Automatic resource ownership assignment systems and methods

Abstract

An automatic resource ownership assignment system, the system including resource ownership indicators definition functionality operative to allow an operator of the system to define resource ownership indicators, automatic resource ownership recommendation functionality operative to provide, to at least one user of the system, a recommendation to assign ownership of at least one resource to a potential owner, based on the resource ownership indicators, and automatic resource ownership assignment functionality which, responsive to predetermined at least partial approval of the at least one recommendation by the at least one user and approval of said at least one recommendation by the potential owner, is operative to automatically assign ownership of the at least one resource to the potential owner.

Claims

1. An automatic resource ownership assignment system residing on a computer server and including a database, said system forming part of an enterprise computer network, said database containing actual access history information for at least some resources of said enterprise computer network, said system comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium in which computer program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to provide the following functionalities: resource ownership indicators definition functionality operative to allow an operator of said system to define resource ownership indicators for at least one enterprise computer network resource, said resource ownership indicators including extensive user activity by a user in said at least one enterprise computer network resource and access permissions of a user to the at least one enterprise computer network resource and at least one of actual access to at least one enterprise computer network resource, access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network resource and an identity of a creator of said at least one enterprise computer network resource; automatic resource ownership recommendation functionality operative: to provide, to at least some users of said at least one enterprise computer network resource, a recommendation to assign ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network resource to a potential owner, based on said resource ownership indicators; and to request approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said at least some users; and automatic resource ownership assignment functionality which, responsive to approval of said recommendation to assign ownership by a majority of said at least some users, is operative: to request approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said potential owner; and upon receiving approval of said recommendation from said potential owner, to automatically assign ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network resource to said potential owner, said ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network resource comprising responsibility for managing access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network resource.

2. An automatic folder ownership assignment system residing on a computer server and including a database, said system forming part of an enterprise computer network, said database containing actual access history information for at least some folders of said enterprise computer network, said system comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium in which computer program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to provide the following functionalities: folder ownership indicators definition functionality operative to allow an administrator of said system to define folder ownership indicators for at least one enterprise computer network folder said folder ownership indicators including extensive user activity by a user in said at least one enterprise computer network folder and access permissions of a user to the at least one enterprise computer network folder and at least one of actual access to at least one enterprise computer network folder, access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network folder and an identity of a creator of said at least one enterprise computer network folder; automatic folder ownership recommendation functionality operative: to provide, to at least some users of said at least one enterprise computer network folder, a recommendation to assign ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network folder to a potential owner, based on said folder ownership indicators; and to request approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said at least some users; and automatic resource ownership assignment functionality which, responsive to approval of said recommendation to assign ownership by a majority of said at least some users, is operative: to request approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said potential owner; and upon receiving approval of said recommendation from said potential owner, to assign ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network folder to said potential owner, said ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network folder comprising responsibility for managing access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network folder.

3. The automatic folder ownership assignment system according to claim 2 and wherein said access permissions comprise at least one of: read permissions to at least one file within said enterprise computer network folder; write permissions to at least one file within said enterprise computer network folder; permissions to create at least one file in said enterprise computer network folder; and permissions to delete at least one file in said enterprise computer network folder.

4. The automatic folder ownership assignment system according to claim 2 and wherein said managing access permissions to said enterprise computer network folder is achieved by at least one of manually setting user access permissions to said enterprise computer network folder and configuring automatic rules for setting user access permissions to said enterprise computer network folder.

5. The automatic folder ownership assignment system according to claim 2 and wherein said database comprises metadata relating to at least some of the enterprise computer network folders.

6. The automatic folder ownership assignment system according to claim 5 and wherein said metadata comprises at least one of creation date and size.

7. The automatic folder ownership assignment system according to claim 2 and wherein said database also comprises folder ownership information for all of said enterprise computer network folders.

