Monitoring entitlement usage in an on-demand system

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for on-demand entitlement monitoring. One exemplary method involves an on-demand application server obtaining, from a database, usage information for a resource associated with an entitlement offered by a resource provider to a user of a client device and generating a graphical representation of usage of the resource by the user based at least in part on the usage information obtained from the database. In exemplary embodiments, the on-demand application server provides the graphical representation to the resource provider for integration into a graphical user interface display associated with a virtual application provided to the client device over a network.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of managing entitlements, the method comprising:
 obtaining, by an application server coupled to a network, usage information for a resource associated with an entitlement from a database, the usage information being indicative of a current usage of the resource;   generating, by the application server, code executable by a client device coupled to the network to present, on the client device, a first graphical representation of the current usage of the resource with respect to an allotted usage for the resource;   determining, by the application server, an estimated usage of the resource based at least in part on the usage information indicative of the current usage of the resource obtained from the database;   generating, by the application server, code executable by the client device to present, on the client device, a second graphical representation of the estimated usage of the resource with respect to the allotted usage for the resource;   receiving, by the application server from the client device, an indication of a modified monitoring criterion associated with monitoring consumption of the resource, the modified monitoring criterion impacting usage of the resource relative to the current usage; and   dynamically updating, by the application server, the second graphical representation in response to receiving the indication to reflect the estimated usage influenced by the modified monitoring criterion.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 generating the code to present the first graphical representation comprises generating a first usage monitoring graphical user interface element on the client device, the first usage monitoring graphical user interface element indicating the current usage in a visually distinguishable manner relative to a remaining portion of the allotted usage; and   generating the code to present the second graphical representation comprises second a first usage monitoring graphical user interface element on the client device, the second usage monitoring graphical user interface element indicating the estimated usage in a visually distinguishable manner.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein:
 generating the first usage monitoring graphical user interface element comprises generating a first bar element having a first bar portion having a first length corresponding to a ratio of the current usage to the allotted usage;   generating the second usage monitoring graphical user interface element comprises generating a second bar element having a second bar portion having a second length corresponding to a ratio of the estimated usage to the allotted usage; and   dynamically updating the second graphical representation comprises dynamically updating the second length of the second bar portion in response to the indication of the modified monitoring criterion.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising providing a graphical user interface element adapted to allow a user of the client device to increase the allotted usage, wherein dynamically updating the second graphical representation comprises dynamically updating the second bar portion to reflect the increase. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a graphical user interface element adapted to allow a user of the client device to increase the allotted usage, wherein dynamically updating the second graphical representation further comprises dynamically updating the second graphical representation to reflect the increase. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a graphical user interface element adapted to allow a user of the client device to modify a user-specific criteria for monitoring the resource, resulting in the modified monitoring criterion, wherein dynamically updating the second graphical representation comprises:
 calculating the estimated usage based on the current usage and the modified monitoring criterion; and   updating the second graphical representation to reflect the estimated usage.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a graphical user interface element adapted to allow a user of the client device to modify a user-specific rule for monitoring the resource, the modified monitoring criterion comprising the modified monitoring rule, wherein dynamically updating the second graphical representation comprises:
 calculating the estimated usage based on the current usage and the modified monitoring rule; and   updating the second graphical representation to reflect the estimated usage.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the modified monitoring criterion comprises an indication of a modified monitoring period over which consumption of the resource is limited, an indication of whether the allotted usage can be exceeded over the monitoring period, an indication of whether failure to consume the allotted usage can be applied to a subsequent monitoring period, or an indication of a relationship between the resource and a second resource. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , the application server providing the code to a provider of the resource via a network, wherein the code is integrated into a virtual application provided by the provider to the client device via the network. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving indication of a modification to the allotted usage; and   determining a modified allotted usage by adjusting the allotted usage based on the modification, wherein dynamically updating the second graphical representation comprises dynamically updating the second graphical representation to reflect a ratio of the estimated usage to the modified allotted usage.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the modified monitoring criterion comprises a user-specific rule for monitoring the resource that impacts the user's usage of the resource. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining, by the application server, entitlement definition information for the entitlement;   receiving, by the application server, user entitlement configuration information corresponding to the entitlement for a user of the client device, the user entitlement configuration information including one or more monitoring criteria associated with monitoring consumption of the resource by the user;   creating, by the application server, one or more entitlement objects for the user in the database based on the entitlement definition information and the user entitlement configuration information, wherein the entitlement definition information includes metadata defining a structure of the one or more entitlement objects; and   updating, by the application server, the one or more entitlement objects in the database to reflect the modified monitoring criterion of the one or more monitoring criteria.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the application server from a provider offering the entitlement, the usage information for the user; and   updating, by the application server, one or more of the one or more entitlement objects to reflect the usage information.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein obtaining the usage information comprises querying the database using a tenant identifier associated with a provider of the resource and a user identifier associated with a user of the client device to retrieve, from the database, an entitlement object of the provider that is associated with the user of the client device. 
     
     
         15 . A system comprising:
 a database to maintain usage information for a resource of an entitlement associated with a user of a client device; and   an application server coupled to the database to:
 obtain the usage information from the database; 
 generate first code executable by the client device coupled to the application server via a network to present a first graphical representation of a current usage of the resource with respect to an allotted usage for the resource on the client device based on the usage information; 
 determine an estimated usage of the resource based at least in part on the usage information; 
 generate second code executable by the client device to present a second graphical representation of the estimated usage of the resource with respect to the allotted usage for the resource; and 
 dynamically update the second graphical representation in response to receiving an indication of a modified monitoring criterion associated with monitoring consumption of the resource from the client device, wherein the modified monitoring criterion impacts usage of the resource relative to the current usage. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , further comprising a provider server coupled to the client device and the application server via a network to obtain the first and second code from the application server and integrate the first and second graphical representations into a virtual application provided to the client device via the network. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the database comprises a multi-tenant database supporting a plurality of tenants; and   the application server obtains the usage information by querying the multi-tenant database using a tenant identifier associated with a provider offering the entitlement.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the first graphical representation comprises a first bar element having a first bar portion having a first length corresponding to a ratio of the current usage to the allotted usage;   the second graphical representation comprises a second bar element having a second bar portion having a second length corresponding to a ratio of the estimated usage to the allotted usage; and   dynamically updating the second graphical representation comprises dynamically updating second length of the second bar portion in response to the indication of the modified monitoring criterion.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the modified monitoring criterion comprises a modified monitoring period over which consumption of the resource is limited, an indication of whether the allotted usage can be exceeded over the monitoring period, an indication of whether failure to consume the allotted usage can be applied to a subsequent monitoring period, or an indication of a relationship between the resource and a second resource. 
     
     
         20 . A server comprising a processing system and a memory, wherein the memory comprises computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the server to:
 receive a request for information pertaining to an entitlement associated with a user of a client device;   obtain usage information for a resource associated with the entitlement from a database;   generate a first graphical representation of current usage of the resource with respect to an allotted usage for the resource based at least in part on the usage information;   provide the first graphical representation to the client device via the network;   determine an estimated usage of the resource based at least in part on the usage information obtained from the database;   generate a second graphical representation of the estimated usage of the resource with respect to the allotted usage for the resource;   provide the second graphical representation to the client device via the network;   receive an indication of a modified monitoring criterion associated with monitoring consumption of the resource from the client device via the network, the modified monitoring criterion impacting usage of the resource relative to the current usage; and   dynamically update the second graphical representation in response to receiving the indication to reflect the estimated usage influenced by the modified monitoring criterion.