Information processing device and method

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus and a method for proposing an optimal system configuration that is practically sufficiently responsive to the desire of a user who intends to build a data analysis business system in a cloud.SOLUTION: A system configuration generation process performs a configuration feature extraction process for extracting features related to requirements including at least a data structure of data handled by a system to be created, an analysis method for the data, and a search method for the data; a configuration generation process for extracting a catalog corresponding to the features of the extracted requirements from a plurality of kinds of catalogs defining a data processing flow prepared in advance, extracting cloud services suitable for the requested requirements for each service component of the extracted catalog, and generating one or more system configuration proposals in which the extracted cloud services are combined according to the extracted catalog; and a presentation process for presenting each of the generated system configuration proposals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device and method, and is suitable for use in a cloud configuration proposal presentation device that presents a configuration proposal for a system configuration on a cloud that meets conditions required by a customer. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the advancement of cloud technology, there has been an increase in the number of cases where business systems are built using cloud services. When building such business systems, it is necessary to consider the optimal system configuration, taking into full consideration the content of the business that the business system will perform.

[0003] Regarding the construction of information systems using cloud services, Patent Document 1 proposes a system configuration plan generation device that is capable of generating and presenting to a user a system configuration plan that takes into consideration the requirements for communication between data centers in addition to the component requirements desired by the user for the configuration of a system that combines multiple components involving communication between the data centers of a cloud service provider. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-219795 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Among various business systems, particularly in the case of data analysis business systems that perform data analysis work, there are many possible system configurations depending not only on the content of the work but also on the structure of the data handled, the search method (access method), and the analysis method, making it difficult to determine the system configuration that best suits the content of the data analysis business system to be built at that time.

[0006] For this reason, for example, even if a business providing consulting services for cloud-based business systems receives a consultation from a customer regarding the configuration of the business system, it has been difficult for the business to propose an optimal system configuration that is fully suited to the customer's wishes in a practical sense.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose an information processing device and method that can propose an optimal system configuration that is fully suited to the practical needs of a customer who is trying to build a data analysis business system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve such problems, in the present invention, an information processing device presents a configuration proposal for a system configuration on a cloud that meets requested requirements, the requirements including at least a data structure of data handled by the system to be created, an analysis method for the data, and a search method for the data, is provided with a configuration feature extraction unit that extracts features related to the requirements, a catalog extraction unit that extracts a catalog that meets the features of the requirements extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit from multiple types of catalogs that define pre-prepared data processing flows, a cloud service extraction unit that extracts cloud services suitable for the requested requirements for each service component of the catalog extracted by the catalog extraction unit, a system configuration proposal generation unit that generates one or more system configuration proposals by combining the cloud services extracted by the cloud service extraction unit in accordance with the catalog extracted by the catalog extraction unit, and a system configuration presentation unit that presents each of the system configuration proposals generated by the system configuration proposal generation unit.

[0009] In addition, the present invention provides an information processing method executed by an information processing device that presents a configuration proposal for a system configuration on a cloud that meets requested requirements, the requirements including at least a data structure of data handled by the system to be created, an analysis method for the data, and a search method for the data, the method including a first step of extracting characteristics related to the requirements, a second step of extracting a catalog that meets the characteristics of the extracted requirements from a plurality of types of catalogs that define pre-prepared data processing flows, a third step of extracting cloud services suitable for the requested requirements for each service component of the extracted catalog, a fourth step of generating one or more system configuration proposals by combining the extracted cloud services in accordance with the extracted catalog, and a fifth step of presenting each of the generated system configuration proposals.

[0010] According to the information processing device and method of the present invention, it is possible to propose a system configuration suited to required requirements without involving human judgment. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an information processing apparatus and method capable of proposing an optimum system configuration that satisfies the customer's wishes in a practical manner. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a system configuration proposal system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1A and 1B are conceptual diagrams for explaining the analysis catalogue. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user database. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an inquiry history database. [Diagram 5] (A) is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration generation condition file, (B) is a conceptual diagram showing a feature extraction result file, and (C) is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration generation result file. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an analysis catalog database. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a cloud service database. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a configuration generation condition setting screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a configuration generation result display screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an application result registration screen. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for a system configuration generation process. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a configuration feature extraction process. [Figure 13A] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a configuration generation process. [Figure 13B] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a configuration generation process. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a degree of compatibility calculation process. [Figure 15] This is a diagram used to explain the features of a data analysis business system that a customer is trying to build on the cloud, extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of application result registration processing. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a cloud service database update process. [Figure 18A] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for a user notification process. [Figure 18B] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for a user notification process. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a managed service update notification process. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of a first analysis catalog database update process. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of a second analysis catalog database update process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0014] (1) System Configuration Proposed by the Present Embodiment 1, the system configuration proposal system according to this embodiment is generally designated by reference numeral 1. This system configuration proposal system 1 is configured to include a client 2 and a system configuration proposal device 3.

[0015] The client 2 is a computer device used by a user, and is composed of a general-purpose computer device equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory device, an auxiliary memory device, a communication device, an input device, a display device, etc. The client 2 is connected to the system configuration proposal device 3 via a network 4.

[0016] The system configuration proposal device 3 is composed of a general-purpose server device equipped with a CPU 11, a main memory device 12, an auxiliary memory device 13, and a network interface 14, all of which are interconnected via an internal bus 10. The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the overall operation of the system configuration proposal device 3. The main memory device 12 is composed of a volatile semiconductor memory, such as an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and is used as a working memory for the CPU 11.

[0017] The auxiliary storage device 13 is composed of a large-capacity non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk device or SSD (Solid State Drive), and is used to store various programs, data that needs to be stored for a long period of time, etc. The programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 13 are read into the main storage device 12 when the system configuration proposal device 3 is started up or when necessary, and the programs read into the main storage device 12 are executed by the CPU 11, thereby performing various processes of the system configuration proposal device 3 as a whole, as described below.

[0018] The network interface 14 is configured by, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) and performs protocol control during communication with the client 2 via the network 4.

[0019] (2) System configuration proposal function according to this embodiment Next, a description will be given of a system configuration proposal function installed in the system configuration proposal device 3. This system configuration proposal function is a function that generates and proposes a system configuration plan that is most suited to the requirements of a data analysis business system that the customer wishes to build on the cloud, mainly from the viewpoints of the data structure of the data handled by the data analysis business system, the method of searching for the data, and the method of analyzing the data.

[0020] In practice, in the case of the present system configuration proposal system 1, a user can set configuration requirements of the data analysis business system to be constructed at that time, such as the data structure (data structure), search method (data search method), and analysis method (data analysis method), as configuration generation conditions, using a configuration generation condition setting screen 40, which will be described later with reference to Fig. 8, displayed on the client 2 by a predetermined operation. Then, a system configuration generation request including the configuration generation conditions set at this time is transmitted from the client 2 to the system configuration proposal device 3.

[0021] When a system configuration generation request is given from a client 2, the system configuration proposal device 3 extracts all analysis catalogs applicable to the data analysis business system that the client is trying to build on the cloud from among multiple analysis catalogs stored in advance, based on the configuration generation conditions included in the system configuration generation request.

[0022] Here, the "analysis catalog" is a template (prototype) that shows a series of process flows for performing data analysis work, as shown in FIG. 2(A), for example, and is composed of information showing a combination (including the order) of several process types (hereinafter, referred to as service categories), such as data collection, data processing, data retention, or data provision, and information on cloud service providers that are preset for each service category. The meaning of "cloud service providers that are preset for each service category" will be described later. For example, FIG. 2(A) conceptually shows an analysis catalog 15 that specifies a series of process flows, which include data collection, processing the collected data (data processing), retaining the processed data (data retention), and providing the retained data (data provision).

[0023] In the following, each of the services (A to D in FIG. 2(A)) in each service category in the analysis catalog 15 will be referred to as a service component 16. If the combination pattern of the service categories is the same, the number of service components 16 in each service category may be multiple, for example, as shown in FIG. 2(B).

[0024] The system configuration proposal device 3 holds a plurality of such analysis catalogs 15 in advance, and extracts from these analysis catalogs 15 all analysis catalogs that match the configuration generation conditions included in the system configuration generation request.

[0025] The system configuration proposal device 3 then generates system configuration proposals for all possible combination patterns of cloud services by matching, for each service component 16 of each extracted analysis catalog 15, one cloud service applicable as the service component 16 from among the various cloud services provided by the cloud service providers pre-set in the analysis catalog 15 for the service classification of the service component 16.

[0026] Furthermore, the system configuration proposal device 3 calculates the degree of conformance of each system configuration plan generated as described above to the configuration generation conditions set by the client as a conformance level, and transmits the details of each system configuration plan together with the calculated conformance level to the client 2 that has transmitted the system configuration generation request. As a result, a configuration generation result display screen 50, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 9, is displayed on the client 2.

[0027] Furthermore, the system configuration proposal device 3 then instructs the client 2 that has transmitted the system configuration generation request to display an application result registration screen 60, which will be described later with reference to Fig. 10, for confirming whether or not the proposed system configuration plan has been applied (a data analysis business system having the system configuration of the system configuration plan has been constructed). Hereinafter, this instruction will be referred to as an application result registration screen display instruction.

[0028] Then, when the client 2 receives this application result registration screen display instruction, it displays the application result registration screen 60, while transmitting information input by the user on the application result registration screen 60 as to whether the user has applied the proposed system configuration plan, and identification information of the system configuration plan if applied, to the system configuration proposal device 3. In this way, the system configuration proposal device 3 generates a new analysis catalog 15 as necessary based on this information.

[0029] 1, as a means for realizing the system configuration proposal function of the present embodiment as described above, the client 2 is equipped with a Web browser 23 having a configuration generation condition input unit 20, a configuration generation result display unit 21, and a configuration application result input unit 22. The auxiliary storage device 13 of the system configuration proposal device 3 stores a user database 24, an inquiry history database 25, an analysis catalog database 26, and a cloud service database 27, and the main storage device 12 of the system configuration proposal device 3 stores an inquiry reception unit 28, a configuration feature extraction unit 29, a configuration generation unit 30, an application result registration unit 31, an analysis catalog database update unit 32, a cloud service database update unit 33, and a user notification unit 34, which are read from the auxiliary storage device 13.

