SaaS Management Platform Automating Approval and Provisioning

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Solution Overview

Problem

The management of SaaS applications in corporate environments is inefficient due to the complexity of handling multiple subscriptions, leading to difficulties in recommending appropriate applications to employees, manual and slow approval processes, and significant IT efforts in provisioning and auditing.

Innovation Solution

A SaaS management platform that integrates with HR systems to recommend SaaS applications based on employee roles and organizational structures, automates approval processes through single sign-on and ticketing services, and streamlines provisioning and auditing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If manual processes are used for SaaS application approval and provisioning, then flexibility and customization are possible, but the process becomes slow and labor-intensive

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapproval and provisioning speedVSAvoidtime required for manual approval processes

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service through automated workflows where employees can request SaaS applications through a portal, and the system automatically routes approvals through defined hierarchies, provisions applications, and manages subscriptions without manual IT intervention for routine tasks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining approval hierarchies based on HR organization charts, establishing provisioning templates, and configuring automated workflows in advance, so that when application requests are made, the approval and provisioning processes execute automatically without ad-hoc manual configuration

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of information

If comprehensive tracking and auditing of SaaS applications is implemented, then visibility and control are improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisibility into SaaS application usageVSAvoidcomplexity of tracking and auditing systems

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The platform serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as an approval portal for employees, an automated workflow engine for approvals, a provisioning system for application deployment, and an auditing platform for tracking usage and subscriptions, all within a single integrated system rather than separate tools

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous feedback loops by automatically tracking application usage metrics, monitoring subscription status, generating reports on SaaS portfolio utilization, and providing this information back to stakeholders through dashboards and notifications, enabling data-driven decisions without manual auditing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If SaaS applications are recommended based on organizational hierarchy and roles, then relevance and appropriateness improve, but data processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepersonalization of app recommendationsVSAvoidcomputational resources for data processing

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-processing HR data to extract organizational hierarchies and roles, and pre-configuring approval workflows and application recommendations based on these attributes before they are needed, reducing computational burden during actual application requests

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the organization into hierarchical groups and roles based on HR data, creating discrete categories for approval routing and application recommendations, which simplifies the matching process between employee attributes and appropriate SaaS applications rather than processing individual cases independently

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS11810073B1SaaS application recommendation, approval, and fulfillment in a SaaS management platform

Publication Date: 2023.11.07 PRODUCTIV INC

AI summary

A method implemented in a Software as a Service (SaaS) management platform (SMP) is provided, including: providing, over a network, a user interface for rendering by a client device to an employee of a customer of the SMP; receiving, over the network, input from the client device via the user interface, said input identifying a request by the employee for a SaaS application that is one of a portfolio of SaaS applications used by the customer and managed by the SMP; accessing an approval setting stored in association with the SaaS application, the approval setting configured to authorize automated approval of the employee for the SaaS application; responsive to receiving the input, and based on the approval setting, then triggering a single sign-on (SSO) service to provision the employee as a user of the SaaS application.