JP7230457B2 - Information processing system, information processing device, program, and recommended product determination method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing device, a program, and a recommended product determination method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a system that presents an application recommended for use to a device such as a multifunction peripheral connected to a network in response to a request from the device (Patent Document 1).

However, since the system described in Patent Literature 1 proposes recommended products to the equipment of the orderer, it is possible to select products in consideration of the customer environment to which a plurality of equipment owned by the customer of the orderer belongs. I cannot make suggestions.

In addition, in the conventional system, even if it is possible to propose recommended products considering the customer environment, if the customer environment includes equipment that is not in operation, the equipment that is not in operation is used. It is considered that recommended products are proposed on the premise that this is the case. In such a conventional system, when a customer places an order based on the recommended products provided by the system, there is a possibility that the customer may order products that are not actually needed for equipment that is not in operation. There is

The technology disclosed has been devised to solve this problem in view of the above circumstances, and aims to enable the proposal of recommended products suitable for the customer's environment.

The disclosed technology includes operation data acquisition means for acquiring operation data indicating the operation record of equipment, product information storage means for storing product information, and recommended conditions for products to be recommended from the product information based on the operation data. The information processing system includes recommended condition storage means for storing recommended conditions, and recommended product determination means for determining recommended products based on the operation data and the recommended conditions.

According to the present invention, it is possible to propose recommended products suitable for the customer's environment.

1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer; FIG. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of a device. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a daily DB server; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a monthly DB server; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks that constitute a catalog providing server; It is a figure which shows an example of a daily setting. It is a figure which shows an example of daily data. It is a figure which shows an example of monthly data. It is a figure which shows an example of customer equipment information. It is a figure which shows an example of customer registration information. It is a figure which shows an example of product information. It is a figure which shows an example of the condition table showing a recommendation condition. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of catalog screen display processing; It is a figure which shows an example of a catalog screen. It is an example of customer device information in the second embodiment. It is an example of customer registration information in the second embodiment. It is an example of a catalog screen in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a catalog providing server in the third embodiment; FIG. It is an example of user number information representing the number of users for each customer. It is a figure which shows an example of the condition table in 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of catalog screen display processing in the third embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of the catalog screen in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the condition table in 4th Embodiment. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing an example of catalog screen display processing in the fourth embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of the catalog screen in 4th Embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may be omitted.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in an information processing system 1, one or more customer environments and product providing systems are connected via a network 2 such as the Internet. A customer is a customer who uses a product provided by the product providing system, and includes organizations such as companies, groups, educational institutions, administrative agencies, and departments.

In the customer environment, one or more devices 10, a user terminal 12, an intermediary device 14, and a firewall (FW) 16 are connected via a network 3 such as LAN. Network 3 is connected to network 2 via FW16.

In the service providing environment, an operation data storage server 18, a product providing server 40, and a catalog providing server 50 are connected to the network 2. FIG. The operating data storage server 18 includes a daily DB server 20 and a monthly DB server 30 .

The device 10 includes an image forming device such as a laser printer and a multifunction peripheral (MFP), a projector, an electronic whiteboard (IWB), a teleconference device, a camera, an industrial or home device with a communication function, and a device with a communication function. Such as medical equipment.

The user terminal 12 is an information processing device used by a user, such as a smart phone, a mobile phone, a tablet PC, a desktop PC, or a notebook PC. The user terminal 12 is loaded with an application having a screen display function such as a web browser. In this embodiment, a user means an individual who uses the user terminal 12 .

The intermediary device 14 performs a process of collecting information (counter value, etc.) indicating the operation record of the device 10 from the device 10 and collectively transmits the information to the daily DB server 20 . Hereinafter, information such as a counter value indicating the operation record of the device 10 is referred to as operation data. The intermediary device 14 functions as an operation data collection unit.

In the present disclosure, the operation record is a concept that includes the case where the device 10 is installed in the customer environment but is not actually operating and the value such as the counter value is "0". Devices 10 that are not actually in operation may be excluded from targets for collection of operation results. For example, daily data whose counter values are all "0" may be excluded from the operating data.

Note that the device 10 may transmit the counter value to the daily DB server 20 by itself without going through the intermediary device 14 . In other words, the information processing system 1 may not have the intermediary device 14 .

The daily DB server 20 accumulates the counter value of the device 10 received from the customer environment, for example, in an online transaction processing (OLTP) table. Daily data of the counter value of the device 10 is accumulated in the OLTP table.