[0030] The configuration generation condition input unit 20 of the client 2 is a program having a function of collecting necessary information from the system configuration proposal device 3 via the network 4 in response to a predetermined operation by the customer, and displaying the above-mentioned configuration generation condition setting screen 40 (FIG. 8). The configuration generation condition input unit 20 also generates a system configuration generation request including the configuration generation conditions set by the customer on this configuration generation condition setting screen 40, and outputs the request to the system configuration proposal device 3.

[0031] The configuration generation result display unit 21 is a program having the function of displaying the above-mentioned configuration generation result display screen 50 (Figure 9) on which one or more system configuration proposals generated by the system configuration proposal device 3 are posted, based on information sent from the system configuration proposal device 3 after the configuration generation condition input unit 20 sends a system configuration generation request to the system configuration proposal device 3.

[0032] Moreover, the configuration application result input unit 22 is a program having a function of displaying the above-mentioned application result registration screen 60 (FIG. 10) in response to a request from the system configuration proposal device 3. In practice, when an application result registration screen display instruction is given from the system configuration proposal device 3, the configuration application result input unit 22 displays the application result registration screen 60, while transmitting to the system configuration proposal device 3 information input by the user on this application result registration screen 60 as to whether the user has applied the proposed system configuration plan, and identification information of the system configuration plan if it has been applied.

[0033] On the other hand, the user database 24 of the system configuration proposal device 3 is a database that stores information about each user who uses the present system configuration proposal system 1. As shown in Fig. 3, this user database 24 has a table structure including a user ID column 24A, a user email address column 24B, and a notification necessity column 24C. In the user database 24, one record (row) in Fig. 3 corresponds to one user.

[0034] The user ID column 24A stores identification information (user ID) unique to the corresponding user, and the user email address column 24B stores the email address of the user's contact (hereinafter referred to as the user email address).

[0035] In addition, the notification required / not required column 24C stores the answer as to whether the user wishes to be notified (hereinafter referred to as a managed service update notification) when the content of the cloud service the user is currently using is updated or when a new service that can be used for the data analysis business system built by the user is introduced ("required" if required, and "not required" if not required).

[0036] Therefore, in the example of Figure 3, the user email address of the user assigned the user ID "A0001" is "a123.ab@△△△.com", and it is indicated that the user is requesting a managed service update notification ("Required").

[0037] The inquiry history database 25 is a database used for storing the contents of inquiries from each user (the contents of the configuration generation conditions transmitted together with a system configuration generation request). As shown in Fig. 4, the inquiry history database has a table structure including a log ID column 25A, a user ID column 25B, an inquiry implementation date and time column 25C, a configuration generation condition column 25D, a feature extraction result column 25E, a configuration generation result column 25F, a configuration plan application result registration date and time column 25G, an applied configuration plan column 25H, and an application destination column 25I. In the inquiry history database 25, one record in Fig. 4 corresponds to one inquiry from one user.

[0038] The log ID field 25A stores an identifier (log ID) unique to the corresponding query log, and the user ID field 25B stores the user ID of the user who made the corresponding query. The query execution date and time field 25C stores the date and time when the query was made (the date and time when the system configuration generation request was received), and the configuration generation condition field 25D stores the path name of the path to a file as shown in Fig. 5(A) (hereinafter, this will be called the configuration generation condition file) in which the configuration generation conditions included in the system configuration generation request transmitted from client 2 in association with the query are recorded.

[0039] Furthermore, the feature extraction result column 25E stores the path name of a path to a file as shown in Fig. 5(B) (hereinafter referred to as the feature extraction result file) in which information extracted from the configuration generation conditions is recorded on the data structure of the data handled by the data analysis business system that the user intends to build on the cloud, the analysis method of the data, and the search method of the data, etc. Furthermore, the configuration generation result column 25F stores the path name of a path to a file as shown in Fig. 5(C) (hereinafter referred to as the configuration generation result file) in which a system configuration proposal for the data analysis business system of the customer is recorded, generated by the system configuration proposal device 3 based on the feature extraction result.

[0040] In the applied configuration plan column 25H, when any of the system configuration plans proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 is applied to the customer, identification information of the system configuration plan is stored. Note that, when the system configuration plan proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 is not applied to the customer, "NULL" is stored in the applied configuration plan column 25H.

[0041] The configuration proposal application result registration date / time field 25G stores the date / time when the system configuration proposal device 3 received a response to an inquiry about whether the proposed system configuration was applied to the client 2. The applied-to field 25I stores the name of the corresponding customer. When "NULL" is stored in the applied configuration proposal field 25H, "NULL" is also stored in the applied-to field 25I.

[0042] Therefore, in the example of FIG. 4, the log with the log ID "00001" is a log regarding a query made by a user with a user ID of "A0001" on "2022-10-01 10:00:01", and the configuration generation conditions set by the user in the query are recorded in the configuration generation condition file FL1 (FIG. 5(A)) on the path " / aaa / 20221001 / C001.txt". Also, in FIG. 4, the features of the data analysis business system extracted from the configuration generation conditions are recorded in the feature extraction result file FL2 on the path " / aaa / 20221001 / R001.txt", and the system configuration proposal generated by the system configuration proposal device 3 based on this information is recorded in the configuration generation result file FL3 on the path " / aaa / 20221001 / G001.txt". FIG. 4 further shows that a system configuration plan "G0001" among the system configuration plans proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 has been applied to a customer named "Company X."

[0043] The analysis catalog database 26 is a database in which analysis catalogs 15 (FIG. 2) that have been created and registered in advance are stored. As shown in FIG. 6, the analysis catalog database 26 is configured with a catalog ID column 26A, a registration date column 26B, a registrant column 26C, a catalog name column 26D, an analysis method column 26E, a business name column 26F, a service component column 26G, an application record column 26H, and a non-functional requirement column 26I. In the analysis catalog database 26, one record in FIG. 6 corresponds to one analysis catalog 15.

[0044] The catalog ID column 26A stores identification information unique to the corresponding analysis catalog 15 that is assigned to that analysis catalog 15 on the analysis catalog database 26, and the registration date column 26B stores the date when the analysis catalog 15 was registered in the analysis catalog database 26.

[0045] The registrant column 26C stores the identification information of the registrant who registered the analysis catalog 15 in the analysis catalog database 26, and the catalog name column 26D stores the name given to the analysis catalog 15. Furthermore, the analysis method column 26E stores the analysis methods applicable to the analysis catalog 15, and the provider name column 26F stores the names of cloud service providers preset for each service category of the analysis catalog 15.

[0046] Furthermore, the service component column 26G stores the names of the service categories of each service component 16 (Figure 2) that makes up the analysis catalog 15 in the order of processing, and the application history column 26H stores the names of all customers who have previously applied the system configuration generated using the analysis catalog 15.

[0047] Furthermore, the non-functional requirements column 26I stores information indicating whether the non-functional requirements are applicable to the analysis catalog 15 ("Yes" if applicable, and "No" if not applicable). Details of "non-functional requirements" will be described later. Note that Fig. 6 only shows "scalability" as a non-functional requirement, and if there are other non-functional requirements such as "availability" and "portability" (see Fig. 8), a non-functional requirements column 26I may be provided corresponding to each of these non-functional requirements.

[0048] Therefore, in the example of FIG. 6, the analysis catalog 15 with the catalog ID "K0001" is shown to be an analysis catalog registered in the analysis catalog database 26 with the catalog name "AAA" by the registrant "A0001" in "2022 / 04". FIG. 6 also shows that the analysis catalog 15 can apply the analysis methods "XXX analysis" and "aaa analysis", has four service categories of "data collection", "data processing", "data retention" and "data provision", and that cloud services provided by a cloud service provider called "A Co." should be applied to these service categories. FIG. 6 also shows that the analysis catalog 15 has a track record of application to "Company A", "Company D" and "Company K", and that non-functional requirements can be applied ("possible").

[0049] Cloud service database 27 is a database in which information on various cloud services provided by each cloud service provider is registered. As shown in Fig. 7, cloud service database 27 has a table structure including a service ID column 27A, a registration date column 27B, an update date column 27C, a provider column 27D, a service category column 27E, a service name column 27F, a usability column 27G, a data structure column 27H, a data handling unit column 27I, a data search method column 27J, and a fee column 27K. In cloud service database 27, one record in Fig. 7 corresponds to one cloud service provided by one of the cloud service providers.

[0050] The service ID field 27A stores an identifier unique to the corresponding cloud service that is assigned to that cloud service on the cloud service database 27. The registration date field 27B stores the date when the cloud service was registered in the cloud service database 27, and the update date field 27C stores the date when the information on that cloud service was updated.

[0051] The provider column 27D stores the name of the cloud service provider that provides the cloud service, and the service category column 27E stores the service category of the cloud service. The service name column 27F stores the name of the cloud service, and the availability column 27G stores information on whether the cloud service is currently available. In the case of Fig. 7, if the cloud service is currently available, "available" is stored, and if it is unavailable due to the suspension of the service, "not available" is stored.

[0052] Furthermore, the data structure column 27H stores the data structure of data that the cloud service can handle, and the data handling unit column 27I stores the data handling unit (data handling unit) for which the cloud service can be used. Furthermore, the data search method column 27J stores the data search method (access method) in the cloud service, and the fee column 27K stores the usage fee per unit time of the cloud service.

[0053] Therefore, in the example of Figure 7, the cloud service assigned the service ID "H0001" is a cloud service provided by a cloud service provider called "A Co." that was registered in the cloud service database on "2022 / 01" and then updated on "2023 / 03", its service category is "data retention", its service name is "AAA service", and it is currently "available" for use. Figure 7 also shows that the cloud service supports data structures of "time series, log, sensor data", data handling units are "flip-flop, before aggregation", the data search method is "all access", and the usage fee per unit time is "45 yen".

[0054] On the other hand, the inquiry receiving unit 28 of the system configuration proposal device 3 is a program having the function of transmitting to the client 2 the information necessary for displaying the above-mentioned configuration generation condition setting screen 40 (Figure 8) in response to a request from the client 2, and as a result, accepting the above-mentioned system configuration generation request subsequently transmitted from the configuration generation condition input unit 20 of the client 2.

