Setting support device, setting support method, and setting support program

Abstract

To provide a setting support device for constructing or maintaining a customer tenant while preventing leakage of confidential information.SOLUTION: A setting support device includes: a working tenant generation unit 17 that generates a working tenant including a part of setting data defined in a preregistered customer tenant; an update data reception unit 21 that receives update data that is added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant; and an update unit 25 that updates the customer tenant with the update data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a setting support device, a setting support method, and a setting support program, and more particularly, to a setting support device that supports the setting of a tenant formed by a computer, a setting support method executed by the setting support device, and a setting support program that causes a computer to execute the setting support method.

[0002] With the spread of cloud services, users can use applications provided by service providers by using tenants provided by cloud services. A tenant is computer resources and applications provided by a cloud service. A tenant is managed by a computer corresponding to a customer account assigned to a customer who receives the service. A tenant includes computer resources and storage assigned to a customer account. In addition, a tenant includes tasks for a computer to execute an application program and a database generated by the tasks. Cloud services set application setting values independently of other tenants, in addition to access rights and security setting values, on a tenant-by-tenant basis.

[0003] On the one hand, the setup work for the tenant may burden the customer. Therefore, a customer engineer, who is a service provider, may assist with the setup work for the customer's tenant. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-5806 discloses an information processing system including an information processing server and a customer terminal, the system comprising: an app storage unit storing an application used by the customer terminal; an app information management unit storing data indicating whether the application can refer to a maintenance account; an account information management unit registering the accounts of customers belonging to the tenant and the maintenance account; and a tenant-account processing unit that executes processing for controlling whether to display or not display the maintenance account on the application on the customer terminal based on data indicating whether the application can refer to the maintenance account.

[0004] However, in the information processing system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-5806, since the customer engineer logs in to the tenant using the maintenance account, there is a risk of leakage of confidential information included in the customer's tenant.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] This invention is made to solve the above-described problems, and one of the objects of this invention is to provide a setup support device capable of constructing or maintaining a customer tenant while preventing leakage of confidential information.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a setting support method capable of constructing or maintaining a customer tenant while preventing leakage of confidential information.

[0008] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a setting support program capable of constructing or maintaining a customer tenant while preventing leakage of confidential information.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above-described object, a setting support apparatus includes a tenant generation unit that generates a working tenant including a part of setting data defined in a pre-registered customer tenant, an update data reception unit that receives update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant, and an update unit that updates the customer tenant with the update data.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, a setting support method causes a setting support apparatus to execute a tenant generation step of generating a working tenant including a part of setting data defined in a pre-registered customer tenant, an update data reception step of receiving update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant, and an update step of updating the customer tenant with the update data.

[0011] According to still another aspect of the present invention, a setting support program causes a computer to execute a tenant generation step of generating a working tenant including a part of setting data defined in a pre-registered customer tenant, an update data reception step of receiving update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant, and an update step of updating the customer tenant with the update data.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overall overview of a service - providing system in one of the embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the service - providing system 1 includes a plurality of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as "PCs") 100, 100A to 100D and a server 200. Here, the case where the service - providing system 1 includes five PCs 100, 100A to 100D will be described as an example. The hardware configurations and functions of the PCs 100, 100A to 100D are the same, and unless otherwise specified, the PC 100 will be described as an example. Note that the hardware configurations of the PCs 100, 100A to 100D may be different from each other. Each of the PCs 100, 100A to 100D and the server 200 is connected to the Internet 5. For this reason, the PCs 100, 100A to 100D and the server 200 can communicate with each other. Note that the Internet 5 may be a network such as a local area network (LAN).

[0015] Server 200 is owned by a service provider that provides cloud services and functions as a service providing device and a setting support device. Server 200 has an application program installed, and provides services by executing the application program. Here, it is assumed that four customers A to D have registered customer tenants A to D in the cloud service respectively. In this case, Server 200 allocates a part of the computer resources and applications that Server 200 has to customer tenants A to D respectively. Server 200 assigns a customer account to each of customers A to D. Server 200 generates customer tenants A to D corresponding to the four customer accounts respectively and manages them. In the following description, the case where a customer engineer of the service provider updates setting data for customer tenant A of customer A will be described as an example. The case where a customer engineer of the service provider operates PC100 and four customers A to D who receive cloud services operate PC100A to 100D respectively will be described as an example.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an outline of the hardware configuration of the server in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, server 200 includes a CPU 201 for controlling the whole of server 200, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a hard disk drive (HDD) 204, a communication unit 205, a display unit 206, an operation unit 207, and an external storage device 208.

[0017] The ROM 202 stores programs for the CPU 201 to execute. The RAM 203 is used as the working area of the CPU 201. The HDD 204 is a large-capacity storage device that stores data non-volatilely. A solid state drive (SSD) may be used instead of the HDD 204. The communication unit 205 connects the CPU 201 to the Internet 5. The operation unit 207 receives operations input by the user. The display unit 206 is, although not limited to, a liquid crystal display device. Note that an organic EL (electroluminescence) display may be used instead of the liquid crystal display device.

[0018] An external storage device 208 has a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) 209 mounted thereon. In the present embodiment, an example where the CPU 201 executes a program stored in the ROM 202 will be described. However, the CPU 201 may control the external storage device 208 to read out a program for the CPU 201 to execute from the CD-ROM 209, store the read program in the RAM 203, and execute it.

