How Cloud Services Automatically Switch Providers When One Fails
A system that uses conversational AI to understand your reliability needs and automatically switches your cloud service to a backup provider if your current one goes down.
Original patent title: “Providing information technology resiliency in a cloud-based services marketplace”
A system that uses conversational AI to understand your reliability needs and automatically switches your cloud service to a backup provider if your current one goes down. Granted to International Business Machines Corp in 2018 with 23 claims and 1 forward citation.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a system that acts as a smart broker for cloud computing services. When a user describes their needs in plain language (like needing high uptime or specific security), the system translates those requirements into a structured graph that maps business rules to technical IT stacks. It then matches these needs against a database of service providers categorized by an ontology—a formal way of organizing concepts like reliability metrics and failure domains. Crucially, the system continuously monitors the connection and, if it detects a failure, automatically migrates the user to a pre-ranked alternative provider without requiring the user to intervene or re-configure their settings.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover manual switching of cloud providers by a human administrator.
- Does not cover systems that lack a conversational interface for initial requirement gathering.
- Does not cover basic load balancing that does not use an ontology-based framework for matching resiliency attributes.
- Does not cover failure recovery that requires the user to re-input their business requirements.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The system builds a 'third data structure' by combining the user's initial requirements with the actual performance data of the chosen provider, allowing it to refine its future rankings and predictions without ever bothering the user for more input.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Enterprise multi-cloud management platforms
Automated disaster recovery services
Cloud service brokerage software
Why it matters
The bigger picture
As businesses move critical operations to the cloud, the risk of a single provider outage becomes a massive liability. This patent addresses the 'vendor lock-in' problem by automating the transition between different cloud environments, effectively creating a self-healing marketplace for enterprise infrastructure.
Filed
December 6, 2012
Granted
November 27, 2018
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
IBM continues to leverage its hybrid cloud and AI research, particularly through its Watson and Cloud Paks offerings, which focus on automated IT operations. Major cloud orchestrators like VMware and various multi-cloud management startups are also working on similar automated resiliency layers.
Market impact
This technology supports the industry shift toward 'multi-cloud' strategies, where companies avoid relying on a single provider to ensure business continuity. It helped formalize the automated brokerage model, moving cloud procurement from static contracts to dynamic, intent-based service selection.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a system that acts as a smart broker for cloud computing services. When a user describes their needs in plain language (like needing high uptime or specific security), the system translates those requirements into a structured graph that maps business rules to technical IT stacks. It then matches these needs against a database of service providers categorized by an ontology—a formal way of organizing concepts like reliability metrics and failure domains. Crucially, the system continuously monitors the connection and, if it detects a failure, automatically migrates the user to a pre-ranked alternative provider without requiring the user to intervene or re-configure their settings.
The clever bit
The system builds a 'third data structure' by combining the user's initial requirements with the actual performance data of the chosen provider, allowing it to refine its future rankings and predictions without ever bothering the user for more input.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover manual switching of cloud providers by a human administrator.
- Does not cover systems that lack a conversational interface for initial requirement gathering.
- Does not cover basic load balancing that does not use an ontology-based framework for matching resiliency attributes.
- Does not cover failure recovery that requires the user to re-input their business requirements.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
6/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
15/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
10/20
Granted 5–10 years ago
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$55K – $175K
Midpoint $109K · 6.5 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
23 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Sailer, A., Akolkar, R. P., Tao, T., Chefalas, T. E., Segal, A., Schaffa, F. A., Perng, C., Laredo, J. A., & Silva-Lepe, I. (2018). How Cloud Services Automatically Switch Providers When One Fails (U.S. Patent No. 10,140,638). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10140638/airbnb-review-system
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Cloud Services Automatically Switch Providers When One Fails cover?
A system that uses conversational AI to understand your reliability needs and automatically switches your cloud service to a backup provider if your current one goes down.
Who owns patent US 10140638?
International Business Machines Corp owns this patent, granted in 2018.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on November 27, 2038, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 10140638 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 1 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
As businesses move critical operations to the cloud, the risk of a single provider outage becomes a massive liability. This patent addresses the 'vendor lock-in' problem by automating the transition between different cloud environments, effectively creating a self-healing marketplace for enterprise infrastructure.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover manual switching of cloud providers by a human administrator.
Same assignee
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