Information processing system, system, data processing method, program

Abstract

To provide an information processing system in which a first system executes processing on electronic data in accordance with a response from a second system.SOLUTION: An information processing system 100 includes a first system 10 which can communicate with a terminal device 50 and a second system 30 over a network. The first system includes: a communication unit which receives electronic data from the terminal device; a process execution unit which requests the second system to process the electronic data received by the communication unit; and a data management unit which executes processing on the electronic data in accordance with a response from the second system, for a modification request for the process received from the terminal device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a system, a data processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] A method for managing electronic data by attaching identification information to the electronic data is known. Also known is a processing method in which a first system that manages electronic data transmits the electronic data to a second system for processing.

[0003] A technique for registering an electronic document on a server based on identification information has been devised (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which an image forming apparatus acquires identification information of read document data, determines the appropriateness of the read document data based on information corresponding to the identification information, and when it is appropriate, the server registers the electronic document corresponding to the read document data as approved.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the conventional technology has a problem that the first system does not execute processing related to electronic data in response to a response from the second system. For example, when the first system receives a request from a user to change the processing performed on the electronic data by the second system, the appropriate processing to be performed by the first system differs depending on the state of the electronic data in the second system.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system in which a first system executes processing related to electronic data in response to a response from a second system in view of the above problems.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention is an information processing system having a first system capable of communicating with a terminal device and a second system via a network, The first system includes a communication unit that receives electronic data from the terminal device, Store the electronic data and first identification information for identifying the electronic data in a storage unit and a data management unit, The communication unit transmits the received electronic data or the storage location of the electronic data to the second system, and receives second identification information for identifying the electronic data from the second system. The data management unit stores the second identification information in the storage unit in association with the first identification information. The first system and a process execution unit that requests the second system to process the electronic data received by the communication unit, Further includes, and the data management unit and is characterized by having, with respect to a process change request received from the terminal device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] An information processing system can be provided in which the first system executes processing related to electronic data in response to a response from the second system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, as an example of an embodiment for implementing the present invention, an information processing system and a data processing method performed by the information processing system will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <Overview of Operations> FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a method for managing electronic data performed by the document management system 10. The document management system 10 stores and processes various documents. Further, the document management system 10 may execute a series of processes (workflow) on a document and may request a part of the process to the electronic contract system 30 at that time. The electronic contract system 30 conducts contract transactions with business partners and assigns electronic signatures. In such a system configuration, the document management system 10 of the present embodiment manages by associating a document before being processed by the electronic contract system 30 and a document after being processed by the electronic contract system 30. Using this association, the user requests the document management system 10 to cancel the processing of the document by the electronic contract system 30 or the like. The document management system 10 executes processing related to the document according to the response from the electronic contract system 30. This overview will be described.

[0011] (1) The user operates the terminal device 50 to create a contract document as an example of a document, and uploads the contract document from the terminal device 50 to the document management system 10 (an example of a first system). The document management system 10 stores the contract document and manages the contract document with identification information "001" in the document management system 10.

[0012] (2) When the pre - determined workflow start conditions are met, the document management system 10 executes the workflow. The workflow sends the document to the electronic contract system 30 (an example of the second system) and obtains the identification information "00A" managed on the electronic contract system 30 as a return value. The document management system 10 generates metadata associating "001" with "00A".

[0013] (3) The user requests the document management system 10, for example, to cancel the processing (an example of a processing change) of the document managed by "001" by the electronic contract system 30.

[0014] (4) Due to the cancellation request, the document management system 10 changes the status of the document to "under cancellation request". A cancellation request means requesting the cancellation of the processing by the electronic contract system 30. That is, the user can request a change in processing from the electronic contract system 30 by changing the status in the document management system 10. If the status change is a workflow start condition, the document management system 10 executes the workflow. The workflow refers to the metadata, converts the identification information "001" to "00A", and requests the electronic contract system 30 to cancel the document named "00A".

[0015] (5) The electronic contract system 30 returns a response to the document management system 10 according to the status of the document specified by "00A". The response is determined based on the status of the document in the electronic contract system 30.

[0016] (6) The document management system 10 executes the processing corresponding to the response, that is, the status of the document specified by "00A" in the electronic contract system 30, on the document specified by "001". For example, the document management system 10 deletes the document or changes the status.