[0019] Note that the recording medium for storing the program for the CPU 201 to execute is not limited to the CD-ROM 209, and may be a medium such as a flexible disk, a cassette tape, an optical disk (MO (Magnetic Optical Disc) / MD (Mini Disc) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), an IC card, an optical card, a mask ROM, a semiconductor memory such as an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), etc. Further, the CPU 201 may load and execute a program stored in the HDD 204 into the RAM 203. The program stored in the HDD 204 includes a program downloaded by the CPU 201 from a computer connected to the Internet, or a program written by a computer connected to the Internet to the HDD 204. The program referred to here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 201, but also a source program, a compressed program, an encrypted program, etc.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of functions of the CPU included in the server according to the present embodiment. The functions shown in FIG. 3 may be realized by hardware. Further, the functions may be realized by the CPU 201 by causing the CPU 201 included in the server 200 to execute a setting support program stored in the ROM 202, the HDD 204, or the CD-ROM 209. Referring to FIG. 3, the CPU 201 included in the server 200 includes a tenant management unit 11, a tenant designation unit 13, a change target part reception unit 15, a work tenant generation unit 17, a work account issuance unit 19, an update data reception unit 21, a work tenant update unit 23, an update unit 25, a history generation unit 27, and a deletion unit 29.

[0021] The tenant management unit 11 manages customer tenants A to D. The tenant management unit 11 stores databases corresponding to the customer tenants A to D in the HDD 204. A tenant table for identifying the four databases corresponding to the customer tenants A to D is stored in the HDD 204.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a table. Referring to FIG. 4, the tenant table includes tenant records corresponding to the customer tenants A to D. The tenant record includes a tenant ID item and a tenant name item. In the tenant ID item, identification information for identifying the tenant is set. Here, the tenant ID "t1" is assigned to tenant A, the tenant ID "t2" is assigned to tenant B, the tenant ID "t3" is assigned to tenant C, and the tenant ID "t4" is assigned to tenant D. In the tenant name item, a name assigned to the tenant is set. The tenant name "Company A" is assigned to tenant A, the tenant name "B Corporation" is assigned to tenant B, the tenant name "C Office" is assigned to tenant C, and the tenant name "D University" is assigned to tenant D.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the detailed functions of the tenant management unit. Referring to FIG. 5, the tenant management unit 11 includes a user management unit 41, an authentication unit 43, a service providing unit 45, a data operation unit 47, and a log management unit 49.

[0024] The user management unit 41 manages users who use the server 200. The user management unit 41 issues an account and stores user management information associating the account with a password in the HDD 204. Here, a case will be described as an example where the user management unit 41 generates user management information for each of customers A to D and stores the user management information in the HDD 204. Also, the user management unit 41 issues an account to a customer engineer and stores user management information corresponding to the customer engineer in the HDD 204.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a user table. The user table includes user management information. Referring to FIG. 6, the user table includes user records corresponding to customers A to D respectively. The user record includes an item of user ID, an item of user name, an item of password, an item of affiliated tenant, and an item of role. In the item of user ID, user IDs issued for each of customer tenants A to D are set. In the item of user name, the names of customers A to D are set. In the item of affiliated tenant, the tenant ID of the customer tenant to which the customer belongs is set. In the item of role, the authority assigned to the user specified by the user ID set in the item of user name is set. Here, in the item of role, either an administrator authority or a general authority is set. The administrator authority is assigned the authority to input all operations that can be set for the customer tenant. The general authority is assigned the authority to input some of the operations that can be set for the customer tenant, but not the authority to input other operations. For example, for customer tenant A, user management information of user ID "BBB@t1" is set, and for the user management information, customer tenant A with tenant ID "t1" and administrator authority are assigned.

[0026] Returning to FIG. 5, the authentication unit 43 authenticates the user who logs in to the service. The authentication unit 43 authenticates the user using the user management information stored in the HDD 204. When the communication unit 205 receives an account and a password from any of the PCs 100, 100A to 100D, the authentication unit 43 authenticates the user on the condition that the user information associating the received account and password is stored in the HDD 204. The authentication unit 43 outputs the account of the authenticated user to the service providing unit 45 and the data operation unit 47.

[0027] The service providing unit 45 provides a service for the account input from the authentication unit 43. The services here include services that allocate computer resources and storage, as well as services that provide customer tenants. A customer tenant is a service that executes an application program. The content of the service provided by the customer tenant is determined by the service provider. Various setting values are determined for the application program. The service providing unit 45 stores a setting information table in which setting values are determined for each customer tenant in the HDD 204.

[0028] The service providing unit 45 executes the application program according to the setting values set in the setting information table. These setting values are determined for the customer account, and different setting values are set for different customer accounts. Therefore, although the service providing unit 45 executes the same application program for a plurality of customer accounts, different processes may be executed among the plurality of customer accounts. Here, a case where the application program defines processes for managing users, managing an address book, and transmitting data to the addresses registered in the address book will be described as an example. The process of managing users includes a process of managing users who access the customer tenant and a process of setting other authentication servers.

[0029] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a setting information table. Referring to FIG. 7, the setting information table includes setting information records corresponding to customers A to D respectively. The setting information record includes an item of tenant ID, an item of setting ID, and an item of setting value. In the item of tenant ID, the tenant ID of the customer tenant is set. In the item of setting ID, identification information for identifying the setting value is set. In the item of setting value, the setting value set for the customer tenant is set. The setting value set in the item of setting value includes only the setting values added, changed, and deleted from the setting values set in the initial state for the setting values set for the customer tenant. All customer tenants A to D are generated by changing the setting values set in the initial tenant with the common initial tenant as the initial state. Therefore, the setting values different from the setting values set in the initial tenant among the setting values set for the customer tenant are set in the item of setting value.

[0030] Returning to FIG. 5, the data operation unit 47 receives an operation corresponding to the account input from the authentication unit 43 and operates on the database corresponding to that account. The database is composed of one or more tables and one or more records included in the tables. The table defines the format of the records. The record includes a plurality of items determined by the format defined by the table. The data operation unit 47 adds, changes, or deletes a table according to the operation. The addition of a table is a process of generating a new table. The change of a table is a process of changing the format of the records. The deletion of a table is a process of deleting the table. Also, the data operation unit 47 adds, changes, or deletes a record according to the operation. The addition of a record is a process of adding a new record to the table. The change of a record is a process of changing at least one value of a plurality of items included in the record without changing the format. The deletion of a record is a process of deleting an existing record.

