Abstract: Monitoring performance data includes establishing a reporting period during which a performance update is scheduled to be received at a database. The performance update includes provider data gathered from a provider, and describes a service provided to a client by the provider. The database is accessed to determine whether the database has received the performance update during the reporting period. A provider data rating is generated from the performance update. Performance data including client data gathered from the client is received, where the performance data describes the service, and a client data rating is generated from the performance data. The client data rating and the provider data rating are reported.

Abstract: Managing performance metrics includes accessing a metric catalog comprising a number of metrics, where each metric is associated with a threshold value. A selection of a subset of metrics of the number of metrics is received, and a service is defined using the subset of metrics. Metric values describing performance of the service are determined, where each metric value corresponds to a threshold value associated with a metric of the subset of metrics. The metric values and the corresponding threshold values are compared, and the performance of the service is evaluated in accordance with the comparison.

Abstract: Processing performance data includes receiving performance data comprising quantitative data gathered according to at least one metric. The quantitative data is evaluated according to the at least one metric to generate at least one quantitative data rating. Performance data comprising client data gathered from a client is received and evaluated to generate at least one client data rating. Performance data comprising provider data gathered from a provider is received and evaluated to generate at least one provider data rating. The at least one quantitative data rating, the at least one client data rating, and the at least one provider data rating are reported.

Abstract: Monitoring performance data includes establishing a reporting period during which a performance update is scheduled to be received at a database. The performance update includes provider data gathered from a provider, and describes a service provided to a client by the provider. The database is accessed to determine whether the database has received the performance update during the reporting period. A provider data rating is generated from the performance update. Performance data including client data gathered from the client is received, where the performance data describes the service, and a client data rating is generated from the performance data. The client data rating and the provider data rating are reported.

Abstract: Managing performance metrics includes accessing a metric catalog comprising a number of metrics, where each metric is associated with a threshold value. A selection of a subset of metrics of the number of metrics is received, and a service is defined using the subset of metrics. Metric values describing performance of the service are determined, where each metric value corresponds to a threshold value associated with a metric of the subset of metrics. The metric values and the corresponding threshold values are compared, and the performance of the service is evaluated in accordance with the comparison.

Abstract: Processing performance data includes receiving performance data comprising quantitative data gathered according to at least one metric. The quantitative data is evaluated according to the at least one metric to generate at least one quantitative data rating. Performance data comprising client data gathered from a client is received and evaluated to generate at least one client data rating. Performance data comprising provider data gathered from a provider is received and evaluated to generate at least one provider data rating. The at least one quantitative data rating, the at least one client data rating, and the at least one provider data rating are reported.

Abstract: A system and method (10) of accounting and billing for data storage on a plurality of data storage devices (20) are provided. The data storage is mapped to a number of service levels, which specify varying data access and retrieval speeds. Therefore, instead of accounting and billing for data storage solely on the basis of quantity of data, it is done on the basis of data access and retrieval speeds required by each data storage application.

Abstract: A system and method (10) for deriving access codes for billing customers includes a load process (12) receiving a set of system attributes (20) and using at least one of the system attributes (20) for looking up in at least one lookup table (16, 18, 22, 24) for an access code and at least one formula value, and further storing the access code and at least one formula value in an access code lookup table (26, 28). The system (10) further includes a derivation process (14) which receives a specification of values for the set of system attributes from a billing record (30), uses the specification of values for looking up in the at least one lookup table (16, 18, 22, 24) for a derivation formula, uses the derivation formula for looking up in the billing record (30) for an attribute value, and further uses the attribute value for comparing with the formula value stored in the access code lookup table (26, 28).