[0055] The inquiry receiving unit 28 stores the data of the configuration generation conditions contained in the received system configuration generation request as the above-mentioned configuration generation condition file FL1 (Figure 5(A)) in the auxiliary storage device 13 (Figure 1), and stores the path name of the path to the configuration generation condition file FL1 in the configuration generation condition column 25D of the inquiry history database 25 (Figure 4).

[0056] The configuration feature extraction unit 29 is a program having the function of extracting features of the data analysis business system that the customer is trying to build on the cloud, such as the data structure of the data handled by the data analysis business system, and the data search method and data analysis method for that data, from the configuration generation conditions stored in the inquiry history database 25.

[0057] The configuration feature extraction unit 29 stores the data of these extracted features as the above-mentioned feature extraction result file FL2 (Figure 5(B)) in the auxiliary storage device 13, and also stores the path name of the path to the feature extraction result file FL2 in the feature extraction result column 25E (Figure 4) of the query history database 25.

[0058] The configuration generation unit 30 is a program that has the function of generating a system configuration plan for a data analysis business system to be proposed to the user based on the features of the data analysis business system extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit 29, and calculating the suitability of each of these system configuration plans with the configuration generation conditions for the data analysis business system that the customer is trying to build on the cloud.

[0059] The configuration generation unit 30 transmits each of the generated system configuration plans and the suitability of these system configuration plans to the user's client 2 via the inquiry receiving unit 28. The configuration generation unit 30 also stores the configuration and suitability information of each of these system configuration plans as the above-mentioned configuration generation result file FL3 (FIG. 5(C)) in the auxiliary storage device 13, and stores the path name of the path to the configuration generation result file FL3 in the configuration generation result column 25F (FIG. 4) of the inquiry history database 25.

[0060] The application result registration unit 31 is a program having the function of inquiring of a user at a predetermined timing as to whether or not the system configuration proposal proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 has been applied as described above, and when a response to the inquiry is obtained from the user, registering the result in the inquiry history database 25.

[0061] In practice, based on such responses obtained from the user, the application result registration unit 31 registers the corresponding information in the configuration plan application result registration date and time column 25G, the applied configuration plan column 25H, and the application destination column 25I of the inquiry history database 25. At this time, the application result registration unit 31 also updates the application performance column 26H (FIG. 6) of the corresponding record in the analysis catalog database 26 (FIG. 6) as necessary.

[0062] The analysis catalog database update unit 32 is a program having a function of collecting necessary information by crawling the websites of each cloud service provider, generating a new analysis catalog based on the obtained information, and registering it in the analysis catalog database 26. Furthermore, for example, when a user applies a system configuration plan with a low suitability from among the system configuration plans proposed to the user, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 generates a new analysis catalog 15 in response to this and registers it in the analysis catalog database 26.

[0063] The cloud service database update unit 33 is a program that has the function of crawling the websites of each cloud service provider, for example, to collect information on updates to the cloud services provided by these cloud service providers and information on new cloud services, and updating the cloud service database 27 (Figure 7) as necessary based on the obtained information.

[0064] In practice, when cloud service database update unit 33 detects that an existing cloud service has been updated, for example, by a change in the usage fee, it updates the information on that cloud service stored in cloud service database 27 in accordance with the detected content. In addition, when cloud service database update unit 33 detects that a new cloud service has been started to be provided by a cloud service provider, it registers necessary information on that cloud service in cloud service database 27.

[0065] The user notification unit 34 is a program having the function of sending the above-mentioned managed service update notification to necessary users when the contents of an existing cloud service registered in the cloud service database 27 are updated by the cloud service database update unit 33 or when a new cloud service is registered in the cloud service database 27.

[0066] In practice, the user notification unit 34 searches for a user who can build a data analysis business system that is more suited to the requirements (configuration generation conditions) required by the customer than the current data analysis business system by using an updated existing cloud service or a new cloud service. If such a user exists and the user requests the above-mentioned managed service update notification, the user notification unit 34 transmits a managed service update notification to the user.

[0067] (3) Configuration of various screens displayed on the cloud (3-1) Configuration generation condition setting screen 8 shows an example of the screen configuration of a configuration generation condition setting screen 40 that can be displayed on the client 2 by a predetermined operation. This configuration generation condition setting screen 40 is a screen for setting configuration generation conditions for a data analysis business system that a customer is going to build on the cloud.

[0068] In practice, the configuration generation condition setting screen 40, as shown in Figure 8, is composed of a business overview area 41, a data structure setting area 42, a data search method setting area 43, a data analysis technique setting area 44, a data handling unit setting area 45, a registered file designation area 46, and a non-functional requirements setting area 47, as well as a system configuration generation button 48.

[0069] A business summary text box 41A is provided in the business summary area 41, and a business summary of the data analysis business system that the customer is going to build on the cloud is displayed in this business summary text box 41A. In this case, the "business summary" is required to include information on the data structure, data search method, and data analysis technique of the data handled by the data analysis business system.

[0070] In this embodiment, it is assumed that such a business summary will be entered by a person in charge of a business that owns a system configuration proposal device 3 and provides a system configuration proposal service by interviewing the customer in advance, but the user may also enter such a business summary directly into the business summary text box 41A.

[0071] Furthermore, in the data structure setting area 42, character strings 42A each representing one of several data structures and check boxes 42B each corresponding to one of these character strings 42A are displayed. In the data structure setting area 42, a desired check box 42B is clicked from among these check boxes 42B, and the display form of the check box 42B is changed to the selected display form (in FIG. 8, "■"; the same applies below), whereby the data structure corresponding to the check box 42B can be set as the data structure of data to be handled in the data analysis business system that the customer is going to build on the cloud.

[0072] Furthermore, the data search method setting area 43 displays character strings 43A each representing one of several data search methods, and check boxes 43B each corresponding to each of these character strings 43A. In the data search method setting area 43, by clicking a desired check box 43B from among these check boxes 43B and transitioning the display form of that check box 43B to the selected display form, the customer can set the data search method corresponding to that check box 43B as the data search method for data to be handled in the data analysis business system that the customer is going to build on the cloud.

[0073] Meanwhile, the data analysis method setting area 44 displays character strings 44A each representing one of several data analysis methods, and check boxes 44B each corresponding to each of these character strings 44A. In the data analysis method setting area 44, a desired check box 44B is clicked from among these check boxes 44B, and the display form of the check box 44B is changed to the selected display form, whereby the data analysis method corresponding to the check box 44B can be set as the data analysis method for data to be handled in the data analysis business system that the customer is going to build on the cloud.

[0074] Also displayed in the data handling unit setting area 45 are character strings 45A each representing one of several data handling units, and check boxes 45B provided corresponding to each of these character strings 45A. In the data handling unit setting area 45, by clicking a desired check box 45B from among these check boxes 45B and transitioning the display form of that check box 45B to the selected display form, the customer can set the data handling unit corresponding to that check box 45B as the handling unit of data to be handled in the data analysis business system that the customer is going to build on the cloud.

[0075] The registered file designation area 46 is an area for designating files such as access logs and test data obtained when the client previously prototyped a data analysis business system as reference information and providing the files to the system configuration proposal device 3. In practice, the registered file designation area 46 is provided with a file selection button 46A, and by clicking this file selection button 46A, the relevant file can be designated from a list of registered files (not shown) that is displayed. The file names and data types of each designated file are then displayed in the selected file list 46B.

[0076] The non-functional requirements setting area 47 is an area for setting non-functional requirements (hereinafter referred to as non-functional requirements) for the data analysis business system that the customer is going to build on the cloud. In this non-functional requirements setting area 47, the customer can set the cloud service provider to be used, the budget (usage) for using the built data analysis business system, and the total usage time of the data analysis business system to be built, as well as requirements regarding availability, scalability, migration, operability / maintenance, and the presence or absence of security.

[0077] Then, the user can click a system configuration generation button 48 after setting the necessary items in the business overview area 41, data structure setting area 42, data search method setting area 43, data analysis technique setting area 44, data handling unit setting area 45, registered file designation area 46 and non-functional requirement setting area 47 of the configuration generation condition setting screen 40, thereby transmitting the above-mentioned system configuration generation request including the configuration generation conditions set using the configuration generation condition setting screen 40 to the system configuration proposal device 3. Note that if a file is designated in the registered file designation area 46, the data of this file is also transmitted to the system configuration proposal device 3 as the configuration generation conditions.

[0078] (3-2) Configuration generation result display screen On the other hand, FIG. 9 shows a configuration generation result display screen 50 on which a system configuration proposal generated by the system configuration proposal device 3 based on the configuration generation conditions transmitted to the system configuration proposal device 3 from the client 2 as described above is displayed.

[0079] This configuration generation result display screen 50 is displayed on the client 2 in place of the configuration generation condition setting screen 40 after the system configuration generation button 48 on the above-mentioned configuration generation condition setting screen 40 is clicked and information regarding each system configuration proposal generated by the system configuration proposal device 3 is sent from the system configuration proposal device 3 to the client 2.

[0080] The configuration generation result display screen 50 includes a system configuration characteristics area 51 , a generated system configuration plan list area 52 , and a system configuration diagram display area 53 .

[0081] The system configuration feature area 51 displays, in natural language, a list of features of the data analysis business system that the corresponding customer is trying to build on the cloud, which the system configuration proposal device 3 has extracted from the configuration generation conditions provided by the client 2.

[0082] In addition, the generated system configuration plan list area 52 displays a list of the outline of each system configuration plan generated by the system configuration proposal device 3 under the configuration generation conditions. Specifically, the generated system configuration plan list area 52 displays in a table format the identification number of each system configuration plan ("Configuration No."), the generation time ("Generation Time"), the suitability for customer requirements ("Suitability"), the service category ("Service Component") of each service component 16 (FIG. 2) that constitutes the system configuration plan, the name of each cloud service ("Service Name to be Used") used for each of these service components 16, the charge per unit time for using the data analysis business system ("Cost"), and the application record ("Application Record of Catalog") of the analysis catalog 15 (FIG. 2) that is the basis of the system configuration of the system configuration plan. At this time, the system configuration plans are displayed in order of suitability.

