Multi-tenant Database Object Association via Local Activity Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-tenant cloud-based systems, users face difficulties in maintaining associations between data in a multi-tenant database and their activities or information from local applications, leading to challenges in collaboration and integration.
Innovation Solution
A system that automatically captures and stores data from local applications as activity objects in the multi-tenant database, providing graphical user interface elements to recommend and allow users to associate these objects with primary and secondary database objects, thereby simplifying the association process and reducing user workload.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users manually maintain associations between local application data and multi-tenant database objects, then data accuracy and relationship integrity can be maintained, but user workload and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs data association between local application objects and multi-tenant database objects without requiring manual user intervention. The virtual application monitors user activities in local applications and automatically creates and maintains associations with relevant database objects, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring continuous user management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-establishes association rules and relationships between local application data structures and multi-tenant database objects before users need to access them. By proactively monitoring user activities and pre-creating associations as users perform actions in local applications, the system eliminates the need for users to manually maintain these relationships later.
2Adaptability or versatility
If users utilize multiple separate applications for different tasks, then functional versatility and task specialization are improved, but integration difficulty and collaboration challenges increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the functionality of multiple separate applications by creating a unified multi-tenant database that stores objects from various local applications (e.g., email, calendar, contacts). The virtual application integrates these disparate data sources into a single coherent system, allowing users to access and collaborate on data from different applications through one interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-tenant database is designed with universal object types that can represent data from multiple different application domains (emails, meetings, contacts, tasks). This universal structure allows the same database infrastructure to support diverse application functionalities while maintaining consistent association and collaboration mechanisms across all data types.
3Productivity
If automatic association systems are implemented, then user workload is reduced and productivity increases, but system complexity and automation requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual application serves as an intermediary layer between local applications and the multi-tenant database. It monitors user activities in local applications, translates these actions into database operations, and automatically manages associations. This intermediary approach automates complex association management while presenting a simple interface to users, hiding the system complexity from end users.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for associating objects in a database. An exemplary method involves identifying one or more objects in the database that are likely to be related to a first object in the database that is based on data obtained from a local application associated with a user and displaying the identified objects on a client device associated with the user. In exemplary embodiments, the identified objects are displayed in response to selection of a graphical user interface element enabling indication of a second object from among the one or more objects, wherein the first object is associated with the second object in the database after receiving indication of the second object. In one or more exemplary embodiments, the database is a multi-tenant database in a multi-tenant system providing instances of a virtual application to multiple tenants.