The monthly DB server 30 uses the OLTP table of the daily DB server 20 to create an online analytical processing (OLAP) cube. The OLAP cube accumulates monthly data generated based on the closing date from the daily data accumulated in the OLTP table.

The product providing server 40 performs processing for providing products to the devices 10 included in the customer environment. Goods include at least software or services. When providing software, the product providing server 40 performs a process of providing the software to the device 10 to which the product is provided via the networks 2 and 3 . When providing a service, the product providing server 40 performs processing for realizing the service in cooperation with the device 10 to which the product is provided.

A specific example of software is software for document distribution that automatically distributes and stores scanned images scanned by a multifunction machine to a document management server or the like based on rules set in advance by an administrator.

As a specific example of the service, the settings and statuses of a plurality of devices 10 as a multifunction device (remaining amount of consumables such as paper and toner, counter values for the number of prints, and errors) can be integrally monitored from a remote location. and remote management services for maintenance.

A specific example of the service is a "print service" in which the product providing server 40 functions as a server for storing print jobs. In this case, for example, print jobs created by the device 10 such as a PC are accumulated in the product providing server 40 . Further, printing is performed by the device 10 such as a multifunction machine or a printer acquiring a print job from the product providing server 40 and executing the print job. As a result, a print service is provided to the device 10 such as a PC.

Another specific example of the service is a "scan distribution service" in which the product providing server 40 functions as a server that distributes scanned images to predetermined destinations.

The catalog providing server 50 provides the user terminal 12 with list information (catalog) of products that the product providing server 40 can provide, and receives orders for products from customers via the user terminal 12 . Also, the catalog providing server 50 determines and proposes recommended products suitable for the customer environment based on the operation data obtained from the operation data accumulation server 18 and indicating the operation record of each device 10 in the customer environment.

The configuration of the information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and one or more server devices (proxy server, gateway server, etc.) may intervene between the customer environment and the daily DB server 20. . Also, the user terminal 12 may be located outside the customer environment, and may be connected to the network 2, for example. The daily DB server 20, the monthly DB server 30, the product providing server 40, and the catalog providing server 50 may be implemented by being integrated into one information processing device, or may be distributed among a plurality of information processing devices. can be realized by

As described above, in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, the daily data of the device 10 is collected from the daily DB server 20 . The monthly DB server 30 acquires daily data from the daily DB server 20 and creates monthly data for each device 10 . Then, the catalog providing server 50 acquires the operation data of the equipment 10 from the daily data and monthly data, and judges and proposes recommended products suitable for the customer's environment. The catalog providing server 50 causes the Web browser installed in the user terminal 12 to display the recommended product information together with the catalog screen.

In FIG. 1, in the information processing system 1, a product providing system including an operation data storage server 18, a product providing server 40, and a catalog providing server 50 is connected to a network 2 outside the customer environment. That is, the information processing system 1 is an example in which a product providing system is provided as a so-called cloud system. Note that the product providing system may be provided inside the customer environment (on-premise environment).

<Hardware configuration>
(Computer)
The user terminal 12 is implemented by, for example, a computer having the hardware configuration shown in FIG. Further, one or more information processing devices that realize the daily DB server 20, the monthly DB server 30, the product providing server 40, and the catalog providing server 50 are also realized by the computer with the hardware configuration shown in FIG. .

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer. The computer 500 includes an input device 501, a display device 502, an external I/F 503, a RAM 504, a ROM 505, a CPU 506, a communication I/F 507, an HDD 508, etc., which are interconnected via a bus B. Note that the input device 501 and the display device 502 may be connected and used when necessary.

The input device 501 includes a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc., and is used by the user to input various operation signals. The display device 502 includes a display and the like, and displays the processing result by the computer 500 .

A communication I/F 507 is an interface that connects the computer 500 to various networks. Thereby, the computer 500 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 507 .

Also, the HDD 508 is an example of a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS, which is basic software that controls the entire computer 500, and application software (hereinafter simply referred to as an application) that provides various functions on the OS. Note that the computer 500 may use an SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of the HDD 508 .

An external I/F 503 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 503a and the like. Thereby, the computer 500 can read and/or write to the recording medium 503a via the external I/F 503. FIG. The recording medium 503a includes a flexible disk, CD, DVD, SD memory card, USB memory, and the like.

The ROM 505 is an example of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 505 stores programs and data such as the BIOS, OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the computer 500 is started. A RAM 504 is an example of a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily holds programs and data.

