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IBM announced it has patented an invention that enhances the use of analytics for assessing and directing data in a cloud computing environment, enabling more timely and efficient application processing and management.
The IBM invention, U.S Patent #8,639,809, “Predictive Removal of Runtime Data Using Attribute Characterizing,” analyzes data from a variety of sources to avoid performance lags and processing delays. Since not all data is equal and resources for processing, storing and managing information are finite, real-time analytics can be useful in expediting this process, IBM said.
“Processing data in a cloud is similar to managing checkout lines at a store—if you have one simple item to purchase, an express lane is preferable to waiting in line behind someone with a more complicated order,” IBM Inventor Michael Branson, who co-invented the patented technique with John Santosuosso, said in a statement. “Cloud customers don’t want data that can be analyzed and dealt with simply to sit idle behind data that needs more complex analysis. Applying real-time analytics in a cloud can help ensure each piece of data gets the proper attention in a timely manner.”
IBM’s newly patented technique performs real-time analysis on data—such as online transactions, readings from sensors, financial quotes and video streams—as it is generated. It quickly determines how each piece of data will be processed, by identifying patterns in the data values that have correlated with slower processing in the past, to avoid situations where certain data values might delay the processing of all the data.
The cloud computing system then automatically channels each piece of data—also known as a tuple—down the right path for timely analysis. IBM explains that the invention creates an “express lane” for “normal” tuples, ensuring that they are analyzed promptly, while tuples with values known to be problematic or that are very time-consuming to analyze are sent down other analysis paths.
Potential applications for this invention in a cloud computing environment include sensor-based highway toll collection systems, where some license plate images may be harder to analyze than others because of lighting, camera issues. Other uses include intrusion detection on a data network system, where analysis can be made more efficient by identifying and rerouting malformed data packets for closer examination. Yet another could be the processing of audio files in a call center, where some files may contain background noise or other audio quality issues that require more processing.
IBM also patented a technique that uses analytics to increase cloud computing performance and reduce costs by dynamically moving workloads—between or within cloud data centers—based on an automatic analysis that determines the most efficient and effective use of available resources.
IBM Patents Real-Time Analytics for Cloud Data
This invention automatically pools cloud computing resources from disparate data centers, enabling clients to improve performance and save money by reducing the amount of manual intervention needed to allocate hardware, software and services. The automated technique enables users to have more control over where and how their cloud workloads are run and facilitates optimal use of a cloud infrastructure.
IBM received U.S. Patent #8,676,981 B2 “Routing Service Requests Based on Lowest Actual Cost within a Federated Virtual Service Cloud” for the invention.
“Cloud delivery models are evolving and maturing and are creating new possibilities for end users and third-party service providers to lower costs for IT deployments as they enter new markets and create new solutions,” said Leonard Hand, IBM Master Inventor and lead inventor on the patent. “Our patented invention will give users more control over their cloud deployments so that they can extract the most value from their IT resources at the most optimal cost.”
IBM’s patented dynamic cloud management invention could be used by managed service providers (MSPs) and channel resellers who leverage cloud infrastructure from third-party providers to build and deliver value-added solutions. MSPs could use IBM’s invention to isolate and automatically support their customers’ specific workload demands and enable usage-based-consumption pricing models.
For 21 consecutive years, IBM has been the leading recipient of U.S. patents. IBM inventors have patented thousands of inventions that are expected to enable significant innovations that will position IBM to compete and lead in strategic areas, such as IBM Watson, cloud computing, big data analytics—and advance the new era of cognitive systems where machines will learn, reason and interact with people in more natural ways. IBM holds 1,560 cloud patents focused on driving innovation, with more than a third of these inventions originating in the company’s Systems and Technology Group. IBM inventors received a record-setting 6,809 patents in 2013.
“We take pride in being recognized as the U.S. patent leader, but patents are only one gauge of innovation. Equally significant is the impact that our patented inventions have when they are used to enable solutions that help clients and societies solve problems,” Bernie Meyerson, an IBM Fellow and vice president of Innovation, said in a statement. “Furthermore, the broad range of inventions that these patents represent underscores the need for a patent system that equally and fairly promotes and supports innovation across all technical fields.”