[0031] For example, Customer A can access the customer tenant by operating PC100 and accessing server 200 using account A and password A assigned to Customer A. Since Customer A can access the database corresponding to the customer tenant, the database can be changed, etc. Also, Customer A can send data to the address registered in the database.

[0032] When a table or record is added, changed, or deleted by data operation unit 47 by service provision unit 45, log management unit 49 stores history information in HDD 204. The history information includes the date, user identification information of the user who instructed the operation, and process identification information for identifying the process executed by the operation. Also, the history information may include the state of the data before and after the process corresponding to the operation.

[0033] Returning to FIG. 3, customer tenants A to D corresponding to Customers A to D are generated by tenant management unit 11 and managed. Customers A to D may not be familiar with the application programs executed on server 200, and it may be difficult to set the setting values necessary to execute the application programs. Also, there may be cases where customers wish to request others to add, change, delete items of tables or records registered in the database corresponding to the customer tenant, or to add, change, and delete records in the table. These change operations are executed by the customer engineer of the service provider on behalf of Customers A to D. Here, the case where Customer A requests the customer engineer to perform the change operation will be described.

[0034] The tenant specifying unit 13 specifies the customer tenant to be processed. The tenant specifying unit 13, in response to a request from a customer engineer who has received a maintenance work request from Customer A, specifies the customer tenant A assigned to Customer A as the processing target. The tenant specifying unit 13 accepts the specification of customer tenant A when the customer engineer operates the PC 100, logs in to the server 200, and inputs the tenant ID of customer tenant A. Note that when Customer A operates the PC 100A, logs in to the server 200, and inputs an instruction to request a modification work to the customer engineer, the request of Customer A may be accepted. The tenant specifying unit 13 outputs the tenant ID for identifying the customer tenant to be processed, here, the tenant ID of customer tenant A, to the modification target part reception unit 15.

[0035] The modification target part reception unit 15 receives the modification target part. The modification target part reception unit 15 receives the modification target part input by the customer engineer operating the PC 100. The modification target part is received among the setting data set in the customer tenant. The setting data includes function specifying data for specifying the functions of the customer tenant and actual data registered in the customer tenant. The function specifying data includes items of setting values of application programs and definition information of databases. The definition information of the database includes format data for defining the data format. The format data includes information for defining one or more tables included in the database. The information for defining the table includes information for defining items of records registered in the table. The actual data includes records registered in the table specified by the function specifying data.

[0036] The change target part reception unit 15 receives the change target part according to the operation input by the customer engineer. The change target part reception unit 15 outputs the received change target part and the tenant ID of the customer tenant A to be processed to the working tenant generation unit 17. The change target part reception unit 15 may output the change target part and the tenant ID of the customer tenant A to the working tenant generation unit 17 on the condition that the change target part is transmitted to customer A and the permission by customer A is received. Note that the change target part reception unit 15 may receive the change target part according to the operation input by customer A. The change target part reception unit 15 outputs the received change target part and the tenant ID of the customer tenant A to be processed to the working tenant generation unit 17.

[0037] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the detailed functions of the change target part reception unit. Referring to FIG. 9, the change target part reception unit 15 includes a function setting part identification unit 51 and a processing data identification unit 53. The function setting part identification unit 51 receives function identification data. The function identification data includes items of setting values of application programs and definition information of databases. The definition information of the database includes items of records that define the tables registered in the database and the formats of those tables. Also, the definition information of the database includes relation information that defines the relevance between a plurality of tables. When adding a new table to the database, or when adding, changing, or deleting items of records defined in an existing table, it includes table identification information for identifying that table.

[0038] The customer engineer can change the definition information of the database specified by the function setting part specifying unit 51. When the customer requests the customer engineer to add a new table or add, change, or delete items of records in an existing table, the customer engineer can change the definition information of the database specified by the function setting part specifying unit 51. When the customer requests the customer engineer to set up authentication by the authentication server, set low-secrecy setting values such as the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the authentication server and the setting items of the authentication protocol in the part to be changed, and do not set confidential information such as passwords in the part to be changed. This can prevent confidential information such as passwords from leaking.

[0039] The processed data specifying unit 53 receives information for specifying actual data. The actual data includes records registered in the table specified by the function specifying data. The processed data specifying unit 53 includes a table specifying unit 55 and an item specifying unit 57. The table specifying unit 55 receives table identification information for identifying any one of one or more tables registered in the database. When the table is specified by the function setting part specifying unit 51, the table specifying unit 55 receives the table identification information specified by the function setting part specifying unit 51. The processed data specifying unit 53 determines the records registered in the table specified by the table identification information received by the table specifying unit 55 as the part to be changed.

[0040] The item specifying unit 57 specifies at least one of the items of the record defined in the table specified by the table identification information received by the table specifying unit 55. When the record defined by the table includes a plurality of items, only a part may be specified. The processing data specifying unit 53 specifies, as the part to be changed, the partial data including only the values set in one or more items of the record specified by the item specifying unit 57 among the actual data registered in the table specified by the table specifying unit 55. For example, in a table defining an address book, a case where the record includes items where a registration number, name, age, address, and email address are set respectively will be described. In this case, the actual data (partial data) including only the items of the registration number, address, and email address and not including the name and age is specified as the part to be changed. A case where a customer passes a list including a registration number, an address, and an email address to a customer engineer will be described. In this case, the customer engineer can perform an operation of inputting the actual data including the registration number, the address, and the email address into the table specified by the table specifying unit 55. Since the part to be changed does not include the name and age, leakage of confidential information can be prevented.

[0041] Returning to FIG. 3, the working tenant generation unit 17 generates a working tenant corresponding to the customer tenant A based on the part to be changed and the tenant ID. The working tenant generation unit 17 registers the working tenant in the tenant management unit 11 and outputs the tenant ID of the working tenant to the working account issuing unit 19, the working tenant update unit 23, and the update unit 25.