The CPU 506 is an arithmetic unit that realizes overall control and functions of the computer 500 by reading programs and data from storage devices such as the ROM 505 and the HDD 508 onto the RAM 504 and executing processing. The user terminal 12 , the daily DB server 20 , the monthly DB server 30 , the product providing server 40 , and the catalog providing server 50 execute various processes as described later, depending on the hardware configuration of the computer 500 .

(device)
If the device 10 is a multi-function machine, it is implemented by a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of equipment. The device 10 includes a controller 601, an operation panel 602, an external I/F 603, a communication I/F 604, a printer 605, a scanner 606, and the like.

The controller 601 includes a CPU 611, a RAM 612, a ROM 613, an NVRAM 614, an HDD 615, and the like. Various programs and data are stored in the ROM 613 . A RAM 612 temporarily holds programs and data. The NVRAM 614 stores, for example, setting information. Also, the HDD 615 stores various programs and data.

The CPU 611 reads out programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 613, the NVRAM 614, the HDD 615, and the like onto the RAM 612 and executes processing, thereby realizing control and functions of the device 10 as a whole.

The operation panel 602 includes an input section for receiving input from the user and a display section for displaying. An external I/F 603 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 603a and the like. As a result, the device 10 can read and/or write to the recording medium 603a via the external I/F 603. FIG. The recording medium 603a includes an IC card, flexible disk, CD, DVD, SD memory card, USB memory, SIM card, and the like.

A communication I/F 604 is an interface that connects the device 10 to the network 2 . Thereby, the device 10 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 604 . A printer 605 is a printing device for printing print data on a transported object. For example, the object to be conveyed is paper, coated paper, cardboard, OHP, plastic film, prepreg, copper foil, etc., and is not limited to paper. A scanner 606 is a reading device for reading an image from a document. Note that FIG. 3 only shows an example in which the device 10 is a multifunction device, and if the device 10 is not a multifunction device as described above, the printer 605 and the scanner 606 are not necessarily required. Also, the device 10 may have hardware other than that shown in FIG. 3, such as a camera, a lamp light source, and a touch panel.

<Functional configuration>
(Daily DB server)
The daily DB server 20 is composed of functional blocks shown in FIG. 4, for example. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of the daily DB server 20. As shown in FIG. The daily DB server 20 implements each functional block by executing a program.

The daily DB server 20 implements a communication section 21 , a daily setting storage section 22 , a counter accumulation processing section 23 , a daily data storage section 24 and a daily data provision processing section 25 . The communication unit 21 performs data communication with the outside.

The daily setting storage unit 22 stores daily settings described later. The daily setting is information necessary for accumulating counter values in the counter accumulation processing unit 23 . The counter accumulation processing unit 23 causes the daily data storage unit 24 to store the daily data for each device 10 created based on the counter value received by the communication unit 21 and the daily setting. The daily data storage unit 24 stores daily data for each device 10 .

In response to a request from the monthly DB server 30, the daily data provision processing unit 25 sends the daily data for each device 10 stored in the daily data storage unit 24 to the monthly DB server 30 via the communication unit 21. offer. In response to a request from the catalog providing server 50, the daily data providing processing unit 25 provides the daily data stored in the daily data storage unit 24 to the catalog providing server 50 via the communication unit 21. .

(Monthly DB server)
The monthly DB server 30 is composed of functional blocks shown in FIG. 5, for example. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of the monthly DB server 30. As shown in FIG. The monthly DB server 30 implements each functional block by executing a program.

The monthly DB server 30 implements a communication section 31 , a monthly setting storage section 32 , a monthly data creation section 33 , a monthly data storage section 34 and a monthly data provision processing section 35 . The communication unit 31 performs data communication with the outside.

The monthly setting storage unit 32 stores monthly settings. The monthly setting is information necessary for reconstructing and saving the daily data in a form suitable for analysis (for example, monthly data by year/month, counter type, etc.) in the monthly data creation unit 33 . Monthly settings include, for example, device information, which will be described later.

Based on the daily data and the monthly settings, the monthly data creation unit 33 reconstructs the daily data for each device 10 into monthly data for each condition (by year/month, by counter type, etc.) suitable for analysis. is stored in the monthly data storage unit 34.

