System and method for analyzing and coordinating Service-Level-Agreements (SLA) for Application-Service-Providers (ASP)
View Patent ↗The present invention describes a system for automatically monitoring and managing Service Level Agreements on behalf of Service providers (such as Application Service providers). The system is based on a specialized SLA language that can translate complex or simple Service Level Agreements into measurable and controllable criterion. The system enables Application Service providers to set up customized Service Level Agreements with customers, and monitor, modify and control all aspects of these agreements, including billing, sales, Customer Relation Management, customer support and Quality of Service. The technology on which the present invention is based is a formula driven language that translates Service Level Agreement details into commands. As such these details can be tracked and processed to produce detailed reports and summaries.
1. A method for enabling at least one Application Service Provider to manage a Service Level Agreement, comprising the following steps:
i. setting up at least one production computer for executing data processing jobs;
ii. setting up at least one computer console for extracting job performance data from said production computer;
iii. setting up at least one production server, connected to said computer console, for storing said job performance data;
iv. setting up at least one maintenance workstation for loading data pertaining to SLA's on said production server;
v. setting up at least one client workstation for automating SLA monitoring and displaying actual performance of said data processing jobs, said SLA performance of jobs, problems, and impacts to downstream jobs to a user; and
vi. setting up a local area network (LAN) for connecting said maintenance workstation and said client workstation to said production server.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the managing of SLAs further comprises the step of setting up a Service Level Agreement Language of Measurement to operate on said production computer, said computer console, said production server, said maintenance workstation, said client workstation and said LAN.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said setting up of Service Level Agreement Language of Measurement further comprises:
a. ascribing at least one formulas for describing how to compute some service-level value from measurements collected by the ASP
b. building a computational model of said formula; and
c. constructing of said formula in memory.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising the step of destructing said formula in memory.