[0042] The work tenant generation unit 17 generates a tenant including only the part to be changed among the customer tenant A specified by the tenant ID as a work tenant. When the part to be changed includes an item of the setting value of the application program, the work tenant generation unit 17 generates a tenant including the item of the setting value as a work tenant. The work tenant does not include an item of the setting value of the application program that is not set in the part to be changed. Therefore, the work tenant can be made not to include an item of the setting value of the application program that has a high confidentiality level. For this reason, leakage of confidential information is prevented.

[0043] When the part to be changed includes an item of the record of the table registered in the database, the work tenant generation unit 17 generates a tenant including partial data composed of records including only the values set in the items of the records included in the part to be changed as a work tenant. The work tenant does not include the values set in the items of the records not included in the part to be changed among the records registered in the table. Therefore, when the part to be changed is set so as not to include confidential information, the work tenant does not include the confidential information included in the customer tenant A. For this reason, leakage of confidential information is prevented.

[0044] The work account issuing unit 19 issues a work account in response to the input of the tenant ID of the work tenant. The work account includes the user ID and password assigned to the work tenant. The work account issuing unit 19 notifies the work account to customer A. When customer A requests a change to the customer engineer, the work account is notified to the customer engineer. Also, the work account issuing unit 19 outputs the work account to the update data reception unit 21.

[0045] The update data reception unit 21 receives update data input by the customer engineer to the work tenant. The customer engineer operates the PC 100 to access the server 200 using the work account. This enables change operations on the work tenant registered by the tenant management unit 11. When the update data reception unit 21 receives update data, it outputs the update data to the work tenant update unit 23.

[0046] The work tenant update unit 23 updates the work tenant based on the update data. Specifically, the work tenant update unit 23 reflects the update data on the work tenant managed by the tenant management unit 11. When the update data includes the setting values of the application program, the work tenant update unit 23 rewrites the values of the items of the setting values with the update data. When the update data is data for changing the definition information of the database, the work tenant update unit 23 changes the definition information of the database. When the update data is data for adding, changing, and deleting records set in the table registered in the database, the work tenant update unit 23 adds, changes, and deletes the records set in the table registered in the database. As a result, the setting information table corresponding to the work tenant is updated in the tenant management unit 11.

[0047] When the update of the work tenant by the work tenant update unit 23 is completed, the work tenant update unit 23 outputs an update instruction to the update unit 25. Specifically, an instruction to refer to the setting information table corresponding to the updated work tenant is output to the update unit 25. In addition, the work tenant update unit 23 outputs the date and time when the update data was input and the update data to the history generation unit 27. The history generation unit 27 stores the update data together with the date and time as update history information in the HDD 204.

[0048] The update unit 25 refers to the working tenant and updates the customer tenant A. The update unit 25 includes a difference generation unit 31 and a change target determination unit 33. The difference generation unit 31 generates the difference between the customer tenant A and the working tenant. Specifically, the difference between the setting information corresponding to the customer tenant A registered in the setting information table stored in the HDD 204 and the setting information corresponding to the working tenant is extracted as difference information. The difference generation unit 31 outputs the difference information to the change target determination unit 33. The setting information indicates the difference from the set value in the initial state of the tenant. Since the setting information corresponding to the customer tenant A and the setting information corresponding to the working tenant indicate the difference from the same standard, the difference between the setting information corresponding to the customer tenant A and the setting information corresponding to the working tenant indicates the difference between the customer tenant A and the working tenant.

[0049] The change target determination unit 33 determines whether the difference information includes only the parts to be changed. If the difference information includes parts other than the parts to be changed, error information is generated and the error information is output. For example, the change target determination unit 33 generates an e-mail including the error information and sends the e-mail to customer A.

[0050] When the difference information is determined by the change target determination unit 33 to include only the parts to be changed, the update unit 25 updates the customer tenant with the difference information. As a result, the customer tenant is updated to the state after being updated by the customer engineer.

[0051] After the customer tenant A is updated, the deletion unit 29 deletes the work tenant. The deletion unit 29 deletes the work tenant in response to receiving an end instruction indicating that the work of the customer engineer inputting the update data has ended. In this case, the work tenant can be deleted at the timing when the work tenant becomes unnecessary. Also, the deletion unit 29 may delete the work tenant after a predetermined period has elapsed since the customer tenant was updated with the update data. In this case, the work tenant can be deleted at the timing when the work tenant becomes unnecessary. Further, the deletion unit 29 may delete the work tenant in response to detecting the logout of the customer engineer. In this case, since the customer tenant A is updated with the work tenant, the processing for the work tenant is completed, and the work tenant can be deleted at the timing when the work tenant becomes unnecessary.

[0052] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of maintenance work for a customer tenant. The flow of time is shown from top to bottom, and in order from left, the flows of the work of customer A, the work of the customer engineer, the processing executed on the website, the processing executed by the cloud service API, and the processing executed on the tenant DB are shown. The website is the part where the server 200 functions as a web server and serves as a user interface. The cloud service API (Application Programming Interface) is arranged between the website and the tenant DB and is an interface with the application program executed by the service provided by the server 200. Specifically, the cloud service API executes processing on the tenant DB according to the instructions given by the user received on the website.

[0053] FIGS. 10 to 15 are diagrams showing an example of the operation screen output by the website. Hereinafter, the flow of the maintenance work shown in FIG. 9 will be described together with the operation screens shown in FIGS. 10 to 15. First, the flow of the processing before the maintenance work of the customer tenant A will be described.

[0054] Customer A requests maintenance work from a customer engineer. In response to the request, the customer engineer operates PC100 to instruct the web site to switch to the maintenance work mode. At this stage, the tenant identification screen 300 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on PC100. The tenant identification screen 300 includes an area 301 showing the work procedure and an area 302 for identifying the target tenant. The area 301 showing the work procedure includes an option of "1. Input of target tenant" indicating the first work of designating the tenant to be processed as the target tenant. The area 301 showing the work procedure also includes an option of "2. Selection of data to be copied" indicating the second work of designating the part to be changed. The area 301 showing the work procedure includes an option of "3. Confirmation" indicating the third work of confirming the items to be changed. The area 301 showing the work procedure includes an option of "Work information" indicating the fourth work of adding, changing, or deleting the setting data.