8. An automatic library ownership assignment system residing on a computer server and including a database, said system forming part of an enterprise computer network, said database containing actual access history information for at least one library of said enterprise computer network, said system comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium in which computer program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to provide the following functionalities: library ownership indicators definition functionality operative to allow an operator of said system to define library ownership indicators for an enterprise library, said library ownership indicators including extensive user activity by a user in said enterprise library and access rights of a user to the enterprise library and at least one of actual access to at least one enterprise computer network library, access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network library and an identity of a creator of said at least one enterprise computer network library; automatic library ownership recommendation functionality operative: to provide, to at least some users of said enterprise library, a recommendation to assign ownership of said enterprise library to a potential owner, based on said library ownership from said at least some users; and to request approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said at least some users; and automatic library ownership assignment functionality which, responsive to approval of said recommendation to assign ownership by a majority of said at least some users, is operative: to request approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said potential owner; and upon receiving approval of said recommendation from said potential owner, to automatically assign ownership of said enterprise library to said potential owner, said ownership of said enterprise library comprising responsibility for managing access permissions to said enterprise library.

9. A method for automatic enterprise computer network resource ownership assignment, said method comprising using at least one server comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium in which computer program instructions are stored, said non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium containing actual access history information for at least some resources of said enterprise computer network, for: defining resource ownership indicators for at least one enterprise computer network resource, said resource ownership indicators including extensive user activity by a user in said at least one enterprise computer network resource and access permissions of a user to the at least one enterprise computer network resource and at least one of actual access to at least one enterprise computer network resource, access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network resource and an identity of a creator of said at least one enterprise computer network resource; automatically providing, to at least some users of said at least one enterprise computer network resource, a recommendation to assign ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network resource to a potential owner, based on said resource ownership indicators and requesting approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said at least some users; responsive to approval of said recommendation by a majority of said at least some users, requesting approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said potential owner; and responsive to approval of said recommendation by said potential owner, automatically assigning ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network resource to said potential owner, said ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network resource comprising responsibility for managing access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network resource.

10. A method for automatic enterprise computer network folder ownership assignment, said method comprising using at least one server comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium in which computer program instructions are stored, said non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium containing actual access history information for at least some folders of said enterprise computer network, for: defining folder ownership indicators for at least one enterprise computer network folder, said selectable folder ownership indicators including extensive user activity by a user in said at least one enterprise computer network folder and access permissions of a user to the at least one enterprise computer network folder and at least one of actual access to at least one enterprise computer network folder, access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network folder and an identity of a creator of said at least one enterprise computer network folder; automatically providing, to at least some users of said at least one enterprise computer network folder, a recommendation to assign ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network folder to a potential owner, based on said folder ownership indicators and requesting approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said at least some users; responsive to approval of said recommendation by a majority of said at least some users, requesting approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said potential owner; and responsive to approval of said recommendation by said potential owner, automatically assigning ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network folder to said potential owner, said ownership of said at least one enterprise computer network folder comprising responsibility for managing access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network folder.

11. The method for automatic folder ownership assignment according to claim 10 and wherein said access permissions comprise at least one of: read permissions to at least one file within said enterprise computer network folder; write permissions to at least one file within said enterprise computer network folder; permissions to create at least one file in said enterprise computer network folder; and permissions to delete at least one file in said enterprise computer network folder.

12. The method for automatic folder ownership assignment according to claim 10 and wherein said managing access permissions to said enterprise computer network folder is achieved by at least one of manually setting user access permissions to said enterprise computer network folder, and configuring automatic rules for setting user access permissions to said enterprise computer network folder.

13. A method for automatic enterprise computer network library ownership assignment, said method comprising using at least one server comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium in which computer program instructions are stored, said non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium containing actual access history information for at least some libraries of said enterprise computer network, for: defining library ownership indicators for an enterprise library, said library ownership indicators including extensive user activity by a user in said enterprise library and access rights of a user to the enterprise library and at least one of actual access to at least one enterprise computer network library, access permissions to said at least one enterprise computer network library and an identity of a creator of said at least one enterprise computer network library; automatically providing, to at least some users of said enterprise library, a recommendation to assign ownership of said enterprise library to a potential owner, based on said library ownership indicators and requesting approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said at least some users; responsive to approval of said recommendation by a majority of said at least some users, requesting approval of said potential owner of said recommendation to assign ownership from said potential owner; and responsive to approval of said recommendation by said potential owner, automatically assigning ownership of said enterprise library to said potential owner, said ownership of said enterprise library comprising responsibility for managing access permissions to said enterprise library.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

