Solving the problem of mapping and managing an IT Cloud Service  is similar to an supply chain management problem applied to IT resources as opposed to physical manufacturing. This model requires a completely new type of software system – cloud service optimizer (CSO), which is analogous to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for manufacturing. The CSO adds functions, specifically design time and execution time optimization, typically not part of an ERP system.

As shown in Figure 1 below, a CSO High Level Architecture introduces the five core systems in a Cloud Service Optimizer:

• Shared Information, which has two components: 1) A logical, federated database of IT services, resources, systems extended to include information about cloud services. 2) A federated knowledge management and collaboration system for public and private communities defining IT cloud services, consuming cloud services and providing cloud services.
• Insight discovers, analyzes, correlates, reconciles and normalizes information about IT services, resources, applications, transactions and policies. Insight extends traditional Monitor—Analyze with: 1) discovered and analyzed information about cloud services. 2) service level contracts between a provider a service/function and the IT service that embeds it in the supply chain.
• Compose provides support for modeling new or modified IT cloud service supply chains, including service level contracts.
• Optimize is a set of engines and disciplines for computing optimal realizations of the supply chain. Optimization occurs for deploying new or modified supply chains as well as dynamic optimization of deployed and executing supply chains.
• Orchestrate implements automation processes and rules to provision and modify a supply chain at the direction of optimization.

Figure 1: CSO High Level Architecture
Subsequent blog entries will describe each of these systems and CA Technologies product realization. A short, partial preview of products realizing the vision is:

1. Shared Information: Catalyst, Unified Service Model, CA Open Space
2. Insight: CA NetQoS, CA Oblicore Guarantee, CA Spectrum Service Assurance, CA Spectrum Infrastructure Manager.
3. Optimize: CA Virtual Automation, CA 3Tera AppLogic and the workload automation/optimization products have basic optimization functions. 
4. Compose: AppLogic, service modeling in Spectrum Service Assurance and CA CMDB.
5. Orchestrate: Spectrum Automation Manager, CA Identity Manager.
Catalyst, blueprints and various prebuilt content (e.g. CMDB schema, ITPAM processing, Service Catalog Entries) integrate and simplify the technology to produce customizable solution as opposed to a collection of products.