[0055] The area 302 for identifying the target tenant includes an area for setting the tenant ID, an area for setting the work date and time (scheduled), and an area for setting the work content. The customer tenant identified by the tenant ID set in the area for setting the tenant ID is designated as the processing target for creating the work tenant. Here, the case where the customer tenant A with the customer ID of "t1" is designated as the processing target will be described as an example.

[0056] Next, in response to the customer tenant to be processed being specified by the tenant identification screen 300, the website outputs the change target part reception screen 310 shown in FIG. 11 and displays it on the PC 100. The change target part reception screen 310 includes an area 301 showing the work procedure and an area 303 for specifying the change target part. The area 303 for specifying the change target part includes five check boxes. The five check boxes can be selected exclusively, and only one of the five check boxes can be selected. Specifically, the first check box is selected when all data is selected. The second check box is selected when all setting values in the setting system are selected. The third check box is selected when the setting values related to document storage are selected. The fourth check box is selected when the settings related to authentication are selected. The fifth check box is selected when the settings related to document sharing are selected. Here, the case where the fourth check box for selecting the settings related to authentication is selected is shown as an example.

[0057] Next, in response to the change target part being specified by the change target part reception screen 310, the website outputs the confirmation screen 320 shown in FIG. 12 and displays it on the PC operated by the customer who is the owner of the customer tenant. Here, since the customer tenant A is set as the processing target, the confirmation screen 320 is displayed on the PC 100A operated by the customer A who is the owner of the customer tenant A. The confirmation screen is a screen for requesting permission for the customer engineer to generate a work tenant, and includes information indicating the change target part, a button represented by the character "approve", and a button represented by the character "reject".

[0058] The website requests the creation of a working tenant from the cloud service API in response to the button with the approval text on the confirmation screen 320 being instructed. The cloud service API creates a working tenant in response to the request, and a working tenant corresponding to customer tenant A is generated in the tenant DB. The cloud service API outputs the working tenant information to the website. The working tenant information includes a tenant ID for identifying the working tenant and an account and password for accessing the working tenant.

[0059] In response to the input of the working tenant information from the cloud service API, the website outputs the notification screen 330 shown in FIG. 13 and causes it to be displayed on the PC 100. The notification screen 330 includes an area 301 showing the work procedure and an area 304 for displaying the working tenant information. The working tenant information is displayed in the area 304 for displaying the working tenant information. Therefore, the customer engineer can access the working tenant using the tenant ID, account, and password included in the working tenant information.

[0060] Here, a customer engineer without permission to access customer tenant A can create a work tenant. However, customer A may also generate a work tenant. In this case, the website outputs the customer work tenant setting screen 340 shown in FIG. 14 and displays it on the PC 100A operated by customer A. The customer work tenant setting screen 340 includes a region 341 where the main menu is displayed and a region 342 for accepting administrator settings. In response to the instruction of the "Administrator Settings" item in the region 341 where the main menu is displayed, the administrator settings menu is displayed in the region 342. The region 342 includes an item for maintenance settings, and a region 343 for specifying the part to be changed in the region for setting the maintenance work mode. The region 343 for specifying the part to be changed includes five check boxes. The five check boxes can be selected exclusively, and only one of the five check boxes can be selected. Specifically, the first check box is selected when all data is selected. The second check box is selected when all setting values of the setting system are selected. The third check box is selected when the setting value related to document storage is selected. The fourth check box is selected when the setting related to authentication is selected. The fifth check box is selected when the setting related to document sharing is selected. Here, the case where the fourth check box for selecting the setting related to authentication is selected is shown as an example.

[0061] When the work tenant is generated according to the content set in the region 343 for specifying the part to be changed, the notification screen 330 shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the PC 100A. If customer A notifies the customer engineer of the work tenant information by e-mail or the like, the customer engineer can access the work tenant using the tenant ID, account, and password included in the work tenant information.

[0062] Next, the process during the maintenance work of the customer tenant will be described. The customer engineer logs in to the working tenant by accessing the website using the account and password issued for the working tenant. Then, the customer engineer inputs the maintenance work into the website. The maintenance work involves adding, modifying, and deleting data included in the working tenant. The website outputs the content of the maintenance work to the cloud service API. The cloud service API executes the process of adding, modifying, and deleting the configuration data included in the working tenant according to the content of the maintenance work, and notifies the website of the completion of the process. Thereby, the customer engineer can confirm that the maintenance work for the working tenant has been completed.

[0063] Next, the process after the completion of the maintenance work of the customer tenant will be described. The customer engineer instructs the website to end the maintenance work of the working tenant. The customer engineer instructs the website to end the maintenance work by instructing the button 351 representing the character "work completed" in the end instruction screen 350 shown in FIG. 15. The website outputs an update instruction to the cloud API in response to receiving the instruction from the customer engineer. The cloud API updates the customer tenant A with the working tenant according to the update instruction. Then, the website outputs a deletion instruction to the cloud API. The cloud API deletes the working tenant according to the deletion instruction.

[0064] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of generating a working tenant. The working tenant generation process is a process executed by the CPU 201 provided in the server 200 by executing a setting support program stored in the ROM 202, HDD 204, or CD-ROM 209. Referring to FIG. 16, the CPU 201 provided in the server 200 determines whether a customer tenant has been specified (step S01). The customer engineer operates the PC 100 on the tenant identification screen 300 of FIG. 10 to instruct the customer tent, thereby accepting the specification of the customer tenant. The process waits until a customer tenant is specified (No in step S01), and when a customer tenant is specified (YES in step S01), the process proceeds to step S02. Here, the case where the customer tenant A is specified will be described as an example.