The monthly data storage unit 34 stores monthly data for each condition. Also, in response to a request from the catalog providing server 50 , the monthly data providing processing unit 35 sends monthly data for each condition stored in the monthly data storage unit 34 to the catalog providing server 50 via the communication unit 31 . provide to

(Catalog providing server)
The catalog providing server 50 is composed of functional blocks shown in FIG. 6, for example. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks that make up the catalog providing server 50. As shown in FIG. The catalog providing server 50 implements each functional block by executing a program.

The catalog providing server 50 includes a communication unit 51, a product information storage unit 52, a catalog screen creation unit 53, an operation data acquisition unit 54, a customer information storage unit 55, an operating number determination unit 56, a recommended product determination unit 58, and a recommended condition storage unit. 59 has been achieved. The communication unit 51 performs data communication with the outside.

The product information storage unit 52 stores product information including products provided by the product providing server 40 . The product information is, for example, a product ID, a product type, and a product name associated with each other. The product information includes not only products (software and services) provided by the product providing server 40 but also devices (hardware) provided by vendors other than the product providing server 40 .

Based on the product information stored in the product information storage unit 52 , the catalog screen creating unit 53 creates a catalog screen showing a list of products provided by the product providing server 40 . In response to a request from the user terminal 12 , the catalog screen creation section 53 transmits catalog screen data to the user terminal 12 via the communication section 51 .

Based on the customer device information stored in the customer information storage unit 55, the operation data acquisition unit 54 acquires the operation data of each device 10 included in the customer environment of the user who requested the catalog screen via the user terminal 12. Acquired from the operation data accumulation server 18 via the communication unit 51 . Specifically, the operation data acquisition unit 54 retrieves daily data and monthly data collected from the devices 10 included in the user's customer environment from the daily DB server 20 included in the operation data accumulation server 18. get. In this embodiment, the operation data acquisition unit 54 acquires daily data as operation data from the operation data storage server 18 .

The customer information storage unit 55 stores customer device information in which a customer ID that identifies a customer and a device ID that identifies the device 10 are associated with each other. The customer information storage unit 55 also stores customer registration information for authenticating users who log in to the catalog providing server 50 .

The operating number determination unit 56 determines the number of operating devices 10 included in the customer environment based on the operation data (daily data) acquired by the operation data acquisition unit 54 . For example, the operating number determining unit 56 determines, as the operating number, the number of devices 10 whose last data acquisition date of the operation data is within a certain past period (for example, six months) from the current time. The current time is, for example, the date when the user logs into the catalog providing server 50 and requests the display of the catalog screen.

The recommended product determining unit 58 determines the number of operating devices 10 under the customer environment determined by the operating unit determining unit 56, the product information stored in the product information storage unit 52, and the recommended products stored in the recommended condition storage unit 59. A recommended product for the customer environment is determined based on the conditions.

The recommended condition storage unit 59 stores the recommended number of devices 10 to which the product corresponds as a recommended condition. The recommended number includes the recommended number regarding the total number of devices 10 in operation (hereinafter referred to as the total number of devices in operation) and the recommended number of devices 10 for each type of device in operation.

The catalog screen creation unit 53 displays the recommended products determined by the recommended product determination unit 58 on the catalog screen so that the products recommended for the customer environment can be recognized. Catalog screen data added with recommended product information recommended for the customer environment of the user operating the user terminal 12 is provided to the user terminal 12 from the catalog screen creation unit 53 via the communication unit 51 .

The product information stored in the product information storage unit 52, the customer device information and customer registration information stored in the customer information storage unit 55, and the recommended conditions stored in the recommended condition storage unit 59 are stored by the administrator of the product providing system. It can be changed as appropriate.

(various data configurations)
Next, various data configurations stored in the product providing system will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of daily settings. The daily setting has items of device ID, MAC address, and daily data ID. The device ID is an example of identification information that uniquely identifies the device 10 . A MAC address is an example of identification information for uniquely identifying the device 10 on the communication network. Also, the daily data ID is an example of identification information for uniquely identifying the daily data of the device 10 specified by the device ID or MAC address. Note that the device ID is a concept that includes an IP address, a serial number, and the like. The device ID also includes an ID number recorded on a recording medium connected to the device 10 .

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of daily data. The daily data has a daily data ID, date, and various counter values as items. The daily data ID is an example of identification information that uniquely identifies daily data. The year/month/day is the day when various counter values of the daily data were counted. The various counter values are daily counter values, and are different types of counter values such as the total counter value (total value), the function of the device 10, the color (color, monochrome, etc.), and the paper size. .

