IBM’s Cloud Patent Portfolio Continues to Grow
IBM’s latest patent will assist organizations in automatically analyzing a user’s geographic location while simultaneously using that data as a determining factor on which cloud services the user can connect to based on their location. The newest invention by Big Blue can be inspected by referencing U.S. patent #8,676,593. The upside for international organizations who decide utilize this cloud governance technology is that they can implement this system to stay compliant with all of the local laws and regulations on how data is supposed to be handled within the specific locality.
IBM inventors Abhinay Nagpal, Sandeep Patil, Sri Ramanathan and Matthew Trevathan are credited on the US Patent website as being the inventors of this technology. Sandeep Patil is quoted in eWeek as saying, “During the early years of cloud computing, it was evident that storing and accessing business data across geographically dispersed cloud computing environments could present logistical and regulatory challenges.” Patil further said, “Our team of inventors designed a system that will allow businesses to efficiently manage and move data in the cloud, while meeting required compliance mandates in different countries.”
The invention works by generating meta-data that allows a system of rules to be set-up that govern data usage based on location. If an organization only wanted certain users within the European region of their organization to only see data for EU based employees, the meta-data would dictate the access levels based on the thresholds setup by administrators. If the European user flew to New York to participate in meetings, the technology patented by IBM would sense that the user isn’t in their home office and thus would disallow that user access to certain data or apps based on geographic location. These types of rules and regulations exist in different industries for various reasons. Large businesses have a responsibility to stay compliant and this patent will help organizations achieve that goal seamlessly.
