Management of usage costs of a resource

Abstract

A system and computer program product for implementing a method to manage a usage cost of an asset. In the method, a user component of a business entity may access the asset after the asset has been developed by a development component, wherein the user component receives compensation from a compensator in response to the user component having incurred a usage burden from using the asset, and wherein the compensator may have contributed to the usage burden. Alternatively, a user component of a second business entity may access an asset after the asset is developed by a development component of a first business entity, wherein second business entity receives compensation from the first business entity in response to the user component having incurred a usage burden from using the asset. The compensation has a magnitude that is a function of the usage burden. The asset may be a software application.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage device storing computer readable program code which, upon being executed by a processor of a computer system, implements a method for managing a usage cost of a resource, said method comprising:
 said processor providing access of the resource to a user component of a business entity after an asset has been developed by a development component of the business entity, wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset or both the asset and a service, wherein the service supports usage of the asset and is provided by a service provider, and wherein if the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service then said accessing comprises accessing the service from the service provider; and   said processor providing to the user component compensation from at least one compensator in response to the user component having incurred a usage burden from using the resource, wherein the usage burden is an expense of using the resource in excess of an expense of using a predetermined reference resource, wherein the compensation has a magnitude that is a function of the usage burden, and wherein the at least one compensator comprises at least one of: (A) a component of the business entity and (B) the service provider if the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service.   
     
     
         2 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the business entity further comprises a beneficiary entity that has transferred financial value to the development component to develop the asset, and wherein the at least one compensator comprises the beneficiary component. 
     
     
         3 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset, and wherein the at least one compensator comprises the development component. 
     
     
         4 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service, and wherein the at least one compensator comprises the service provider. 
     
     
         5 . The computer program product of  claim 4 , wherein the service provider is comprised by the business entity. 
     
     
         6 . The computer program product of  claim 4 , wherein the service provider is not comprised by the business entity. 
     
     
         7 . The computer program product of  claim 4 , wherein said providing access comprises providing access to the asset from the service provider, and wherein the at least one compensator does not comprise the development component. 
     
     
         8 . The computer program product of  claim 4 , wherein said providing access comprises providing access to the asset from within the business entity, and wherein the at least one compensator comprises the development component. 
     
     
         9 . The computer program product of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the method further comprises said processor distributing funds to the user component and the development component;   wherein the at least one compensator comprises the development component;   wherein said distributing is for financing a total cost pertaining to the resource;   wherein the total cost comprises a development cost, a maintenance cost, and a usage cost;   wherein the usage cost comprises the usage burden; and   wherein responsive to an analysis of the usage burden by a management component of the business entity, said distributing comprises increasing or decreasing the development cost to reduce the total cost.   
     
     
         10 . The computer program product of  claim 9 ,
 wherein said distributing further comprises distributing funds, by the management component, to a beneficiary entity of the business entity;   wherein the beneficiary entity of the business entity has transferred financial value to the development component to develop the asset; and   wherein the at least one compensator comprises the beneficiary component.   
     
     
         11 . The computer program product of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service;   wherein the business entity comprises the service provider;   wherein said distributing further comprises distributing funds, by the management component, to the service provider; and   wherein the at least one compensator comprises the service provider.   
     
     
         12 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the compensation paid to the user component by each compensator of the at least one compensator is a function of an extent to which each compensator contributed to the usage burden. 
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the compensation paid to the user component by a first compensator of the at least one compensator is a not function of an extent to which the first compensator caused the usage burden. 
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the asset is a new asset that replaces a previous asset, and wherein the predetermined reference resource comprises the previous asset. 
     
     
         15 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the expense of using the resource is an expense function of an amount of time spent in using the resource to accomplish a goal in excess of an amount of time that was spent or would be spent in using the reference resource to accomplish the goal. 
     