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of monthly data. The monthly data has monthly data ID, year and month, and various counter values as items. The monthly data ID is an example of identification information that uniquely identifies monthly data. The year and month indicate the month when various counter values of the monthly data were counted. The various counter values are monthly counter values, and are different types of counter values such as total, function-based, color-based, and paper size-based.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of customer device information. The customer device information has items of customer ID, device ID, device type, daily data ID, and monthly data ID. A customer ID is an example of identification information that uniquely identifies a customer. The device type is identification information that identifies the type of the device 10 . For example, MFP in FIG. 10 represents a multifunction machine, IWB represents an electronic whiteboard, and PJ represents a projector.

The customer device information associates the customer ID with the device ID, thereby making it possible to identify the customer who uses the device 10 in the customer environment. Further, by associating the device ID with the daily data ID and the monthly data ID, it is possible to determine the operation status (data acquisition date, etc.) of the device 10 .

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of customer registration information. The customer registration information has items of customer ID, user ID, and password. A user ID is an example of identification information that uniquely identifies a user. Username is the name of the user. A password is an example of authentication information used by a user. Also, the user ID is associated with a customer ID representing the company or the like to which the user belongs.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of product information. The product information includes product ID, product type, and product name as items. A product ID is an example of identification information that uniquely identifies a product. The product type is information representing the type of product, and includes software, service, and hardware.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a condition table representing recommended conditions. The recommended conditions include items such as product ID, minimum and maximum total number of operating units, and minimum and maximum number of operating units for each device type. FIG. 13 illustrates a case where the device type is MFP as an example of the number of units in operation for each device type.

In the condition table shown in FIG. 13, for example, the product with the product ID "A1" indicates that there is no restriction on the total number of operating machines and the number of operating machines for each device type. Regarding the product with the product ID "A2", the minimum number of units in operation is limited to "20", but there is no limit on the maximum number of units, and there is no limit on the number of units in operation for each device type. there is For the product with product ID "A2", the minimum number of MFPs is limited to "20", but there is no limit on the maximum number of MFPs, and there is no limit on the total number of operating MFPs.

<Sequence of catalog screen display processing>
Next, a sequence of catalog screen display processing executed by the product providing system according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of catalog screen display processing.

In step S<b>10 , a user such as an administrator of the customer environment operates the user terminal 12 to send a login request to the catalog providing server 50 . Proceeding to step S11, the catalog providing server 50 authenticates the user who requested the login based on the user ID and password included in the received login request. FIG. 14 shows an example of successful authentication. Note that if the authentication fails, the processing after step S12 is not performed.

In step S12, the catalog providing server 50 receives a catalog screen display request from the user terminal 12, and upon receiving the display request, proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the catalog providing server 50 uses the operation data acquisition unit 54 to identify the customer ID associated with the user ID of the user based on the customer registration information, and to identify the device having the device ID corresponding to the customer ID. 10 is sent to the operation data storage server 18 . In step S<b>14 , the catalog providing server 50 receives operation data (daily data) corresponding to the device ID from the operation data accumulation server 18 .

In step S15, the catalog providing server 50 determines the total number (total number of operating devices) of the devices 10 whose last data acquisition dates are within a certain period of time from the current time, based on the received operating data. In step S16, the operating number determining unit 56 further determines the operating number for each device type.

In step S17, the catalog providing server 50 causes the recommended product determination unit 58 to determine the recommended product for the total number of operating units determined in step S15 and the operating conditions for each device type determined in step S16 based on the condition table representing the recommended conditions. A recommended product for the number of units is determined. Specifically, the catalog providing server 50 determines a recommended product that satisfies the recommended conditions defined in the condition table.

In step S18, the catalog providing server 50 uses the catalog screen creation unit 53 to create a catalog screen displaying recommended products in addition to the list of products based on the product information. Catalog screen creating unit 53, for example, arranges the recommended product at the top of the product list.

In step S<b>18 , the catalog providing server 50 transmits the created catalog screen data to the user terminal 12 . The user terminal 12 that has received the catalog screen data displays the catalog screen using the Web browser.

Each step in the above sequence is not limited to the above order, and can be changed as appropriate provided that there is no contradiction.

Further, in the present embodiment, the number of operating machines is determined by the catalog providing server 50, but the number of operating machines may be determined within the operation data accumulation server 18. FIG. Also, the operating data storage server 18 periodically determines the number of operating units (for example, each time daily data is created), and when a request is received from the catalog providing server 50, the operating data storage server 18 sends the catalog providing server to the catalog providing server. It may be configured to transmit the number of operating units to 50 .