[0083] Further, display buttons 52A are displayed corresponding to the respective system configuration plans displayed in the generated system configuration plan list area 52. Then, by clicking on the display button 52A, a configuration diagram of the system configuration based on the system configuration plan (hereinafter, this will be referred to as a system configuration diagram) 53A is displayed in the system configuration diagram display area 53.

[0084] In this system configuration diagram 53A, boxes 53AX corresponding to the service components 16 constituting the system are displayed in a form connected by lines according to the processing flow. In each box 53AX, the name of the cloud service used by the corresponding service component 16 is displayed.

[0085] (3-3) Application result registration screen On the other hand, FIG. 10 shows an example of the configuration of an application result registration screen 60 that is displayed in accordance with the above-mentioned application result registration screen display instruction that is sent from the system configuration proposal device 3 to the user's client 2 at a predetermined timing after the system configuration proposal device 3 presents a system configuration proposal to the user.

[0086] This application result registration screen 60 is a screen for inquiring of a user to whom a system configuration proposal has been presented by the system configuration proposal device 3 as to which of the presented system configuration proposals the user has applied, and is configured with a system configuration generation history area 61 and a configuration generation result display area 62.

[0087] The system configuration generation history area 61 lists the history of system configuration proposal generation that the system configuration proposal device 3 has performed so far in response to inquiries from the corresponding user. Specifically, the system configuration generation history area 61 lists, in a table format, for each inquiry made by the user to the system configuration proposal device 3, the identification information assigned to the inquiry ("inquiry ID"), the time when the inquiry was made ("inquiry implementation time"), the identification information of the system configuration proposal applied by the user from among the system configuration proposals proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 ("applied configuration proposal"), and the name of the customer to which the system configuration proposal was applied ("application destination"). Hereinafter, this table will be referred to as a system configuration generation history table 61A.

[0088] Note that, when a user has not registered a system configuration plan, the identification information of the system configuration plan applied by the user from among the system configuration plans proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 is not displayed. In other words, in this case, the "Applied Configuration Plan" column in the system configuration generation history table 61A in FIG. 10 is left blank.

[0089] Furthermore, in the system configuration generation history area 61, display buttons 61AX are displayed corresponding to each inquiry made by the user to the system configuration proposal device 3. When the display button 61AX is clicked, the same contents as those displayed in the system configuration characteristics area 51, the generated system configuration plan list area 52, and the system configuration diagram display area 53 of the configuration generation result display screen 50 (FIG. 9) that were previously displayed on the client 2 in response to the corresponding inquiry are displayed in the configuration generation result display area 62.

[0090] This allows the user to check the identification number ("Configuration No.") of the system configuration plan applied at that time for an inquiry in which the system configuration plan applied by the user among the system configuration plans proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 has not been registered (hereinafter, this will be referred to as an inquiry in which an applied configuration plan has not been registered).

[0091] Thus, for an inquiry for which an applied configuration plan has not been registered, the user can register the system configuration plan applied by the user for the inquiry for which an applied configuration plan has not been registered, by checking the identification number of the system configuration plan applied at that time as described above, entering the identification number in the "applied configuration plan" column of the record corresponding to the inquiry for which an applied configuration plan has not been registered in the system configuration generation history table 61A displayed in the system configuration generation history area 61, and then clicking the registration button 61B. In this case, this information is notified from the client 2 to the system configuration proposal device 3 and registered in the applied configuration plan column 25H (FIG. 4) and applied destination column 25I (FIG. 4) of the inquiry history database 25 (FIG. 4), and further the date and time at that point is stored in the configuration plan application result date and time column 25G.

[0092] (4) Various processes related to the system configuration proposal function Next, a description will be given of the specific processing contents of various processes executed in the system configuration proposal device 3 in relation to the system configuration proposal function of this embodiment. In the following, the processing entity of each process will be described as a program ("~~ unit"), but it goes without saying that in reality, the CPU 11 (FIG. 1) executes the process based on the program.

[0093] (4-1) System configuration proposal process Fig. 11 shows the flow of a series of processes (hereinafter, referred to as system configuration proposal processes) executed in the system configuration proposal device 3 upon receiving the above-mentioned system configuration generation request transmitted from the client 2. The system configuration proposal device 3 generates a system configuration proposal that meets the configuration generation conditions included in the received system configuration generation request, and transmits the generation result to the client 2, according to the processing procedure shown in Fig. 11.

[0094] In practice, when the system configuration proposal device 3 receives such a system configuration generation request, it starts the system configuration proposal process shown in Fig. 11. Then, first, the inquiry receiving unit 28 (Fig. 1) receives the system configuration generation request, and registers the configuration generation conditions included in the received system configuration generation request in the inquiry history database 25 (Fig. 4) (S1).

[0095] Specifically, inquiry reception unit 28 secures an unused record in inquiry history database 25, and stores the new log ID assigned to the system configuration generation request in log ID column 25A (FIG. 4) of the record. In addition, inquiry reception unit 28 stores the user ID of the user who sent the system configuration generation request in user ID column 25B (FIG. 4) of the record, and stores the current date and time in inquiry implementation date and time column 25C (FIG. 4) of the record.

[0096] Furthermore, inquiry reception unit 28 files the information on the configuration generation conditions received at that time and stores it as configuration generation condition file FL1 (FIG. 5(A)) in auxiliary storage device 13 (FIG. 1), and stores the path name of the path to that configuration generation condition file FL1 in configuration generation condition column 25D (FIG. 4) of the record. Then inquiry reception unit 28 calls configuration feature extraction unit 29.

[0097] When called by the inquiry receiving unit 28, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 reads out the configuration generation condition file FL1 on the path whose path name is stored in the inquiry history database 25. The configuration feature extraction unit 29 also executes a configuration feature extraction process to extract the system configuration features of the data analysis business system being constructed at that time from the configuration generation conditions recorded in the read configuration generation condition file FL1 (S2).

[0098] Specifically, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 extracts, from the configuration generation conditions recorded in the configuration generation condition file FL1, the data structure of the data handled by the data analysis business system, the data search method, the data analysis method, the data handling unit composition, and non-functional requirements as system configuration features of the data analysis business system required by the customer.

[0099] Then, configuration feature extraction unit 29 files the extracted feature information and stores it as feature extraction result file FL2 (Fig. 5(B)) in auxiliary storage device 13, and stores the path name of the path to feature extraction result file FL2 in feature extraction result column 25E (Fig. 4) of the record secured in step S1. After this, configuration feature extraction unit 29 also calls configuration generation unit 30 (Fig. 1).

[0100] When called by configuration feature extraction unit 29, configuration generation unit 30 reads feature extraction result file FL2 on the path whose path name is stored in corresponding feature extraction result column 25E of inquiry history database 25. Furthermore, configuration generation unit 30 executes a configuration generation process to generate all system configuration plans that are compatible with the features recorded in feature extraction result file FL2 and calculate the compatibility of each of these system configuration plans (S3).

[0101] At this time, configuration generation unit 30 files the generated and calculated system configuration plan and information on its fitness, and stores it as configuration generation result file FL3 (FIG. 5(C)) in auxiliary storage device 13. Configuration generation unit 30 also stores the path name of the path to configuration generation result file FL3 in configuration generation result column 25F (FIG. 4) of the record secured in step S1.

[0102] Furthermore, the configuration generation unit 30 transmits each of the generated and calculated system configuration plans and their suitability to the configuration generation result display unit 21 (FIG. 1) of the client 2 via the network interface and the network in sequence (S4). As a result, the configuration generation result display screen 50 described above with reference to FIG. 9 is displayed based on these system configuration plans and their suitability. This ends the system configuration proposal process.

[0103] (4-2) Feature extraction process Fig. 12 shows the specific processing contents of the configuration feature extraction processing executed by the configuration feature extraction unit 29 (Fig. 1) in step S2 of the system configuration proposal processing (Fig. 11). The configuration feature extraction unit 29 extracts the system configuration features of the data analysis business system that the client is going to build on the cloud, according to the processing procedure shown in Fig. 12.

[0104] In practice, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 first performs existing natural language processing such as morphological analysis, syntactic analysis, semantic analysis and contextual analysis on the business summary entered in natural language in the business summary text box 41A of the business summary area 41 on the configuration generation condition setting screen 40 described above with reference to Figure 8, from among the configuration generation conditions recorded in the configuration generation condition file FL1 (Figure 5(A)) on the path whose path name is stored in the inquiry history database 25, to extract the data structure, data handling unit, data search method and data analysis method of the data to be handled by the data analysis business system that the customer is planning to build on the cloud (S10).

[0105] Next, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 extracts, from the configuration generation conditions recorded in the configuration generation condition file FL1, the data structure, data handling unit, data search method and data analysis method of the data handled by the data analysis business system that the customer is trying to build on the cloud, which are selected by check boxes 42B, 43B, 44B and 45B, respectively, in the data structure setting area 42 (Figure 8), data search method setting area 43 (Figure 8), data analysis method setting area 44 (Figure 8) and data handling unit setting area 45 (Figure 8) of the configuration generation condition setting screen 40 (S11).

[0106] Next, when a file is specified in the registered file designation area 46 of the configuration generation condition setting screen 40, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 extracts the data structure, data handling unit, data search method, and data analysis method of the data handled by the data analysis business system prototyped by the customer from the data of the file sent from the client 2 as the configuration generation conditions (S12).

[0107] The reason for extracting from the registered file the data structure, etc. of the data to be handled by the data analysis business system that the customer is planning to build on the cloud is to enable the results of a trial run, such as a PoC (Proof of Concept), to be taken into account as features when generating a system configuration proposal, and to enable confirmation that there are no differences with the contents extracted in steps S10 and S11.

[0108] For example, if the file specified by the user is an SQL log file, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 extracts a data search method by further narrowing down the data search methods extracted in step S10 and the data search methods extracted in step S11 using the condition phrase portion. Also, if the file specified by the user is a test data file, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 extracts information about the data structure, such as the form of the data, whether the data is repeated, and whether it is time-series data.

[0109] Next, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 extracts the setting contents of various non-functional requirements of the data analysis business system that the customer is trying to build on the cloud, selected in the non-functional requirements setting area 47 (Figure 8) of the configuration generation condition setting screen 40, from the configuration generation conditions recorded in the configuration generation condition file FL1 (S13).

