Patent ID: 7792693

Claim:
A computer-implemented method executed by a computer to perform the method, comprising: identifying, by the computer, an action within a workflow, the workflow is processing within a first environment; requesting, by the computer, an identity service identify a service to handle the action and to associate with the action, a format of the action identified is unknown to the method and the identity service identifies the service that can handle the action, and the workflow is a data structure produced by a workflow system, the workflow includes specifications, directives, and references to particular services for performing particular actions; associating, by the computer, the workflow with a trust specification that is managed by the identity service and defines relationships for participants of the workflow in relation to one another and defines authentication mechanisms for use between the participants, the workflow also includes an identification for a translations service that can translate alien formats to formats that the workflow system or another workflow system recognizes, the trust specification hierarchical; communicating, by the computer, the action and the workflow to the service; and authenticating, by the computer, the action and the workflow via an identity service, authentication achieved by the identity service inspecting whether processing the action or the workflow is permissible according to the trust specification and if authenticated processing the action by the service.