(Example of catalog screen)
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the catalog screen. The catalog screen shown in FIG. 15 is an example of the catalog screen displayed in step S18 of the catalog screen display process.

As shown in FIG. 15, the catalog screen displays icons representing products for each product type. In the top column of the catalog screen, icons representing recommended products for the total number of operating devices 10 in the customer environment and the number of operating devices for each type of device are displayed. For example, if the total number of operating MFPs is 90, "Streamline" is the recommended product, and if the number of operating MFPs is 40, "@RemoteAppliance" is the recommended product. .

The user can add a product to the shopping cart by clicking the icon of the desired product on the user terminal 12 . By performing a predetermined operation on the cart screen, the product can be ordered.

If the ordered product is software or a service, the details of the order are sent to the product providing server 40, and the product is provided from the product providing server 40 to the customer environment of the orderer. If the ordered product is hardware, the details of the order are sent to the corresponding vendor.

As described above, in this embodiment, when there is a request to display a catalog screen, recommended products corresponding to the number of operating devices in the requesting customer's environment are displayed on the catalog screen. It is possible to easily determine and place an order for the most suitable product for the environment.

In this embodiment, the number-of-operating-units determining unit 56 counts the number of units of operation for which operation data is obtained from the operation data accumulation server 18. It is also preferable not to count the device if all are zero. For example, when monthly data is acquired from the operation data accumulation server 18 and all the counter values included in the monthly data are 0, the device does not count.

[Second embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

In the first embodiment, the number of operating devices in the customer environment is determined with the customer environment as a unit of organization such as a company. do. A group is a unit smaller than a customer (company, etc.), such as an office or department in a company, or a floor in a building.

In the second embodiment, customer device information shown in FIG. 16 is stored in the customer information storage unit 55 instead of the customer device information shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is an example of customer device information in the second embodiment. In the customer device information in the second embodiment, each device ID is associated with the group ID of the group to which the device belongs.

Further, in the second embodiment, the customer registration information shown in FIG. 17 is stored in the customer information storage unit 55 instead of the customer registration information shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is an example of customer registration information in the second embodiment. In the customer registration information in the second embodiment, each user ID is associated with the group ID of the group to which the user belongs.

In the second embodiment, the operation data acquisition unit 54 identifies the group ID associated with the user ID of the user who logged into the catalog providing server 50 based on the customer registration information. Then, the operation data acquisition unit 54 requests the operation data accumulation server 18 to acquire the operation data of the device 10 having the device ID corresponding to the group ID. The catalog providing server 50 receives operation data (daily data) corresponding to the device ID from the operation data accumulation server 18 .

Thus, in the second embodiment, the recommended product for the group is determined by the recommended product determination unit 58 . In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, the catalog screen creating unit 53 displays the recommended products on the catalog screen and also displays that the products are recommended for the group to which the user belongs.

Other configurations and operations of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In addition to the determination of recommended products for each customer in the first embodiment, the determination of recommended products for each group in the second embodiment may be performed.

[Third embodiment]
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

In the first embodiment, recommended products are determined based on the number of operating devices, but in the third embodiment, recommended products are determined based on the number of users per device in operation.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of the catalog providing server 50a in the third embodiment. In the catalog providing server 50a, a user count determination unit 57 for determining the number of users per device is added to the functional blocks of the catalog providing server 50 in the first embodiment.

In the third embodiment, the customer information storage unit 55 stores user number information shown in FIG. 20 in addition to the customer registration information shown in FIG. FIG. 20 is an example of user number information representing the number of users for each customer. This user count information is created based on the customer registration information. Note that it is not essential that the user number information is stored in the customer information storage unit 55 , and the user number determination unit 57 may obtain it based on the customer registration information stored in the customer information storage unit 55 .

In the third embodiment, the recommended condition storage unit 59 stores a condition table shown in FIG. 21 instead of the condition table representing recommended conditions shown in FIG. This condition table has as items product IDs and minimum and maximum numbers of recommended users per device.

FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing an example of catalog screen display processing in the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, in step S35 in the sequence shown in FIG. 22, the operating number determination unit 56 determines the number of operating devices 10 . The number of operating units is either the total number of operating units, the number of operating units for each device type, or both.