[0110] Next, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 files the information on the data structure, handling unit, search method, and analysis method of the data to be handled, and the non-functional requirements, extracted in steps S10 to S13 for the data analysis business system that the client intends to build on the cloud, and stores the files as a feature extraction result file FL2 (FIG. 5(B)) in the auxiliary storage device 13 (FIG. 1), and also stores the path name of the path to the feature extraction result file FL2 in the feature extraction result column 25E (FIG. 4) of the corresponding record in the inquiry history database 25 (FIG. 4) (S14). Then, the configuration feature extraction unit 29 thereafter ends the configuration feature extraction process and calls the configuration generation unit 30.

[0111] (4-3) Configuration generation process (4-3-1) Main processing 13A and 13B show specific processing contents of the configuration generation process executed by the configuration generation unit 30 (FIG. 1) in step S3 of the system configuration generation process (FIG. 11). The configuration generation unit 30 generates a system configuration proposal for a data analysis business system having the features extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit 29 according to the processing procedure shown in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B.

[0112] 13A and 13B when called by configuration feature extraction unit 29. Configuration generation unit 30 first reads the path name of the path to the corresponding feature extraction result file FL2 from inquiry history database 25 (FIG. 4), and reads the feature extraction result file FL2 on that path from auxiliary storage device 13 (S20).

[0113] Next, the configuration generation unit 30 extracts from the analysis catalog database 26 (FIG. 6) all analysis catalogs 15 (FIG. 2) that contain at least one of the features extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit 29 from the read feature extraction file FL2 (S21).

[0114] Specifically, for example, when the content of the feature extraction file FL2 is as shown in Fig. 5(B), the features extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit 29 include "XXX analysis" and "aaa analysis" as data analysis methods, so the configuration generation unit 30 extracts all analysis catalogs 15 in which at least one of "XXX analysis" and "aaa analysis" is stored in the analysis method column 26E of the analysis catalog database 26 (Fig. 6). Therefore, in the example of Fig. 6, at least the analysis catalogs 15 with catalog IDs of "K0001", "K0002", and "K0003" are extracted.

[0115] Similarly, if the features extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit 29 include "data collection," "data processing," "data storage," and "data provision" as required service categories (see, for example, the business summary column 41 in FIG. 8), all analysis catalogs 15 in which at least one of "data collection," "data processing," "data storage (data retention)," and "data provision" is stored in the service component column 26G of the analysis catalog database 26 (FIG. 6) are extracted. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 6, at least the analysis catalogs 15 with catalog IDs of "K0001," "K0002," "K0003," and "K0004" are extracted.

[0116] Next, the configuration generating unit 30 selects one analysis catalog 15 for which step S23 and subsequent steps have not been processed from among the analysis catalogs 15 extracted in step S21 (S22). The configuration generating unit 30 also selects one service component 16 for which step S24 and subsequent steps have not been processed from among the service components 16 (FIG. 2) in the analysis catalog 15 selected in step S22 (hereinafter, this will be referred to as the selected analysis catalog) (S23).

[0117] Next, the configuration generation unit 30 extracts available cloud services from the cloud service database 27 (Figure 7) that match the service category (data collection, data processing, data retention, data provision, etc.) of the service component 16 selected in step S23 (hereinafter referred to as the selected service component) and whose data category is compatible with the extraction results of the corresponding features (data structure, data search method, data analysis method or data handling unit) extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit 29 (S24).

[0118] For example, the selected analysis catalog 15 at that time is an analysis catalog of the process flow as shown in Fig. 2(A), and the selected service component 16 at that time is the service component "C". Also, assume that the data handling units of the data analysis business system that the customer wishes to build on the cloud are "large chunks", "before aggregation", "aggregated", and "no multiplication" as shown in Fig. 5(A), and the overview of each cloud service stored in the cloud service database 27 is as shown in Fig. 7.

[0119] In this case, since the service category of the selected service component 16, service component 16 "C" in Fig. 2, is "data retention", configuration generation unit 30 extracts all service components 16 whose service category is "data retention" and whose "data handling unit" is "large chunk", "before aggregation", and "aggregated" (as well as "no multiplication") from among the cloud services registered in cloud service database 27. In the example of Fig. 7, since there is a cloud service with service ID "H0002" within the range shown in Fig. 7 that satisfies these requirements, at least the cloud service with "H0002" is extracted in this example in step S24.

[0120] Next, the configuration generating unit 30 judges whether or not the extraction of the corresponding cloud services has been completed for all the service components 16 in the selected analysis catalog 15 (S25). If the configuration generating unit 30 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it returns to step S23, and thereafter repeats the processes of steps S23 to S25 while sequentially switching the service component 16 selected in step S23 to other service components 16 that have not been processed in step S24.

[0121] Then, when the configuration generation unit 30 obtains a positive result in step S25 by completing extraction of applicable cloud services for all service components 16 in the selected analysis catalog 15, it generates all system configurations that can be constructed by combining the cloud services extracted for each service component 16 in the selected analysis catalog 15 (S26).

[0122] Thereafter, configuration generation unit 30 selects one system configuration that has not been processed in steps S28 and after from among the system configurations generated in step S26 (S27). Then, configuration generation unit 30 calculates the compatibility of the system configuration selected in step S27 (hereinafter, this will be referred to as the selected system configuration) by the processing in the following steps S28 to S30.

[0123] Specifically, the configuration generation unit 30 first determines the number of service components 16 (Figure 2) for each data category in the selected system configuration based on the non-functional requirements among the characteristics of the data analysis business system to be constructed, which were obtained in step S20 (S28).

[0124] For example, when availability is "necessary," the configuration generating unit 30 determines the number of cloud services to be applied to the service components 16 of each service category to be two or more in preparation for failures. Also, when scalability is "necessary," the configuration generating unit 30 determines the number of service components 16 for the "data processing" service category to be two, even though it will not be used initially (cloud services will not be applied), and determines the number of service components 16 for the other service categories to be one.

[0125] Next, the configuration generating unit 30 calculates the cost of constructing and using a data analysis business system having the selected system configuration (S29).

[0126] Specifically, the configuration generation unit 30 obtains the charges per unit time of the cloud services applied to each service component 16 in the selected system configuration from the cloud service database 27 (Fig. 7), and calculates the usage charge per unit time of the data analysis business system of the selected system configuration by aggregating these. The configuration generation unit 30 also refers to the configuration generation condition column 25D (Fig. 4) of the corresponding record in the inquiry history database 25 (Fig. 4), reads the path name of the path to the configuration generation condition file FL1 in which the configuration generation conditions are stored, and reads the configuration generation condition file FL1.

[0127] The configuration generation unit 30 then reads out the usage time recorded in this configuration condition generation file (the usage time set in the non-functional requirements setting area 47 of the configuration generation condition setting screen 40 in Figure 8), and multiplies the usage time by the usage fee per unit time of the data analysis business system of the selected system configuration calculated as described above, to calculate the total cost of constructing and using the data analysis business system of the selected system configuration.

[0128] Next, the configuration generating unit 30 calculates the suitability of the selected system configuration to the configuration generating conditions set by the customer based on the number of cloud services and the number of service components determined in step S28 and the cost calculated in step S29 (S30). The specific flow of the process of the configuration generating unit 30 in step S30 (hereinafter, this will be referred to as the suitability calculation process) will be described later.

[0129] Then, the configuration generating unit 30 records various information displayed on the configuration generation result display screen 50 described above with reference to FIG. 9, including the number of cloud services and the number of service components determined for the selected system configuration in step S28, the cost calculated in step S29, and the compatibility calculated in step S30, in the configuration generation result file FL3 as detailed information of one system configuration plan. The configuration generating unit 30 also stores the path name of the path to the configuration generation result file FL3 in the configuration generation result column 25F (FIG. 4) of the corresponding record in the inquiry history database 25 (FIG. 4). Note that, in step S31 from the second time onwards, the configuration generating unit 30 records various information displayed on the configuration generation result display screen 50 (FIG. 9) described above in the configuration generation result file FL3 (S31).

[0130] Thereafter, configuration generation unit 30 judges whether or not the processing of steps S27 to S31 has been completed for all system configurations generated in step S26 (S32). If configuration generation unit 30 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it returns to step S27, and thereafter repeats the processing of steps S27 to S32 while sequentially switching the system configuration selected in step S27 to other system configurations that have not been processed in steps S28 and after. Through this repeated processing, necessary information about each system configuration generated in step S26 is sequentially recorded in configuration generation result file FL3 as detailed information of the system configuration proposal.

[0131] Then, when the configuration generation unit 30 obtains a positive result in step S32 by completing the processing of steps S27 to S31 for all system configurations generated in step S26, it determines (S33) whether or not it has completed the processing of steps S23 to S32 for all analysis catalogs 15 extracted in step S21.

[0132] If the configuration generating unit 30 obtains a negative result in this determination, it returns to step S22, and thereafter repeats the processes of steps S22 to S33 while sequentially switching the analysis catalog 15 selected in step S22 to other analysis catalogs 15 that have not been processed in steps S23 and after.

[0133] When the configuration generation unit 30 eventually completes the processing of steps S23 to S32 for all the analysis catalogs 15 extracted in step S21 and thereby obtains a positive result in step S33, it notifies the query reception unit 28 (Figure 1) of the path name of the path to the configuration generation result file FL3 generated in the above manner (S34), and then terminates the configuration generation process.

[0134] Incidentally, the inquiry receiving unit 28, which has been notified by the configuration generating unit 30 of the path name of the path to the configuration generation result file FL3, reads this configuration generation result file FL3 from the auxiliary storage device 13 (FIG. 1) and transmits it to the client 2 that made the corresponding inquiry via the network interface 14 (FIG. 1) and the network 4 (FIG. 1) in that order. As a result, based on the information recorded in this configuration generation result file FL3, the configuration generation result display screen 50 described above with reference to FIG. 9 is displayed on the client 2.

[0135] (4-3-2) Compatibility calculation process FIG. 14 shows a specific process flow of the compatibility calculation process executed by the configuration generating unit 30 in step S30 of the above-mentioned configuration generating process.

