system that allows companies to share costs with employees through a web-based platform, enabling users to select billing allocations, with options for automatic charging based on usage, ensuring corporate pricing models are maintained while transferring personal use costs to the user, using a blend of corporate and individual liability models.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If employees use company-provided mobile devices for personal use, then employee convenience and device utilization improve, but data usage costs and overage charges increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments mobile device usage into work-related and personal components, allocating costs accordingly. The system tracks and separates usage types to apply different billing arrangements, allowing employees to use devices conveniently for personal matters while the company only bears work-related costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the billing parameter structure by offering multiple allocation models (full corporate liability, full individual liability, or hybrid models with different split ratios). This allows flexible adjustment of cost parameters based on usage patterns and company policy, resolving the contradiction between convenience and cost control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If companies allow diverse employee-owned devices (BYOD), then device selection flexibility and employee satisfaction improve, but device integration complexity and cost control difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal billing and management platform that works across diverse device types and ownership models. The system handles multiple allocation models, usage tracking methods, and billing arrangements within a single framework, enabling companies to support various employee devices without increasing integration complexity.
3Reliability
If companies purchase and provide mobile devices to employees, then corporate control and device security improve, but employee personal usage freedom and cost burden reduction worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic billing allocation that can adjust between different liability models based on usage patterns and company policy. The system allows flexible switching between corporate-provided device models with various personal usage allowances, enabling companies to maintain control while adapting to employee needs for personal usage freedom.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for setting a billing allocation between a user and a company allowing the costs for personal and work use of a mobile device during a period to be allocated as desired. The system and method further provides for allocation of costs associated with obtaining a new mobile device. The billing allocation model provides maximum flexibility to allow a user to obtain the mobile device desired, while still allowing the user to take advantage of a company's preferred corporate rates and discounts and allowing a company to maintain control of mobile device costs relating to purchase and use of the mobile device.