In step S36, the user number determination unit 57 determines the number of users per device based on the number of operating devices determined by the operating device number determination unit 56 and the user number information stored in the customer information storage unit 55. . For example, if the customer with the customer ID "A" has 3 operating machines and 3 users, the number of users per machine is 1.

In step S37, the recommended product determination unit 58 determines recommended products for the number of users per device determined in step S36 based on the condition table shown in FIG. For example, when the number of users per device is 1, "@remote connector" whose product ID is A4 is determined as a recommended product.

Other steps are the same as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a catalog screen in the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, recommended products for the number of users per device are displayed in the upper columns of the catalog screen.

Other configurations and operations of the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In addition to determination of recommended products based on the number of operating devices in the first embodiment or second embodiment, determination of recommended products based on the number of users per device in the third embodiment may be performed.

[Fourth embodiment]
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

In the fourth embodiment, in addition to recommended products determined based on the number of operating devices in the customer environment, recommended products determined based on the function-specific counter values of the devices are displayed on the catalog screen.

In the fourth embodiment, the recommended condition storage unit 59 stores a condition table shown in FIG. 24 instead of the condition table representing recommended conditions shown in FIG. This condition table has items such as a product ID, the minimum and maximum number of devices in operation, and the minimum and maximum functional counter values. FIG. 24 exemplifies the number of printed sheets and the number of scanned sheets as counter values by function. The number of operating units is either the total number of operating units, the number of operating units for each device type, or both.

In the fourth embodiment, the recommended product determination unit 58 determines, as recommended products, products that meet the recommended conditions regarding the number of operating units defined in the condition table and products that satisfy the recommended conditions regarding the function-specific counter values. Note that the recommended product determination unit 58 extracts the function-specific counter value from the operation data acquired by the operation data acquisition unit 54 . In the fourth embodiment, the operation data acquisition unit 54 preferably acquires monthly data from the operation data storage server 18 in addition to daily data as the operation data.

FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing an example of catalog screen display processing in the fourth embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, in step S54 in the sequence shown in FIG. 25, the operating data acquisition unit 54 acquires operating data (daily data and monthly data) from the operating data accumulation server 18. FIG.

In step S55, the operating number determining unit 56 determines the number of operating devices 10 based on the daily data. In step S56, the recommended product determination unit 58 extracts function-specific counter values (for example, the number of printed sheets and the number of scanned sheets) from the monthly data.

In step S57, the recommended product determination unit 58 determines the recommended product for the operating number determined in step S55 and the recommended product for the functional counter value extracted in step S56 based on the condition table shown in FIG. For example, when the number of scanned sheets per month is 360, the "global scan" whose product ID is A1 is determined as the recommended product.

Other steps are the same as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a catalog screen in the fourth embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, recommended products for each function counter value are displayed in the upper columns of the catalog screen in addition to the recommended products for the number of units in operation.

Other configurations and operations of the fourth embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In addition to the determination of recommended products in the first to third embodiments, determination of recommended products based on the counter value in the fourth embodiment may be performed.

Incidentally, the daily DB server 20, the monthly DB server 30, the product providing server 40, and the catalog providing server 50 in each of the above embodiments may each be constructed by a single computer, or each part (function or means) may be constructed by a plurality of computers arbitrarily assigned by dividing the

Note that each function of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or a plurality of processing circuits. Here, the "processing circuit" in this specification means a processor programmed by software to perform each function, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, or a processor designed to perform each function described above. ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (digital signal processors), FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), and devices such as conventional circuit modules.

The present invention is not limited to the requirements shown in the above embodiments. These points can be changed within the scope of the present invention, and can be determined appropriately according to the application form.

The operation data acquisition unit 54 is an example of operation data acquisition means. The product information storage unit 52 is an example of product information storage means. The recommended condition storage unit 59 is an example of recommended condition storage means. The recommended product determination unit 58 is an example of recommended product determination means. The catalog screen creating unit 53 is an example of a catalog screen creating means. The operating number determining unit 56 is an example of operating number determining means. The customer information storage unit 55 is an example of customer information storage means. The number-of-users determination unit 57 is an example of number-of-users determination means.