[0136] Here, the compatibility of the selection analysis catalog 15 itself is F1, the compatibility of the combination of cloud services applied to each service component 16 (FIG. 2) is F2, and the compatibility of the cost is F3, and the following formula is used.

number

[0137] When the configuration generating unit 30 proceeds to step S30 of the configuration generating process, it starts the compatibility calculation process shown in FIG. 14, and first calculates the compatibility F1 of the selected analysis catalog 15 itself at that time (S40). Specifically, the configuration generating unit 30 uses the following equation

number

[0138] Here, the denominator of the first term in parentheses on the right side of equation (2) is the number of elements (quantity) of the analysis method requested by the customer, and the numerator of the first term is the number of matches between the analysis methods requested by the customer and each analysis method in the selected analysis catalog 15. The denominator of the second term in parentheses is the number of service components 16 requested by the customer, and the numerator of the second term is the number of matches between each service component in the selected analysis catalog 15 and each service component 16 requested by the customer.

[0139] For example, suppose that the features of a data analysis business system that a customer is trying to build on the cloud, extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit 29, are as shown in Figure 15, and the contents of each analysis catalog 15 stored in the analysis catalog database 26 are as shown in Figure 6.

[0140] In this case, if the selected analysis catalog 15 is "K0001", the denominator of the first term in the parentheses of equation (2) is "2" because the analysis methods requested by the customer are "xxx analysis" and "aaa analysis", as is clear from Figure 15. Also, the analysis methods in the selected analysis catalog 15 are also "xxx analysis" and "aaa analysis" (see Figure 6), so these match the analysis methods requested by the customer, "xxx analysis" and "aaa analysis". Therefore, the numerator of the first term in the parentheses of equation (2) is also "2".

[0141] As is clear from Figure 15, the denominator of the second term in parentheses in equation (2) is "3" because the service components 16 requested by the customer are "aggregation," "data processing," and "data storage" (see Figure 6). Also, the service components 16 in the selective analysis catalog 15 are "data collection," "data processing," "data retention," and "data provision" (see Figure 6), so these match the service components 16 requested by the customer in all three of "aggregation," "data processing," and "data storage." Therefore, the numerator of the second term in parentheses in equation (2) is also "3."

[0142] Therefore, in this example, the fitness F1 of the selection analysis catalog itself is expressed as follows:

number

[0143] Next, the configuration generating unit 30 calculates the fitness F2 of the combination of these cloud services that are respectively applied to each service component 16 of the selection analysis catalog 15 (S41).

number

number

[0144] Here, the denominator of the first term in parentheses on the right side of equation (4) is the number of elements (quantity) of the data structure requested by the customer, and the numerator of the first term is the number of matches between the data structure of selected service component 16 and the data structure requested by the customer. The denominator of the second term in parentheses is the number of elements (quantity) of the data handling unit requested by the customer, and the numerator of the second term is the number of matches between the data handling unit of selected service component 16 and the data handling unit requested by the customer. The numerator of the third term in parentheses is the number of elements of the data search method requested by the customer, and the numerator of the third term is the number of matches between the data search method of selected service component 16 and the data search method requested by the customer.

[0145] For example, suppose that the characteristics of a data analysis business system that a customer is trying to build on the cloud, extracted by the configuration characteristic extraction unit 29, are as shown in FIG. 15, and the cloud service that is fitted to a certain service component 16 that constitutes the selected system configuration is the cloud service with the service ID "H0001" in FIG. 7.

[0146] In this case, as is clear from Figure 15, the denominator of the first term in the parentheses in equation (4) is "time series", "sensor data", and "log data", such as "sensor data generated every xx seconds" and "log data output every yy hours", as the data structures requested by the customer are also "time series", "log", and "sensor data" (see Figure 6), so all three of these match the data structures requested by the customer: "time series", "log", and "sensor data".

[0147] As is clear from Figure 15, the denominator of the second term in parentheses in equation (4) is "2" because the data handling units requested by customers are "before aggregation" and "large chunks." Furthermore, the data handling units of such cloud services are "fractions" and "before aggregation" (see Figure 6), and only one of these matches the data handling unit requested by customers, "before aggregation." Therefore, the numerator of the second term in parentheses in equation (4) is "1."

[0148] Furthermore, as is clear from Figure 15, the denominator of the third term in parentheses in equation (4) is "2" because there are two data search methods requested by the customer: "full search" and "search data divided by partition (partition access)." Also, the data search method of the cloud service is "full access" (see Figure 6), so the only data search method that matches the customer's request is "full access (full search)." Therefore, the numerator in parentheses in equation (4) is "1."

[0149] Therefore, in this example, the score P of a cloud service applied to a service component 16 in the selection analysis catalog is expressed as follows:

number

[0150] In the same manner, the configuration generation unit 30 calculates a score P for each cloud service that is fitted to each service component 16 that constitutes the selected analysis catalog 15, and calculates the compatibility F2 of the combination of cloud services by dividing the sum by the number of service components 16 that constitute the selected analysis catalog 15 (for example, "5" in the example of Figure 2(B)) as shown in equation (5).

[0151] Next, the configuration generating unit 30 calculates the cost fitness F3 (S42).

number

[0152] Next, the configuration generating unit 30 uses the fitness F1 calculated in step S40, the fitness F2 calculated in step S41, and the fitness F3 calculated in step S42 to calculate the fitness F of the selected system configuration by the above-mentioned formula (1) (S43). Then, the configuration generating unit 30 then ends this fitness calculation process and returns to the configuration generating process of Figures 13A and 13B.

[0153] (4-4) Application result registration process On the other hand, Fig. 16 shows the procedure of application result registration processing periodically executed by application result registration unit 31 (Fig. 1). According to the procedure shown in Fig. 16, application result registration unit 31 inquires of the user who has transmitted the above-mentioned system configuration generation request whether or not the system configuration proposed by system configuration proposal device 3 has been applied, and registers the result in inquiry history database 25 (Fig. 4).

[0154] In practice, the application result registration unit 31 periodically starts the application result registration process of Fig. 16, first referring to the inquiry history database 25 (Fig. 4) to search for a record in which "NULL" is stored in the configuration plan application result registration date / time field 25G (Fig. 4) (S50), and judges whether or not such a record has been detected (S51). If the application result registration unit 31 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it ends this application result registration process.

[0155] In response to this, if the application result registration unit 31 obtains a positive result in the determination in step S51, it reads out from the auxiliary storage device 13 the configuration generation result file FL3 (FIG. 5(C)) on the path of the path name stored in the configuration generation result column 25F (FIG. 4) of that record. The application result registration unit 31 also transmits the data of the read configuration generation result file FL3, together with an instruction to display the application result registration screen 60 described above with reference to FIG. 10, via the network interface 14 (FIG. 1) to the client 2 of the user assigned the user ID stored in the user ID column 25B (FIG. 4) of that record (S52). As a result, the application result registration screen 60 is displayed on that client 2.

[0156] Thereafter, the application result registration unit 31 waits for the answer entered by the user on the application result registration screen 60 to be transmitted from the client 2 (S53). Then, when the answer is eventually transmitted from the client 2, the application result registration unit determines, based on the answer, whether or not the user has applied any of the system configuration plans proposed to the user (S54).

[0157] If the application result registration unit 31 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it stores the date and time when the response was received in the application plan application result registration date and time column 25G (Figure 4) of the corresponding record in the inquiry history database 25, and stores "NULL" in the application configuration plan column 25H (Figure 4) and the application destination column 25I (Figure 4) (S55), and then terminates this application result registration process.

[0158] In response to this, if the application result registration unit 31 obtains a positive result in the determination in step S54, it extracts identification information of the system configuration plan applied by the user from the response, and stores the extracted identification information in the applied configuration plan column 25H of the corresponding record in the inquiry history database 25. The application result registration unit 31 also stores the date and time at that time in the application plan application result registration date and time column 25G, and stores the customer name of the user in the application destination column 25I (S56). Furthermore, it also stores the customer name of the user in the application performance column 26H of the analysis catalog database. The application result registration unit 31 then ends this application result registration process.

[0159] (4-5) Cloud service database update process Meanwhile, Fig. 17 shows the processing procedure of cloud service update processing periodically executed by cloud service database update unit 33. According to the processing procedure shown in Fig. 17, cloud service database update unit 33 updates cloud service database 27 (Fig. 7) when the content (including fees) of the cloud service provided by the cloud service provider changes, when a new cloud service starts to be provided, or when the provision of an existing cloud service ends.

[0160] In practice, when starting this cloud service database update process, the cloud service database update unit 33 first collects information on each cloud service provided by each cloud service provider from the website of that cloud service provider by crawling or the like (S60).

[0161] Next, the cloud service database update unit 33 compares the collected information on each cloud service with the information on each cloud service registered in the cloud service database 27 to determine whether there is a difference between them (S61). If the cloud service database update unit 33 obtains a negative result in this determination, it ends this cloud service database update process.

[0162] On the other hand, if the cloud service database update unit 33 obtains a positive result in the determination in step S51, it determines whether or not the difference detected in step S61 is a difference from information already registered in the cloud service database 27 (S62).

[0163] Obtaining a positive result in this determination means that there has been a change in the content of the existing cloud service already registered in cloud service database 27. Thus, at this time, cloud service database update unit 33 updates the information of that cloud service registered in cloud service database 27 to the new content acquired in step S60 (S63). Note that this change includes changing the value in usage availability column 27G (FIG. 7) of cloud service database 27 from "available" to "unavailable" when provision of the existing cloud service has ended. Then, cloud service database update unit 33 ends this cloud service database update process.

[0164] On the other hand, obtaining a negative result in step S62 means that a new cloud service has been detected that has not yet been registered in the cloud service database 27. Thus, at this time, the cloud service database update unit 33 additionally registers the necessary information about that cloud service obtained in step S60 in the cloud service database 27 (S64), and then ends this cloud service database update process.

[0165] (4-6) User notification processing 18A and 18B show the procedure of user notification processing executed by the user notification unit 34 (FIG. 1). When the content of a cloud service is changed or a new cloud service is started to be provided, the user notification unit 34 transmits a managed service update notification to a user who is considered to need to review the system configuration of the data analysis business system, according to the procedure shown in FIG. 18A and 18B.