     
         16 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the asset is a software application adapted to be executed on a computer system, and wherein a computation of the expense function utilizes data derived from the group consisting of a time monitoring tool within the application, a time monitoring tool within an operating system that executes the application on the computer system, an analysis of logs generated by the application, an analysis of logs generated by the operating system, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         17 . A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage device storing computer readable program code which, upon being executed by a processor of a computer system, implements a method for managing a usage cost of a resource, said method comprising:
 said processor providing access of the resource to a user component of a first business entity after the asset has been developed by a development component of a second business entity, wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset or both the asset and a service, wherein the service supports usage of the asset and is provided by a service provider comprised by the second business entity, and wherein if the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service then said providing access comprises providing access to the service by the service provider; and   said processor providing to the first business entity compensation from the second business entity in response to the user component having incurred a usage burden from using the resource, wherein the usage burden is an expense of using the resource in excess of an expense of using a predetermined reference resource, wherein the compensation has a magnitude that is a function of the usage burden, and wherein the expense of using the resource is an expense function of an amount of time spent in using the resource to accomplish a goal in excess of an amount of time that was spent or would be spent in using the reference resource to accomplish the goal.   
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset. 
     
     
         19 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service. 
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the asset is a new asset that replaces a previous asset, and wherein the predetermined reference resource comprises the previous asset. 
     
     
         21 . A computer system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer readable storage device coupled to the processor, said storage device containing program code which, upon being executed by the processor via the memory, implements a method for managing a usage cost of a resource, said method comprising:
 said processor providing access of the resource to a user component of a first business entity after the asset has been developed by a development component of a second business entity, wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset or both the asset and a service, wherein the service supports usage of the asset and is provided by a service provider comprised by the second business entity, and wherein if the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service then said providing access comprises providing access to the service by the service provider; and   said processor providing to the first business entity compensation from the second business entity in response to the user component having incurred a usage burden from using the resource, wherein the usage burden is an expense of using the resource in excess of an expense of using a predetermined reference resource, wherein the compensation has a magnitude that is a function of the usage burden, and wherein the expense of using the resource is an expense function of an amount of time spent in using the resource to accomplish a goal in excess of an amount of time that was spent or would be spent in using the reference resource to accomplish the goal.   
     
     
         22 . The computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset. 
     
     
         23 . The computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the resource consists essentially of the asset and the service. 
     
     
         24 . The computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the asset is a new asset that replaces a previous asset, and wherein the predetermined reference resource comprises the previous asset. 
     
     
         25 . A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage device storing computer readable program code which, upon being executed by a processor of a computer system, implements a method that compensates a user of a software application, said method comprising:
 said processor providing compensation to a user of a software application in response to the user having incurred a usage burden from prior use of the software application by the user, said compensation being provided by a party that contributed to the usage burden, wherein the software application is a new software application that replaces a previous software application that had been used by the user prior to being replaced by the new software application, wherein the usage burden is an extra cost consisting of the difference between the total cost of using the new software application and the total cost of using the previous software application, and wherein the compensation has a magnitude that is a function of the usage burden.   
     
     
         26 . The computer program product of  claim 25 , wherein the party is a developer that developed the software application. 
     
     
         27 . The computer program product of  claim 25 , wherein the party is a service provider that provided a service supporting usage of the software application by the user. 
     
     
         28 . A computer system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer readable storage device coupled to the processor, said storage device containing program code which, upon being executed by the processor via the memory, implements a method that compensates a user of a software application, said method comprising:
 said processor providing compensation to a user of a software application in response to the user having incurred a usage burden from prior use of the software application by the user, said compensation being provided by a party that contributed to the usage burden, wherein the software application is a new software application that replaces a previous software application that had been used by the user prior to being replaced by the new software application, wherein the usage burden is an extra cost consisting of the difference between the total cost of using the new software application and the total cost of using the previous software application, and wherein the compensation has a magnitude that is a function of the usage burden.   
     
     
         29 . The computer system of  claim 28 , wherein the party is a developer that developed the software application. 
     
     
         30 . The computer system of  claim 28 , wherein the party is a service provider that provided a service supporting usage of the software application by the user.