[0017] Therefore, by associating and managing the identification information of the documents in the document management system 10 with the identification information of the electronic contract system 30, the document management system 10 can cause the processing (status change) performed on the documents in the document management system 10 to be reflected in the electronic contract system 30. Further, since the document management system 10 performs processing related to the documents according to the status of the documents in the electronic contract system 30 (in response to the response from the electronic contract system 30), the processing can be executed so as not to be inconsistent with the progress of the processing on the documents by the electronic contract system 30.

[0018] <Regarding terms> Electronic data is data used for computer processing and is an "electromagnetic record" stored on an electromagnetic recording medium. In this embodiment, electronic data is described using the term "document". A document is also referred to as a document. However, it is not essential to include characters. Even if it is referred to as a document, it only needs to have data that can be read by a computer. Electronic data may be image data such as video or still images.

[0019] Processing means information processing, which refers to performing calculations, classifications, collations, and other processing on information represented by numbers, characters, physical quantities, etc. by a computer. The electronic data does not have to be changed by the second system.

[0020] A workflow refers to a series of predetermined processes that a system sequentially performs on data or a series of processes.

[0021] A processing change request refers to changing the requested processing for some reason, such as interrupting, pausing, canceling, or changing the processing content. In this embodiment, a cancellation request is used as an example for explanation, but it is not limited to a cancellation request.

[0022] The response from the second system is information indicating how a request from the document management system was processed, or at least one of the processes to be executed by the document management system 10.

[0023] The state of a document (electronic data) is information associated with the document in the electronic contract system 30. The state may be, for example, the progress of processing, the result of processing (success, failure), etc. In this embodiment, the state is described using the term status.

[0024] Processing related to electronic data may be any processing on at least one of the electronic data or metadata. For example, processing related to electronic data refers to deletion, modification, transmission of electronic data, deletion, modification, transmission of metadata, etc.

[0025] <System Configuration Example> Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the system configuration of the information processing system 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of an example of the information processing system 100.

[0026] The information processing system 100 has at least the document management system 10. The information processing system 100 may further have an electronic contract system 30. The document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 are communicably connected via a network. It is not necessary for the document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 to be always connected, and they may be connected as needed. Also, the document management system 10 accepts connections from the terminal device 50. It is not necessary for the document management system 10 and the terminal device 50 to be always connected, and they may be connected as needed. Also, the electronic contract system 30 accepts connections from the terminal device 50. It is not necessary for the electronic contract system 30 and the terminal device 50 to be always connected, and they may be connected as needed.

[0027] The document management system 10 is one or more information processing apparatuses. The document management system 10 provides a service for managing documents. The document management system 10 attaches metadata to documents to enable efficient search of documents using the metadata. Also, the document management system 10 provides a service for processing documents by a workflow function before starting document management or after starting management. Metadata is data about certain data, referring to additional data about that data itself that certain data accompanies. Details will be described later.

[0028] In the workflow function, processing by a second system (exemplified by the electronic contract system 30 in FIG. 2) is also possible. Conventionally, the document management system 10 has not managed the identification information of documents processed by other systems. In the present embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 manages by associating the identification information of documents in the information processing system 100 and the electronic contract system 30.

[0029] The document management system 10 may be realized by cloud computing or may be realized by a single information processing apparatus. Cloud computing refers to a form in which resources on a network are used without awareness of specific hardware resources. The document management system 10 may exist on the Internet or may exist on-premises.

[0030] The electronic contract system 30 is one or more information processing apparatuses. The electronic contract system 30 performs processing related to electronic contracts. Although there is no fixed definition for the electronic contract system 30, it is a system that can conclude a contract by attaching an electronic signature and a time stamp to electronic data (a contract document in PDF format) on the Internet instead of stamping a seal on a paper contract document. Not only can a contract be concluded, but also the concluded contract documents can be stored, contract search, and cooperation with other systems can be performed. There may be a case where the electronic contract system 30 is equipped with a workflow function so that approval and internal approval can be performed.