[0166] In practice, the user notification unit 34 starts this user notification process when the system configuration proposal device 3 is powered on, and first monitors the cloud service database 27 (Figure 7) (S70) and determines whether the contents of the cloud services registered in the cloud service database 27 have been updated (not including deletion) or whether a new cloud service has been registered (S71).

[0167] If the user notification unit 34 obtains a negative result in this determination, the process returns to step S70, and thereafter repeats a loop of steps S70-S71-S70 until a positive result is obtained in step S71.

[0168] Then, when the user notification unit 34 detects that the contents of any cloud service registered in the cloud service database 27 have been updated or a new cloud service has been registered, it obtains information about the record corresponding to the updated or added cloud service from the cloud service database 27 (S72).

[0169] The user notification unit 34 also refers to the user database 24 (Figure 3) to identify all users who have requested the above-mentioned managed service update notification (users corresponding to records in which "required" is stored in the notification required / not required column 24C) (S73).

[0170] Next, the user notification unit 34 selects one user from among the users identified in step S73 who has not been processed after step S75 (S74), and obtains the user ID and email address of the selected user (hereinafter referred to as the selected user) from the user database 24 (S75).

[0171] Next, the user notification unit 34 acquires information about all records in which the user ID acquired in step S75 is stored in the user ID column 25B (FIG. 4) from among the records in the inquiry history database 25 (FIG. 4) (S76).

[0172] In addition, based on the information of each acquired record, the user notification unit 34 determines whether the selected user is a user who has previously proposed system configuration proposals and applied one of those system configuration proposals (hereinafter referred to as a first type of user), or a user who has previously proposed system configuration proposals but has not yet inquired as to whether or not he or she has applied any of those system configuration proposals (hereinafter referred to as a second type of user) (S77).

[0173] The former determination can be made based on whether or not identification information of any system configuration plan is stored in the applied configuration plan column 25H, while the latter determination can be made based on whether or not some path name is stored in the configuration generation result column 25F (FIG. 4) and whether or not the configuration plan application result registration date / time column 25G, the applied configuration plan column 25H, and the application destination column 25I are "NULL."

[0174] If the user notification unit 34 obtains a negative result in this determination, it returns to step S74, and thereafter repeats the processing from step S74 onwards while successively switching the corresponding user selected in step S74 to other users who have not yet been processed from step S75 onwards.

[0175] Furthermore, when the user notification unit 34 obtains a positive result in the determination in step S77, if the selected user is a first type user, it determines whether or not the system configuration plan applied by the selected user uses a cloud service of the same service category as the updated or added cloud service detected in step S71. Furthermore, if the selected user is a second type user, the user notification unit 34 determines whether or not any of the system configuration plans proposed to the selected user uses a cloud service of the same service category as the updated or added cloud service detected in step S71 (S78).

[0176] If the user notification unit 34 obtains a negative result in this determination, it returns to step S74, and thereafter repeats the processing from step S74 onwards while successively switching the corresponding user selected in step S74 to other users who have not yet been processed from step S75 onwards.

[0177] On the other hand, if the determination in step S78 is affirmative, the user notification unit 34 executes a managed service update notification process for transmitting a managed service update notification to the selected user as necessary (S79).

[0178] After that, the user notification unit 34 judges whether or not the process of step S74 and the subsequent steps has been completed for all users identified in step S73 (S80). If the user notification unit 34 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it returns to step S74, and thereafter repeats the process of step S74 and the subsequent steps while sequentially switching the user selected in step S74 to other applicable users for whom step S75 and the subsequent steps have not been processed.

[0179] Then, when the user notification unit 34 obtains a positive result in step S80 by completing the processing of steps S75 to S79 ​​for all users identified in step S73, the user notification unit 34 returns to step S70 and thereafter repeats the processing from step S70 onwards.

[0180] Fig. 19 shows specific processing contents of the user notification unit 34 in step S79 in Fig. 18B. When the user notification unit 34 proceeds to step S79 of the user notification processing (Figs. 18A and 18B), it starts the managed service update notification processing shown in Fig. 19.

[0181] Then, the user notification unit 34 first refers to the inquiry history database 25 (FIG. 4) and acquires configuration information of the system configuration proposal applied by the selected user if the selected user is a first type user. Furthermore, if the selected user is a second type user, the user notification unit 34 acquires configuration information of the system configuration proposal that uses a cloud service of the same service category as the updated or added cloud service detected in step S71, among the system configuration proposals proposed to the selected user (S90).

[0182] Specifically, when the selected user is a first type user, the user notification unit 34 identifies a record in which the user ID of the selected user is stored in the user ID column 25B (FIG. 4) among the records in the inquiry history database 25. The user notification unit 34 also reads the configuration generation result file FL3 (FIG. 5(C)) on the path whose path name is stored in the configuration generation result column 25F of the identified record, and obtains the configuration information of the system configuration proposal applied by the selected user from the read configuration generation result file FL3.

[0183] Furthermore, when the selected user is a second type user, user notification unit 34 identifies a record in which the user ID of the selected user is stored in user ID column 25B (FIG. 4) among the records in inquiry history database 25. User notification unit 34 also reads configuration generation result file FL3 (FIG. 5(C)) on the path whose path name is stored in configuration generation result column 25F of the identified record, and obtains configuration information of the system configuration proposal that uses a cloud service of the same service category as the updated or added cloud service detected in step S71 from the read configuration generation result file FL3.

[0184] Next, based on the configuration information of the above-mentioned system configuration plan acquired in step S90, the user notification unit 34 calculates the suitability of the applied cloud configuration plan when a cloud service of the same service category as the updated / added cloud service in the system configuration plan is replaced with the updated / added cloud service in the same manner as steps S28 to S30 of the configuration generation process described above with reference to Figures 13A and 13B (steps S91 to S93).

[0185] The user notification unit 34 then judges whether the degree of suitability calculated in steps S91 to S93 is improved (higher) than the degree of suitability of the original system configuration plan (S94). If the user notification unit 34 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it ends this managed service update notification process.

[0186] In response to this, if the user notification unit 34 obtains a positive result in this judgment, it records the necessary information regarding the applicable cloud configuration plan when a cloud service of the same service category as the updated / added cloud service in the system configuration plan is replaced with the updated / added cloud service in the configuration generation result file FL3 from which the configuration information was obtained in step S91 (S95).

[0187] The user notification unit 34 also sends a managed service update notification to the selected user informing him or her that an update has been made to the cloud service and that a more suitable system configuration plan can be created (S96), and then terminates this managed service update notification process.

[0188] (4-7) Analysis catalog database update process (4-7-1) First analysis catalog database update process Figure 20 shows the first analysis catalog database update process that is periodically executed by the analysis catalog database update unit 32 (Figure 1). The analysis catalog database update unit 32 generates a new analysis catalog 15 (Figure 2) as necessary, according to the processing procedure shown in Figure 20, and registers the generated analysis catalog 15 in the analysis catalog database 26 (Figure 6).

[0189] In practice, when the analysis catalog database update unit 32 starts this first analysis catalog database update process, it first crawls to collect the information necessary to generate the analysis catalog 15 from the websites of each cloud service provider, as well as websites that contain articles and papers on data analysis processing (S100).

[0190] For example, when information indicating a new process flow for data analysis processing is posted on any website, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 collects that information.

[0191] Next, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 generates all the analysis catalogs 15 that can be generated based on the information collected in step S100 (S101), and then judges whether or not at least one analysis catalog 15 was generated in step S101 (S102). If the analysis catalog database update unit 32 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it ends this analysis catalog database update process.

[0192] On the other hand, if the analysis catalog database update unit 32 obtains a positive result in the determination in step S102, it selects one analysis catalog 15 that has not yet been processed in steps S104 and thereafter from among the analysis catalogs 15 generated in step S101 (S103).

[0193] The analysis catalog database update unit 32 also determines whether the selected analysis catalog 15 already exists in the analysis catalog database 26 (S104). This determination is made by sequentially comparing the analysis catalog 15 selected in step S103 with the existing analysis catalogs 15 already registered in the analysis catalog database 26.

[0194] If the analysis catalog database update unit 32 obtains a positive result in this determination, it proceeds to step S106. On the other hand, if the analysis catalog database update unit 32 obtains a negative result in the determination in step S104, it newly registers the analysis catalog 15 selected in step S103 in the analysis catalog database 26 (S105).

[0195] Thereafter, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 judges whether or not the processing from step S102 onwards has been executed for all the analysis catalogs 15 generated in step S101 (S106).

[0196] If the analysis catalog database update unit 32 obtains a negative result in this determination, it returns to step S103, and thereafter repeats the processing of steps S103 to S106 while sequentially switching the analysis catalog 15 selected in step S103 to other analysis catalogs 15 that have not been processed in steps S104 and onward. Through this repeated processing, new analysis catalogs 15 that have not been registered in the analysis catalog database 26 up until then are sequentially registered in the analysis catalog database 26 from among the analysis catalogs 15 generated in step S101.

[0197] Then, when the analysis catalog database update unit 32 obtains a positive result in step S106 by completing the processing in steps S104 and after for all the analysis catalogs 15 generated in step S101, it ends this first analysis catalog database update processing.

[0198] (4-7-2) Second analysis catalog database update process On the other hand, Figure 21 shows a second analysis catalog database update process executed by the analysis catalog database update unit 32 (Figure 1) when identification information of a system configuration plan proposed by the system configuration proposal device 3 and applied by a user is stored in the applied configuration plan column 25H of any record in the inquiry history database 25 (Figure 4).

[0199] According to the processing procedure shown in Figure 21, when a user applies a system configuration plan with a low degree of suitability, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 generates a new analysis catalog 15 based on the system configuration plan and registers it in the analysis catalog database 26 (Figure 6).

[0200] In practice, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 starts this second analysis catalog database update process when identification information of a system configuration plan is stored in the applied configuration plan column 25H (FIG. 4) of any record in the inquiry history database 25 (FIG. 4).

[0201] Then, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 first obtains the suitability of the system configuration proposal (S110). Specifically, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 reads the configuration generation result file FL3 (FIG. 5(C)) on the path whose path name is stored in the configuration generation result column 25F (FIG. 4) of the record, and obtains the suitability of the system configuration proposal from the read configuration generation result file FL3.