[0065] In step S02, the part to be changed is accepted, and the process proceeds to step S03. The change target part acceptance screen 310 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the PC 100, and the change target part input by the customer engineer according to the change target part acceptance screen 310 is accepted.

[0066] In step S03, it is determined whether the generation of the working tenant has been permitted by the customer. The confirmation screen 320 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the PC 100A operated by the customer A. After the customer A confirms the part to be changed displayed on the confirmation screen 320 and then instructs the button representing the approval character, the permission by the customer is accepted. If the button representing the rejection character is instructed, the permission by the customer is not accepted. If the permission is given by the customer, the process proceeds to step S04; otherwise, the process returns to step S01.

[0067] In step S04, a working tenant is generated, and the process proceeds to step S05. A working tenant is generated by copying the portion to be changed received in step S02 from the customer tenant A specified in step S01. The working tenant does not include portions other than the portion to be changed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the working tenant from including confidential information.

[0068] In step S05, working tenant information is issued, and the process ends. Specifically, a notification screen 330 shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on a PC 100 operated by a customer engineer. The notification screen 330 includes a region 304 for displaying the working tenant information. Therefore, the customer engineer can access the working tenant using the tenant ID, account, and password included in the working tenant information.

[0069] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of maintenance processing. The maintenance processing is processing executed by the CPU 201 provided in the server 200 by executing a setting support program stored in the ROM 202, HDD 204, or CD-ROM 209. Referring to FIG. 16, the CPU 201 provided in the server 200 determines whether there has been a login to the working account (step S11). It remains in a standby state until a login using the working account is detected (NO in step S11), and if a login using the working account is detected (YES in step S11), the process proceeds to step S12.

[0070] In step S11, the working tenant is identified, and the process proceeds to step S12. The working tenant corresponding to the working account is identified as the processing target. In step S13, it is determined whether setting data has been received. If the setting data has been received, the process proceeds to step S14, otherwise the process proceeds to step S16.

[0071] In step S14, the working tenant is updated with the setting data received in step S13, and the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, a history of the update process is generated as log information, and the process proceeds to step S16. The log information is stored, for example, in the HDD 204 in association with the working tenant.

[0072] In step S16, it is determined whether the work has been completed. The end instruction screen 350 shown in FIG. 15 is displayed on the PC 100 operated by the customer engineer. When the customer engineer is instructed to press the button 351 on which the character "work completed" in the end instruction screen 350 is represented, an end instruction is received. If an end instruction is received, the process proceeds to step S17; otherwise, the process returns to step S13.

[0073] In step S17, a customer tenant update process is executed, and the process proceeds to step S18. Although the details of the customer tenant update process will be described later, it is a process of updating the customer tenant with the working tenant.

[0074] In step S18, it is determined whether the update was successful. If the update of the customer tenant is successful, the process proceeds to step S19; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S20. In step S19, the working tenant is deleted, and the process ends. In step S20, an error is notified, and the process ends. Error information indicating that the customer tenant could not be updated is sent to each of the PCs 100 and 100A. Thereby, customer A and the customer engineer can know that the update of the customer tenant has failed.

[0075] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the customer tenant update process. The customer tenant update process is a process executed in step S17 of the maintenance process. Referring to FIG. 18, the CPU 201 provided in the server 200 extracts the difference and advances the process to step S32. The difference between the working tenant and the customer tenant is extracted.

[0076] In step S32, it is determined whether the difference is the part to be changed. If the difference is the part to be changed, the process proceeds to step S33; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S34. In step S33, the customer tenant is updated with the working tenant, the return value is set to success, and the process returns to the maintenance process. In step S34, the return value is set to error, and the process returns to the maintenance work.

[0077] <Example> Hereinafter, an example in the service - providing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. An example is shown in which a customer engineer adds a new record to the address - book table registered in the customer tenant of Customer A.

[0078] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the address - book table registered in the customer tenant. Referring to FIG. 19, the address - book table includes four records. The record includes an item of registration No., an item of name, an item of number, an item of communication method, and an item of overseas communication mode. In the item of registration No., identification information for identifying the record is set. In the item of name, the name of the customer of Customer A is set. In the item of number, the facsimile number is set. In the item of communication method, the facsimile - communication method is set. In the item of overseas communication mode, the availability of overseas communication is set, and either on (available for overseas communication) or off (not available for overseas communication) is set.

[0079] Customer A requests a customer engineer to add a new record to the address book registered in customer tenant A. In this case, a working tenant corresponding to customer tenant A is generated. The working tenant has an address - book table, but no records are registered.

[0080] FIG. 20 is a first diagram showing an example of the address - book table registered in the working tenant. Referring to FIG. 20, a message "Currently, there is no registration." is displayed, indicating that no records are registered in the address - book table.

[0081] FIG. 21 is a second diagram showing an example of a table of an address book registered in a work tenant. In FIG. 21, a state where a customer engineer has newly added two records is shown.

[0082] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a table of an address book registered in an updated customer tenant. Referring to FIG. 22, the address book table includes six records including the two records shown in FIG. 21 in addition to the four records shown in FIG. 19.

[0083] In this way, customer A can cause the customer engineer to newly register two records without allowing the customer engineer to view the four records shown in FIG. 19. For this reason, the contents of the four records are not known to the customer engineer.

[0084] <Modification Example> In the above-described embodiment, the server 200 deletes the work tenant after the customer tenant A is updated in the work tenant. The work tenant is deleted on the condition that an end instruction indicating the end of acceptance of update data is input by the customer engineer. Instead of this, the server 200 may delete the work tenant after a predetermined period has elapsed since the customer tenant A was updated with the update data. Also, the server 200 may delete the work tenant in response to detecting a logout of an account permitted to access the work tenant. In this case, the work tenant can be deleted at the timing when the work tenant becomes unnecessary.