1 Information Processing System 10 Device 12 User Terminal 14 Broker 18 Operation Data Storage Server 20 Daily DB Server 30 Monthly DB Server 40 Product Providing Server 50, 50a Catalog Providing Server 52 Product Information Storage Unit 53 Catalog Screen Creation Unit 54 Operation Data Acquisition unit 55 Customer information storage unit 56 Operating number determination unit 57 Number of users determination unit 58 Recommended product determination unit 59 Recommended condition storage unit

JP 2018-22464 A

Claims (9)

an operation data acquisition means for acquiring operation data indicating the operation performance of the device;
product information storage means for storing product information including at least software or services ;
a recommended condition storage means for storing a recommended condition for recommending, from the product information , a product that satisfies a limit on the total number of operating devices obtained based on the operation data;
operating number determining means for determining the total number of operating devices belonging to the customer environment of the customer to which the user operating the user terminal belongs, based on the operating data;
recommended product determination means for determining , as a recommended product , a product for which the total number of operating units determined by the operating number determination means satisfies the recommended condition ;
creating a catalog screen showing the product information and recommended products determined by the recommended product determining means in response to a request from the user terminal, and transmitting the data of the catalog screen to the user terminal; means and
An information processing system having The recommended condition storage means further stores the recommended condition for recommending, from the product information, a product that satisfies a limit on the number of operating units for each device type obtained based on the operation data,
The operating number determining means further determines the number of operating devices for each device type belonging to the customer environment of the customer based on the operating data,
2. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein said recommended product determining means determines, as said recommended product, a product that satisfies said recommendation condition in terms of said total number of operating units determined by said operating number determining means and said number of operating units for each type of equipment. system. The operating number determining means determines, as the total operating number, the number of devices whose final data acquisition date of the operating data is within a certain past period from the time when the catalog screen display request is made from the user terminal. Item 3. The information processing system according to Item 1 or 2 . having customer information storage means for storing customer information of a customer to whom the user operating the user terminal belongs;
The customer information storage means stores information that associates a group within the customer to which the user who operates the user terminal belongs to the device, and
4. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said operating number determination means determines the total number of operating devices belonging to said user's group. customer information storage means for storing customer information of a customer to whom the user operating the user terminal belongs;
user number determination means for determining the number of users per device based on the total number of operating devices determined by the operating number determination means and the customer information;
4. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said recommended product determination means determines recommended products based on said number of users determined by said user number determination means and said recommended conditions. The operation data includes a counter value of the equipment,
The recommended condition includes a condition that associates the counter value with a recommended product,
6. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein said recommended product determination means determines a recommended product based on said recommended condition and said counter value obtained from said operation data. an operation data acquisition means for acquiring operation data indicating the operation performance of the device;
product information storage means for storing product information including at least software or services ;
a recommended condition storage means for storing a recommended condition for recommending, from the product information , a product that satisfies a limit on the total number of operating devices obtained based on the operation data;
operating number determining means for determining the total number of operating devices belonging to the customer environment of the customer to which the user operating the user terminal belongs, based on the operating data;
recommended product determination means for determining , as a recommended product , a product for which the total number of operating units determined by the operating number determination means satisfies the recommended condition ;
creating a catalog screen showing the product information and recommended products determined by the recommended product determining means in response to a request from the user terminal, and transmitting the data of the catalog screen to the user terminal; means and
Information processing device having information processing equipment,
an operation data acquisition means for acquiring operation data indicating the operation performance of the device;
product information storage means for storing product information including at least software or services ;
a recommended condition storage means for storing a recommended condition for recommending, from the product information , a product that satisfies a limit on the total number of operating devices obtained based on the operation data;
operating number determining means for determining the total number of operating devices belonging to the customer environment of the customer to which the user operating the user terminal belongs, based on the operating data;
recommended product determination means for determining , as a recommended product , a product for which the total number of operating units determined by the operating number determination means satisfies the recommended condition ;
creating a catalog screen showing the product information and recommended products determined by the recommended product determining means in response to a request from the user terminal, and transmitting the data of the catalog screen to the user terminal; means and
program to function as The information processing device
an operation data acquisition step of acquiring operation data indicating the operation performance of the device;
a product information storage step of storing product information including at least software or services;
a recommended condition storage step of storing a recommended condition for recommending, from the product information, a product that satisfies a limit on the total number of operating devices obtained based on the operation data;
an operating number determination step of determining the total number of operating devices belonging to a customer environment of a customer to which the user operating the user terminal belongs, based on the operation data;
a recommended product determination step of determining, as a recommended product, a product for which the total number of operating units determined in the operating number determination step satisfies the recommended condition;
Creating a catalog screen for displaying the product information and recommended products determined by the recommended product determining step in response to a request from the user terminal, and transmitting the data of the catalog screen to the user terminal. a step;
Recommended product judgment method to perform .

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