Patent ID: 7809595

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for an enterprise to assess risks associated with an outside service provider, the method comprising: identifying, via an user interface, outside service provider information that describes the outside service provider; storing the outside service provider information in a database; identifying, via the user interface, resource information that describes resources of the enterprise associated with services provided by the outside service provider; storing the resource information in the database; assessing, via computer server, a risk on the enterprise from a degradation of the services from the outside service provider, wherein assessing the risk on the enterprise comprises assessing a business risk on the enterprise and assessing a country risk on the enterprise, wherein assessing the business risk on the enterprise further comprises: assessing an impact on external customers of the enterprise resulting from the degradation of the services from the outside service provider; assessing an impact on internal customers of the enterprise resulting from the degradation of the services from the outside service provider, wherein the internal customers of the enterprise include at least a customer implementing one or more internal applications of the enterprise; assessing a financial impact resulting from the degradation of the services from the outside service provider; assessing an allowable time period that the degradation of the services from the outside service provider can last; and assessing an impact on regulatory obligations resulting from the degradation of the services from the outside service provider, wherein the impact on regulatory obligation includes a financial penalty; storing the assessment in the database; automatically determining, via the server, a criticality of the outside service provider in response to the assessment; storing the criticality in the database; and providing, via the user interface, status data from the database, wherein the status data comprises at least one of a status of: the resource information; the assessment; and the criticality.