[0085] As described above, in the service providing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the server 200 functions as a setting support device. The server 200 generates a working tenant including a part of the setting data defined in the pre-registered customer tenant A, accepts update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant, and updates the customer tenant A with the update data. It is possible to prevent the working tenant from including confidential information among the setting data defined in the customer tenant A. Therefore, it is possible for a customer engineer who adds, changes, or deletes setting data in the working tenant not to acquire the confidential information defined in the customer tenant. Accordingly, it is possible to construct or maintain the customer tenant A while preventing leakage of confidential information.

[0086] Further, the setting data defined in the customer tenant A includes format data that is definition information of a table and actual data in a format determined by the format data. The server 200 generates a working tenant based on the format data of the customer tenant A, and accepts addition, change, or deletion of the definition information and / or actual data of the table for the working tenant. Therefore, it is possible to add, change, or delete the definition information and / or actual data of the database to the customer tenant.

[0087] Further, the server 200 generates a working tenant including partial data composed of some partial items designated as a change target part from among a plurality of items defined by the format data of the table among the actual data defined in the customer tenant A. Therefore, since the working tenant includes partial data composed of some partial items designated as a change target part from among a plurality of items in the actual data defined in the customer tenant A, it is possible to prevent the contents of items other than the partial items defined in the change target part from leaking.

[0088] In addition, the server 200 generates a working tenant based on the difference between the generation setting data defined in the customer tenant A at the time of generating the working tenant and the initial setting data defined in the customer tenant A in the initial state. Therefore, the working tenant can be accurately generated.

[0089] In addition, the server 200 generates a difference between the generation setting data defined in the working tenant at the time when the working tenant is generated and the update setting data defined in the working tenant at the time of updating the customer tenant. Therefore, the customer tenant A can be updated with respect to the parts added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant.

[0090] In addition, the server 200 receives a change target part that is to be added, changed, or deleted among the setting data defined in the customer tenant A, and determines whether the update data corresponds to the change target part. Therefore, it is possible not to update when the update data does not correspond to the change target part.

[0091] In addition, the server 200 stores the work history by the account permitted to access the working tenant. Therefore, it is possible to confirm the work contents added, changed, and deleted to the setting data after the update.

[0092] In addition, the setting data includes function specification data for specifying the functions of the customer tenant A and actual data registered in the customer tenant A. Therefore, the functions of the customer tenant can be added, changed, and deleted. Also, since the setting data includes the actual data registered in the customer tenant A, the actual data can be added, changed, and deleted.

[0093] In addition, since the server 200 deletes the working tenant, the memory resources can be effectively utilized.

[0094] The server 200 deletes the working tenant on the condition that it receives an end instruction indicating the end of receiving update data. Also, the server 200 may delete the working tenant after a predetermined period has elapsed since the customer tenant A was updated with the update data. Further, the server 200 may delete the working tenant in response to detecting the logout of an account permitted to access the working tenant. The working tenant can be deleted at the timing when the working tenant becomes unnecessary.

[0095] <Summary of the Embodiment> (Item 1) A tenant generation means for generating a working tenant including a part of the setting data defined by a pre-registered customer tenant, Update data reception means for receiving update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant, An update means for updating the customer tenant with the update data, and a setting support device provided therewith.

[0096] According to this aspect, a working tenant including a part of the setting data defined by the customer tenant is generated, update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant is received, and the customer tenant is updated with the update data. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the working tenant from including confidential information among the setting data defined by the customer tenant. For this reason, it is possible to prevent an operator who adds, changes, or deletes setting data in the working tenant from obtaining the confidential information defined by the customer tenant. As a result, it is possible to provide a setting support device capable of constructing or maintaining a customer tenant while preventing leakage of confidential information.

[0097] (Item 2) The setting data defined by the customer tenant includes format data defining a format and actual data in the format determined by the format data, The update data reception means receives addition, change, or deletion of the format data and / or the actual data, and the setting support device according to Item 1.

[0098] In accordance with this aspect, format data and / or actual data are added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant. Therefore, the customer tenant can format the actual data and / or add, change, or delete the actual data.

[0099] (Clause 3) The tenant generation means generates the working tenant including partial data composed of some partial items specified from among a plurality of items defined by the format data among the actual data defined in the customer tenant, the setting support device according to Clause 2.

[0100] In accordance with this aspect, since the working tenant includes partial data composed of some partial items specified from among a plurality of items of the actual data defined in the customer tenant, it is possible to prevent the content of items other than the partial items from leaking.

[0101] (Clause 4) The tenant generation means generates the working tenant based on the difference between the generation setting data defined in the customer tenant at the time of generating the working tenant and the initial setting data defined in the customer tenant in the initial state, the setting support device according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3.

[0102] In accordance with this aspect, the working tenant is generated based on the difference between the generation setting data defined in the customer tenant at the time of generating the working tenant and the initial setting data defined in the customer tenant in the initial state. Therefore, the working tenant can be accurately generated.

[0103] (Clause 5) The update means generates the difference between the generation setting data defined in the working tenant at the time when the working tenant is generated and the update setting data defined in the working tenant at the time of updating the customer tenant, the setting support device according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4.

[0104] According to this aspect, a difference is generated between the generation-time setting data when the work tenant is generated and the update-time setting data defined by the work tenant when the customer tenant is updated. Therefore, the customer tenant can be updated for the parts added, changed, or deleted in the work tenant.

[0105] (Item 6) The setting support device according to any one of Items 1 to 5, further comprising change target part reception means for receiving a change target part to be added, changed, or deleted among the setting data defined by the customer tenant. The update means is the setting support device according to any one of Items 1 to 5, which determines whether the update data corresponds to the change target part.

[0106] According to this aspect, among the setting data defined by the customer tenant, a change target part is received, and it is determined whether the update data corresponds to the change target part. Since it is determined whether the update data corresponds to the change target part, it is possible not to update when the update data does not correspond to the change target part.

[0107] (Item 7) The setting support device according to any one of Items 1 to 6, further comprising history storage means for storing a work history by an account permitted to access the work tenant.