(2) FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G are simplified pictorial illustrations of the operation of an automatic folder ownership assignment system, constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

(3) FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F and 2G are simplified pictorial illustrations of the operation of an automatic resource ownership assignment system, constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(4) Reference is now made to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G, which are simplified pictorial illustrations of the operation of an automatic folder ownership assignment system, constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

(5) The term “ownership” is used throughout to designate authority and accountability within an enterprise as distinct to legal ownership in the normal sense of the word. “Ownership” of a data element, an organization function, a resource, whether IT related or not, a service, a workflow or any other element in an enterprise designates authority and accountability with respect thereto within the enterprise. The definitions of “owner” and “owning” are of corresponding meaning.

(6) The automatic folder ownership assignment system of FIGS. 1A-1G is preferably suitable for operating in an enterprise computer network including multiple disparate clients, data storage elements, computer hardware resources and computer software resources, and includes folder ownership indicators definition functionality (FOIDF) operative to allow an administrator of the system to define folder ownership indicators, automatic folder ownership recommendation functionality (AFORF) operative to provide, to at least one user of the system, a recommendation to assign ownership of at least one folder to a potential owner, based on the folder ownership indicators, and automatic folder ownership assignment functionality (AFOAF) which, responsive to predetermined at least partial approval of the at least one recommendation by the at least one user and approval of the at least one recommendation by the potential owner, is operative to assign ownership of the at least one folder to the potential owner.

(7) The term “predetermined at least partial approval” is used throughout to mean approval of a recommendation by a single user is a case where approval of the recommendation is requested from the single user, or approval of the recommendation by a predetermined portion of users in a case where approval of the recommendation is requested from multiple users.

(8) The term “rejection” is used throughout to mean rejection of the recommendation by a single user is a case where approval of the recommendation is requested from the single user, or rejection of the recommendation by a predetermined portion of users in a case where approval of the recommendation is requested from multiple users.

(9) The owner of a folder is responsible, for example, for managing access permissions to the folder. Such access permissions may include read or write permissions to a file within the folder, and modification permissions to a folder (e.g. permissions to create or delete files). Management of access permissions by the owner may be achieved, for example, by manually setting user access permissions to the folder, and by configuring automatic rules for setting user access permissions to the folder.

(10) As shown in FIG. 1A, the automatic folder ownership assignment system 100 preferably resides on a computer server 101, and preferably includes a database 102. Server 101 is preferably connected to an enterprise level network 104 to which may be connected hundreds or thousands of computers 106 and storage devices 108. Database 102 preferably stores user access permissions and actual access history for all folders stored across network 104 as well as a list of the owner of each of the folders, and other metadata relating to the folders, such as creation date and size.

(11) As also shown in FIG. 1A, a user of the automatic folder ownership assignment system, typically an administrator of computer network 104, utilizes the system to define indicators of folder ownership across network 104. Indicators of ownership of a particular folder may include, for example, extensive user activity in the folder by a particular individual, extensive access permissions of a particular individual to the folder, and the identity of the creator of the folder. As shown in FIG. 1A, the administrator chooses to define extensive access permissions as the indicator of folder ownership across network 104.

(12) Turning now to FIG. 1B, it is shown that the administrator of network 104 further uses the system to automatically assign owners to folders across network 104. As seen in FIG. 1B, the administrator chooses to automatically assign owners to the HR folder and to the Finance folder which both reside in one of the data storage elements connected to network 104. As seen in FIG. 1C, based on the administrator defining extensive access permissions to be the indicator of folder ownership, the system utilizes a folder permissions table 110 which is part of database 102 to formulate recommendations for ownership of the HR folder and the Finance folder, which are entered into a folder ownership recommendations table 112. As shown in FIG. 1C, the system recommends that Tom, who has extensive access permissions to the HR folder, which extensive access permissions include read, write, create and delete permissions, be assigned ownership of the HR folder. The system also recommends that Bob, who has extensive access permissions to the Finance folder, which extensive access permissions include read, write, create and delete permissions, be assigned ownership of the Finance folder.

