Patent ID: 7979512

Claim:
At a server computer system in a computer networking environment comprising a plurality of computing systems, a method for providing an online service configured for hosting a plurality of different client-submitted services according to client-submitted use information corresponding to each of the client-submitted services, the online service comprising a service delivery platform that includes a plurality of service delivery platform components that process inputs received from each of the client-submitted services that are hosted by the online service, the method comprising: an act of configuring an online service for hosting a plurality of different client-submitted services, the online service comprising a service delivery platform that includes a plurality of service delivery platform components that process inputs received from each of the client-submitted services to configure the plurality of service delivery platform components in an appropriate manner for hosting each of the client-submitted services; an act of the online service receiving a service request from a client for a client-submitted service to be hosted on behalf of the client by the online service so that the client-submitted service is available to one or more customers, the service request including at least one client-submitted service configured for hosting by the online service and at least one portion of use information indicating how the plurality of service delivery platform components are to be used to host the client-submitted service on behalf of the client; an act of the online service processing the portion of use information received with the service request to configure the plurality of service delivery platform components in an appropriate manner for hosting the client-submitted service; and an act of the online service providing the hosted client-submitted service to the one or more customers on behalf of the client in the appropriate manner as determined by the accessed portion of use information.