[0108] According to this aspect, since the work history by an account permitted to access the work tenant is stored, the owner of the customer tenant can confirm the work content added, changed, and deleted from the setting data after the update.

[0109] (Item 8) The setting support device according to any one of Items 1 to 7, wherein the setting data includes function specification data for specifying a function of the customer tenant and actual data registered in the customer tenant.

[0110] According to this aspect, since the setting data includes function identification data for identifying the functions of the customer tenant, the functions of the customer tenant can be added, changed, and deleted. Further, since the setting data includes the actual data registered in the customer tenant, the actual data can be added, changed, and deleted.

[0111] (Clause 9) The setting support device according to any one of Clauses 1 to 8, further comprising deletion means for deleting the working tenant.

[0112] According to this aspect, since the working tenant is deleted, the memory resources can be effectively utilized.

[0113] (Clause 10) Further comprising end instruction reception means for receiving an end instruction indicating the end of reception of the update data, The deletion means deletes the working tenant on the condition that the end instruction is received. The setting support device according to Clause 9.

[0114] According to this aspect, the working tenant can be deleted at the timing when the working tenant becomes unnecessary.

[0115] (Clause 11) The deletion means deletes the working tenant after a predetermined period has elapsed since the customer tenant was updated with the update data. The setting support device according to Clause 9.

[0116] According to this aspect, the working tenant can be deleted at the timing when the working tenant becomes unnecessary.

[0117] (Clause 12) The deletion means deletes the working tenant in response to detection of logout of an account permitted to access the working tenant. The setting support device according to Clause 9.

[0118] According to this aspect, the working tenant can be deleted at the timing when the working tenant becomes unnecessary.

[0119] A tenant generation step of generating a working tenant including a part of setting data defined in a pre-registered customer tenant, An update data reception step of receiving update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant, An update step of updating the customer tenant with the update data, and a setting support method for causing a setting support device to execute.

[0120] According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a setting support method capable of constructing or maintaining a customer tenant while preventing leakage of confidential information.

[0121] (Item 14) A tenant generation step of generating a working tenant including a part of setting data defined in a pre-registered customer tenant, An update data reception step of receiving update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant, An update step of updating the customer tenant with the update data, and a setting support program for causing a computer to execute.

[0122] According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a setting support program capable of constructing or maintaining a customer tenant while preventing leakage of confidential information.

[0123] The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and it is intended that all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are included.

Explanation of Signs

[0124] 1 Service provision system, 3 Network, 5 Internet, 11 Tenant management department, 13 Tenant designation department, 15 Changed target part reception department, 17 Working tenant generation department, 19 Working account issuance department, 21 Update data reception department, 23 Working tenant update department, 25 Update department, 27 History generation department, 29 Deletion department, 31 Difference generation department, 33 Changed target judgment department, 41 User management department, 43 Authentication department, 45 Service provision department, 47 Data operation department, 49 Log management department, 51 Function setting part identification department, 53 Process data identification department, 55 Table identification department, 57 Item identification department, 200 Server, 201 CPU, 202 ROM, 203 RAM, 204 HDD, 205 Communication department, 206 Display department, 207 Operation department, 208 External storage device, 209 CD-ROM, 300 Tenant identification screen, 310 Changed target part reception screen, 320 Confirmation screen, 330 Notification screen, 340 Customer working tenant setting screen, 350 End instruction screen.

Claims

1. Tenant generation means for generating a working tenant including a part of setting data defined by a pre-registered customer tenant; Update data reception means for receiving update data added, changed, or deleted in the working tenant; An update means for updating the customer tenant with the update data, and a setting support device provided with the update means.

2. The setting data defined by the customer tenant includes format data defining a format and actual data in the format defined by the format data. The update data reception means receives addition, change, or deletion of the format data and / or the actual data. The setting support device according to claim 1.

3. The tenant generation means generates the working tenant including partial data composed of some partial items specified from among a plurality of items defined by the format data among the actual data defined by the customer tenant. The setting support device according to claim 2.

4. The tenant generation means generates the working tenant based on the difference between the generation-time setting data defined by the customer tenant at the time of generating the working tenant and the initial setting data defined by the customer tenant in the initial state. The setting support device according to claim 1.

5. The update means generates a difference between the generation-time setting data defined by the working tenant at the time when the working tenant is generated and the update-time setting data defined by the working tenant at the time of updating the customer tenant. The setting support device according to claim 1.

6. Further provided with change target part reception means for receiving a change target part to be added, changed, or deleted among the setting data defined by the customer tenant. The update means determines whether the update data corresponds to the change target part. The setting support device according to claim 1.

7. The setting support device according to claim 1, further provided with history storage means for storing a work history by an account permitted to access the working tenant.

8. The setting data includes function specification data for specifying functions of the customer tenant and actual data registered in the customer tenant. The setting support device according to claim 1.

9. The setting support device according to claim 1, further comprising deletion means for deleting the working tenant.

10. The setting support device according to claim 9, further comprising end instruction reception means for receiving an end instruction indicating the end of reception of the update data, wherein the deletion means deletes the working tenant on the condition that the end instruction is received.

11. The setting support device according to claim 9, wherein the deletion means deletes the working tenant after a predetermined period has elapsed since the customer tenant was updated with the update data.

12. The setting support device according to claim 9, wherein the deletion means deletes the working tenant in response to detection of logout of an account permitted to access the working tenant.

13. A tenant generation step of generating a working tenant including a part of setting data defined by a pre-registered customer tenant, an update data reception step of receiving update data added, changed or deleted in the working tenant, and an update step of updating the customer tenant with the update data, which are executed by a setting support device.

14. A tenant generation step of generating a working tenant including a part of setting data defined by a pre-registered customer tenant, an update data reception step of receiving update data added, changed or deleted in the working tenant, and an update step of updating the customer tenant with the update data, which are executed by a computer.

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