Integrated cloud service brokerage (csb) platform functionality modules

Abstract

An apparatus comprises a plurality of cloud computing systems each including cloud resources configurable to embody a plurality of virtual machines and a cloud services brokerage platform (CSB) having coupled thereto each one of the cloud computing systems. The CSB platform enables a plurality of cloud service consumers to selectively procure access to a respective portion of said cloud resources of a least one of the cloud computing systems and to configure said procured cloud resources to embody one or more virtual machines thereof. The CSB platform implements apportioning of cloud services charges for said procured cloud resources of a particular one of the cloud service consumers to respective cloud service entities thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a plurality of cloud computing systems each including cloud resources configurable to embody a plurality of virtual machines;   a cloud services brokerage platform (CSB) having coupled thereto each one of the cloud computing systems, wherein the CSB platform enables a plurality of cloud service consumers to selectively procure access to a respective portion of said cloud resources of a least one of the cloud computing systems and to configure said procured cloud resources to embody one or more virtual machines thereof and wherein the CSB platform implements apportioning of cloud services charges for said procured cloud resources of a particular one of the cloud service consumers to respective cloud service entities thereof.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein apportioning said cloud service charges includes:
 accessing the cloud service charges for the cloud services utilized by the particular one of the cloud service consumers during a prescribed period of time; 
 correlating each one of the utilized cloud services to a respective one of the cloud service entities of the cloud services consumer; and 
 for each one of the cloud services, apportioning a cloud service charge thereof to the respective one of the cloud service entities correlated thereto. 
 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein apportioning said cloud service charges includes:
 determining whether a cloud service charge for a particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost or an indirect cost; 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services to the respective one of the cloud services entities correlated thereto when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost; and 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services in a distributed manner to the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is an indirect cost. 
 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein assigning the cloud service charges for the particular one of the cloud services in a distributed manner includes one of:
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services evenly across a plurality of the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated; and 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services to the plurality of the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated as a function of cloud resource capacity utilized thereby. 
 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein apportioning said cloud service charges for a is performed dependent upon one or more apportioning rules selected from a group of available apportioning rules at least partially based upon the respective one of the cloud service entities correlated to a particular one of the cloud services. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein apportioning the cloud service charges:
 determining whether a cloud service charge for a particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost or an indirect cost; 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services to the respective one of the cloud services entities correlated thereto when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost; and 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services in a distributed manner to the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is an indirect cost. 
 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein apportioning a cloud service charge for a particular one of the cloud services includes:
 determining that the particular one of the cloud service charges is a residual cost; 
 determining a virtual data center (VDC) to which the residual cost is correlated; 
 determining one or more virtual machine/memory systems (VMS) of the VDC; and 
 apportioning the residual cost to the one or more VMS as a function of utilization of the one or more VMS during the prescribed period of time. 
 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7  wherein apportioning said cloud service charges includes:
 accessing the cloud service charges for the cloud services utilized by the particular one of the cloud service consumers during a prescribed period of time; 
 correlating each one of the utilized cloud services to a respective one of the cloud service entities of the cloud services consumer; and 
 for each one of the cloud services, apportioning a cloud service charge thereof to the respective one of the cloud service entities correlated thereto. 
 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein apportioning said cloud service charges includes:
 determining whether the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost or an indirect cost; 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services to the respective one of the cloud services entities correlated thereto when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost; and 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services in a distributed manner to the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is an indirect cost. 
 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the CSB platform provides a comparison of a standardized resource capacity parameter for the cloud services utilized by the particular one of the cloud services consumers during a prescribed period of time and a standardized resource capacity parameter for an amount of cloud services ordered by the particular one of the cloud services consumers via the CSB platform for utilization during the prescribed period of time. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein:
 the standardized resource capacity parameter for said utilized cloud services is embodied as an amount of a generic unit of information technology capacity corresponding thereto; and 
 the standardized resource capacity parameter for said planned cloud services is embodied as an amount of the generic unit of information technology capacity corresponding thereto. 
 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein apportioning cloud service charges for a particular one of the cloud services includes:
 accessing the cloud service charges for the cloud services utilized by the particular one of the cloud service consumers during a prescribed period of time; 
 correlating each one of the utilized cloud services to a respective one of the cloud service entities of the cloud services consumer; and 
 for each one of the cloud services, apportioning a cloud service charge thereof to the respective one of the cloud service entities correlated thereto. 
 
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having tangibly embodied thereon and accessible therefrom instructions interpretable by at least one data processing device, the instructions are configured for causing the at least one data processing device to perform a method of:
 accessing cloud service charges for cloud services utilized by a cloud services consumer via a cloud services brokerage platform during a prescribed period of time;   correlating each one of the utilized cloud services to a respective one of a plurality of cloud service entities of the cloud services consumer; and   for each one of the cloud services, apportioning a cloud service charge thereof to the respective one of the cloud service entities correlated thereto.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13  wherein correlating each one of the utilized cloud services includes identifying a valid existing cloud service resource corresponding thereto. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13  wherein apportioning the cloud service charge for a particular one of the cloud services is performed dependent upon one or more apportioning rules selected from a group of available apportioning rules at least partially based upon the respective one of the cloud service entities correlated to the particular one of the cloud services. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13  wherein apportioning the cloud service charge for a particular one of the cloud services includes:
 determining whether the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost or an indirect cost; 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services to the respective one of the cloud services entities correlated thereto when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is a direct cost; and 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services in a distributed manner to the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated when the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services is an indirect cost. 
 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16  wherein assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services in a distributed manner includes one of:
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services evenly across a plurality of the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated; and 
 assigning the cloud service charge for the particular one of the cloud services to the plurality of the cloud service entities to which the particular one of the cloud services and at least one other cloud services have been correlated as a function of cloud resource capacity utilized thereby. 
 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13  wherein apportioning a cloud service charge for a particular one of the cloud services includes:
 determining that a particular one of the cloud service charges is a residual cost; 
 determining a virtual data center (VDC) to which the residual cost is correlated; 
 determining one or more virtual machine/memory systems (VMS) of the VDC; and 
 apportioning the residual cost to the one or more VMS as a function of utilization of the one or more VMS during the prescribed period of time. 
 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18  wherein the method further comprises:
 providing a comparison of a standardized resource capacity parameter corresponding to an amount of the cloud services utilized by the particular one of the cloud services consumer via the cloud services brokerage platform during a prescribed period of time and a standardized resource capacity parameter corresponding to an amount of cloud services ordered by the cloud services consumer via the cloud services brokerage platform for utilization during the prescribed period of time. 
 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the standardized resource capacity parameter for said utilized cloud services is embodied as an amount of a generic unit of information technology capacity corresponding thereto; and 
 the standardized resource capacity parameter for said planned cloud services is embodied as an amount of the generic unit of information technology capacity corresponding thereto.