(13) The system then requests predetermined at least partial approval of the folder ownership recommendation for the HR folder from at least some of the users having access permissions to the HR folder, typically from users who are most active in accessing the HR folder. As seen in FIG. 1D, the system requests approval of the folder ownership recommendation from Bob, Bill and Sarah. As shown in FIG. 1E, Bob and Sarah approve the recommendation, and Bill does not approve the recommendation. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, a user who does not approve a recommendation may propose an alternative folder ownership recommendation.

(14) As shown in FIG. 1F, after ascertaining that the majority of users from whom the system requested approval of the folder ownership recommendation for the HR folder approve the recommendation to assign ownership of the HR folder to Tom, the system then requests approval of the ownership recommendation from Tom, asking Tom if he accepts ownership of the HR folder.

(15) Upon receiving the approval of the ownership recommendation from Tom, the system assigns ownership of the HR folder to Tom, as shown in FIG. 1G. Similarly, the system assigns ownership of the Finance folder to Bob. Ownership of the folders is recorded in a folder ownership table 114 of database 102.

(16) Reference is now made to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F and 2G, which are simplified pictorial illustrations of the operation of an automatic resource ownership assignment system, constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

(17) The automatic resource ownership assignment system of FIGS. 2A-2G is preferably suitable for operating in an organization comprising a plurality of organizational resources, each of which need to managed by a responsible individual. One such resource may be, for example, a library having a plurality of registered borrowers which are authorized to borrow items such as books, periodicals and other publications from the library for a limited amount of time. The owner of the library is responsible, for example, for managing the process of borrowing and returning books to the library, and setting, implementing and enforcing policies regarding book loan eligibility and duration.

(18) Referring now specifically to FIG. 2A, there is shown an automatic ownership assignment system 200 which preferably resides on a computer server 201, and preferably includes a database 202. Server 201 is preferably connected to a computer network 204 to which may be connected hundreds or thousands of computers 206 and storage devices 208. Database 202 preferably stores a list of owners of each of the resources, and other data relating to the resources, such as library access rights of all members of a library.

(19) As shown in FIG. 2A, a user of the automatic resource ownership assignment system, typically an organizational administrator utilizes the system to define indicators of potential library ownership. Indicators of potential ownership of a library may include, for example, extensive activity in the library by a particular individual, extensive access rights of a particular individual to the library, and the contribution of a particular individual to the content of the library. As shown in FIG. 2A, the administrator chooses to define extensive access rights as the indicator of potential library ownership.

(20) Turning now to FIG. 2B, it is shown that the organizational administrator further uses the system to automatically appoint a librarian for the library. As seen in FIG. 2C, based on the administrator defining extensive access rights to be the indicator of library ownership, the system utilizes a library access rights table 210 which is part of database 202 to formulate a recommendation for ownership of the library, which is entered into a resource ownership recommendations table 212. As shown in FIG. 2C, the system recommends that Tom, who has extensive access rights to the library, which extensive access rights include access, and borrowing rights for both the books section and the periodicals section of the library, be assigned ownership of the library.

(21) The system then requests predetermined at least partial approval of the library ownership recommendation from at least some of the users having access rights to the library, typically from users who are most active in accessing the library. As seen in FIG. 2D, the system requests approval of the library ownership recommendation from Bob, Bill and Sarah. As shown in FIG. 2E, Bob and Sarah approve the recommendation, and Bill does not approve the recommendation. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, a user who does not approve a recommendation may propose an alternative library ownership recommendation.

(22) As shown in FIG. 2F, after ascertaining that the majority of users from whom the system requested approval of the library ownership recommendation approve the recommendation to assign ownership of the library to Tom, the system then requests approval of the ownership recommendation from Tom, asking Tom if he accepts ownership of the library.

(23) Upon receiving the approval of the ownership recommendation from Tom, the system assigns ownership of the library to Tom, as shown in FIG. 2G. Ownership of the library is recorded in a resource ownership table 214 of database 202.

(24) It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove as well as modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not in the prior art.