The SOFIns Approach allows business rules to be applied to the working relationship between Experts and Users.

These business rules can institute “Trust,” which allows Users to hire “un-trusted” Experts to deliver IT services. In this way, Users can access talent worldwide and Experts can sell their talent worldwide, to the benefit of all involved.

During the delivery of IT services, the SOFIns System blocks the Expert’s access to the User’s site-specific and confidential information. Instead of using the actual confidential value, the Expert references that value through a variable. Likewise, SOFIns blocks the return of confidential information from the Target’s output, replacing the confidential value with a reference variable instead.

Users no longer need to set up their own Trust relationships with Experts as the SOFIns System will monitor and record the Expert’s actions and enforce rules as to what the Expert is allowed to do on the Target. In the SOFIns Approach, trust is assured as the Expert is never provided the User’s confidential information in the first place.

The business rules define how the Expert can deliver IT services. For example:

• Restricted: The Expert is only permitted to issue “safe” commands, which have been prescreened by SOFIns to prevent unauthorized access to confidential information or installation of malicious programs.
• Monitored: The User can see, in real-time, the Expert’s actions on the Target.
• Documented: All commands issued by the Expert are recorded into an Element that is available to both the Expert and User.