[0202] Next, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 judges whether the degree of conformance acquired in step S110 is less than a preset threshold value (S111). If the judgment is negative, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 ends the second analysis catalog database update process.

[0203] In contrast, if the analysis catalog database update unit 32 obtains a positive result in the judgment in step S111, it obtains the information necessary to generate a new analysis catalog 15 for the system configuration proposal and register it in the analysis catalog database 26 from the configuration generation result file FL3 read in step S110 (S112).

[0204] The analysis catalog database update unit 32 also stores the information acquired in step S112 in the analysis catalog database 26, and registers the analysis catalog 15 in the analysis catalog database 26 (S113). Then, the analysis catalog database update unit 32 then ends this second analysis catalog database update process.

[0205] In this way, when a user applies a system configuration proposal with a low suitability, a new analysis catalog 15 is generated based on that system configuration proposal and registered in the analysis catalog database 26, thereby increasing the suitability of the system configuration proposal having that system configuration when presented to a user who desires a similar system configuration in the future.

[0206] This allows the display rank of the system configuration plan having that system configuration to be higher in the generated system configuration plan list area 52 of the configuration generation result display screen 50 (Figure 9), and thus allows the system configuration plan having the system configuration desired by the user to be presented to the user with higher priority.

[0207] (5) Effects of this embodiment As described above, the system configuration proposal device 3 of this embodiment extracts features of the data analysis business system that a client wishes to build on the cloud, such as the data structure of the data handled by the data analysis business system, the analysis method of the data, and the search method of the data, and extracts an analysis catalog 15 that matches the extracted features from the analysis catalog database 26. In addition, the system configuration proposal device 3 generates all possible system configuration plans by fitting cloud services that match the configuration generation conditions to each service component 16 of the extracted analysis catalog, and displays these generated system configuration plans on the client 2.

[0208] Therefore, according to the present system configuration proposal device 3, it is possible to propose a system configuration proposal that is suitable for the set configuration generation conditions without the intervention of human judgment, and therefore it is possible to propose an optimal system configuration that is fully suited to the customer's wishes in practical terms.

[0209] (6) Other embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the inquiry reception unit 28, configuration feature extraction unit 29, configuration generation unit 30, application result registration unit 31, analysis catalog database update unit 32, cloud service database update unit 33 and user notification unit 34 are mounted on a system configuration proposal device 3 consisting of a single server device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and these programs may be distributed and implemented on multiple computer devices that constitute a distributed computing system.

[0210] In the above-described embodiment, in step S79 of the user notification process described above with respect to Figures 18A and 18B, a managed service update notification process is executed to send a managed service update notification to the corresponding user only if a system configuration proposal using an updated or newly added cloud service has a higher degree of suitability than the original system configuration proposal (see Figure 19). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in such step S79, a notification that the currently used cloud service has been updated or that a new available cloud service has begun to be provided may be sent immediately to the corresponding user without executing the managed service update notification process.

[0211] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the elements in the parentheses in the formulas (1), (2), and (4) are treated equally, but the present invention is not limited to this, and each element may be weighted. Similarly, in the above formula (5), the score P of each service component that constitutes the analysis catalog may be weighted.

[0212] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, all system configuration plans generated by the system configuration proposal device 3 are displayed on the configuration generation result display screen 50. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only a predetermined number of system configuration plans with the highest degree of suitability may be displayed on the configuration generation result display screen 50, or only system configuration plans with a degree of suitability equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold may be displayed on the configuration generation result display screen 50.

[0213] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the configuration generation conditions, feature extraction results, and configuration generation results are not stored in the query database 25 but are instead filed in separate files, and the query database 25 stores the path name of the path to those files. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and these configuration generation conditions, feature extraction results, and configuration generation results may be stored directly in the query database 25.

[0214] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the configuration generation condition input unit 20, configuration generation result display unit 21 and configuration application result input unit 22 of the client 2 generate and display the configuration generation condition setting screen 40, configuration generation result display screen 50 or application result registration screen 60 described above with reference to Figures 8 to 10 based on information from the system configuration proposal device 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and screen data for the configuration generation condition setting screen 40, configuration generation result display screen 50 or application result registration screen 60 may be generated on the system configuration proposal device 3 side, and the configuration generation condition input unit 20, configuration generation result display unit 21 and configuration application result input unit 22 of the client 2 may simply display the configuration generation condition setting screen 40, configuration generation result display screen 50 or application result registration screen 60 based on the screen data.

[0215] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a catalog extraction unit that extracts a catalog that matches the characteristics of the requirements extracted by the configuration feature extraction unit from multiple types of catalogs that define pre-prepared data processing flows, a cloud service extraction unit that extracts cloud services suitable for the requested requirements for each service component of the catalog extracted by the catalog extraction unit, and a system configuration proposal generation unit that generates one or more system configuration proposals by combining the cloud services extracted by the cloud service extraction unit in accordance with the catalog extracted by the catalog extraction unit are configured by a single program (configuration generation unit 30).However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the catalog extraction unit, cloud service extraction unit, and system configuration proposal generation unit may each be configured as separate programs. [Industrial Applicability]

[0216] The present invention can be applied to a system configuration proposal device that presents a proposed system configuration on a cloud that meets required requirements. [Explanation of symbols]

[0217] 1...System configuration proposal system, 2...Client, 3...System configuration proposal device, 11...CPU, 15...Analysis catalog, 16...Service component, 24...User database, 25...Inquiry history database, 26...Analysis catalog database, 27...Cloud service database, 28...Inquiry reception unit, 29...Configuration feature extraction unit, 30...Configuration generation unit, 31...Application result registration unit, 32...Analysis catalog database update unit, 33...Cloud service database update unit, 34...User notification unit, 40...Configuration generation condition setting screen, 50...Configuration generation result display screen, 60...Application result registration screen, FL1...Configuration generation condition file, FL2...Feature extraction result file, FL3...Configuration generation result file.

Claims

1. An information processing device that presents a configuration plan for a system configuration on a cloud that meets required requirements, The requirements include at least the data structure of the data handled by the system to be created, the analysis method of the data, and the search method of the data, A configuration feature extraction unit that extracts features related to the requirements; a catalog extraction unit that extracts a catalog that matches the characteristics of the requirements extracted by the configuration characteristic extraction unit from a plurality of types of catalogs that prescribe data processing flows prepared in advance; a cloud service extraction unit that extracts a cloud service suitable for the required requirements for each service component of the catalog extracted by the catalog extraction unit; a system configuration plan generation unit that generates one or more system configuration plans by combining the cloud services extracted by the cloud service extraction unit in accordance with the catalog extracted by the catalog extraction unit; a system configuration presentation unit that presents each of the system configuration plans generated by the system configuration proposal generation unit; An information processing device comprising:

2. The system configuration plan generation unit calculating, for each of the generated system configuration plans, a degree of conformance of the system configuration plan to the requirements; The system configuration presentation unit The system configuration plans generated by the system configuration plan generating unit are presented in order of suitability.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

3. A cloud service database is provided in which information on the various cloud services provided by each cloud service provider is registered, The cloud service extraction unit extracting, for each service component of the catalog extracted by the catalog extraction unit, a cloud service suitable for the requested requirements from among the cloud services registered in the cloud service database; The cloud service database update unit collects information about the cloud services provided by each of the cloud service providers, and when detecting an update to an existing cloud service registered in the cloud service database or detecting a new cloud service, updates the registration information of the existing cloud service in the cloud service database or registers the new cloud service in the cloud service database in accordance with the detected content.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

4. The cloud service management system further includes a user notification unit that transmits a predetermined notification to a necessary user when the existing cloud service is updated or when the provision of a new cloud service is started, The user notification unit, Sending the predetermined notification to the user who can build a system that is more suited to the requirements than the current system by using the updated existing cloud service or the new cloud service.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

5. an application result inquiry unit that inquires of a user about the system configuration plan that the user has applied as the system configuration from among the system configuration plans presented by the system configuration presentation unit; When the suitability of the system configuration plan applied as a system configuration by the user, which is acquired by the application result inquiry unit, is less than a predetermined threshold, a new catalog of the system configuration plan is generated.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

6. An information processing method executed by an information processing device that presents a configuration plan for a system configuration on a cloud that meets requested requirements, comprising: The requirements include at least the data structure of the data handled by the system to be created, the analysis method of the data, and the search method of the data, a first step of extracting features related to said requirements; A second step of extracting a catalogue that matches the characteristics of the extracted requirement from among a plurality of types of catalogues that prescribe data processing flows prepared in advance; A third step of extracting, for each service component of the extracted catalog, a cloud service suitable for the requested requirements; A fourth step of generating one or more system configuration plans by combining the extracted cloud services according to the extracted catalog; a fifth step of presenting each of the generated system configuration plans; An information processing method comprising:

7. In the fourth step, the information processing device calculating, for each of the generated system configuration plans, a degree of conformance of the system configuration plan to the requirements; In the fifth step, the information processing device The generated system configuration plans are presented in order of suitability.

7. The information processing method according to claim 6,

8. The information processing device includes: A cloud service database is provided in which information on the various cloud services provided by each cloud service provider is registered, In the third step, the information processing device For each service component of the extracted catalog, extract a cloud service suitable for the requested requirements from among the cloud services registered in the cloud service database; The information processing device includes: Collecting information about the cloud services provided by each of the cloud service providers, and when detecting an update to an existing cloud service registered in the cloud service database or detecting a new cloud service, updating the registration information of the existing cloud service in the cloud service database or registering the new cloud service in the cloud service database according to the detected content.

7. The information processing method according to claim 6,

9. The information processing device includes: When the existing cloud service is updated or a new cloud service is started to be provided, a predetermined notification is sent to a user who can build a system that is more suitable for the requirements than the current system by using the updated existing cloud service or the new cloud service.

7. The information processing method according to claim 6,

10. a sixth step of inquiring of a user about the system configuration plan that the user has applied as the system configuration from among the presented system configuration plans; a seventh step of generating a new catalog of the system configuration plan when the degree of suitability of the system configuration plan applied by the acquired user as a system configuration is less than a predetermined threshold; 8. The information processing method according to claim 7, further comprising:

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