[0031] An electronic signature is created as follows by way of example. Person A who wants to sign a document creates a hash value of the document using a hash function and encrypts the hash value using a private key. Person A attaches and saves the electronic signature to the document. Person B who wants to know whether the document has been tampered with decrypts the electronic signature using Person A's public key, obtains the hash value of the document, and compares the two. If the two match, it is proven that the document was created by the owner of the private key corresponding to the public key and has not been tampered with by anyone other than the owner of the private key. Also, Person B verifies whether the public key is legitimate through certificate verification. Certificate verification is to inquire of the certification authority and verify the signature of the certification authority included in the public key.

[0032] Note that the electronic contract system 30 is an example of a second system used by the document management system 10 in a workflow. The second system may be as follows. · Timestamp system: A timestamp is proof information of the time that proves third-party that electronic data existed at a certain point in time and has maintained its evidentiary value without being tampered with thereafter. While electronic proof guarantees that a document has not been tampered with, it can also guarantee at what point in time the electronic data existed. · Noise removal system: A noise removal system is a system that removes noise from a document. Noise refers to unnecessary information other than necessary information such as signatures. · Digital watermark system: A digital watermark system is a system that adds a digital watermark to a document. A digital watermark refers to a technique of embedding relevant information in a form that cannot be perceived by humans in data such as images, videos, and audio. The embedded information can be detected by using dedicated software or the like.

[0033] The electronic contract system 30 may be realized by cloud computing or by a single information processing device. The electronic contract system 30 may exist on the Internet or on-premises.

[0034] The terminal device 50 is a general-purpose computer that communicates with the document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30. A web browser operates on the terminal device 50, and various screens are displayed based on the screen information received from the document management system 10 or the electronic contract system 30. The user performs operations such as document registration, workflow execution, and document search on the document management system 10. In addition, the user can perform operations such as searching for and viewing documents with electronic signatures on the electronic contract system 30.

[0035] The terminal device 50 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), smartphone, tablet terminal, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc., as long as a web browser operates. Note that on the terminal device 50, not only a web browser but also a dedicated application for the document management system 10 or the electronic contract system 30 may operate.

[0036] In addition, the terminal device 50 may be an electronic device such as a multifunction printer (or MFP (multifunction peripheral / product / printer)) or an electronic blackboard. For example, the multifunction printer can replace the terminal device 50 by sending the scanned image data (document) to the document management system 10. In addition to this, the terminal device 50 may be a video conferencing terminal, digital signage, a projector, etc. In the case of an electronic blackboard, the terminal device 50 sends handwritten data to the document management system 10. In the case of a video conferencing terminal, the terminal device 50 sends voice data to the document management system 10. <Hardware Configuration> <<Document Management System, Electronic Contract System, Terminal Device>> The document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 are realized by, for example, a computer 500 having the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the computer 500. As shown in FIG. 3, the computer 500 is constructed by a computer and includes, as shown in FIG. 3, a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, an HD 504, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, a display 506, an external device connection I / F (Interface) 508, a network I / F 509, a bus line 510, a keyboard 511, a pointing device 512, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, and a media I / F 516.

[0037] Among these, the CPU 501 controls the operation of the entire computer 500. The ROM 502 stores programs used for driving the CPU 501 such as the IPL. The RAM 503 is used as a work area for the CPU 501. The HD 504 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls the reading or writing of various data to and from the HD 504 according to the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 displays various information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, or an image. The external device connection I / F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The external devices in this case are, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, an image forming apparatus 20, and the like. The network I / F 509 is an interface for performing data communication using a communication network. The bus line 510 is an address bus, a data bus, etc. for electrically connecting the components such as the CPU 501 shown in FIG. 3.

[0038] In addition, the keyboard 511 is a type of input means having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 512 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc. The optical drive 514 controls reading or writing of various data with respect to the optical storage medium 513 as an example of a removable recording medium. Note that the optical storage medium is a CD, DVD, Blu-Ray (registered trademark), etc. The media I / F 516 controls reading or writing (storage) of data with respect to the recording medium 515 such as a flash memory.

[0039] <Regarding functions> Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the functions of the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 will be described. FIG. 4 is an example of a functional block diagram for separately explaining the functions of the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 in blocks.

[0040] <<Document Management System>> The document management system 10 includes a communication unit 11, a screen generation unit 12, a data management unit 13, a workflow control unit 14, a processing execution unit 15, an HTML information storage unit 21, a document information storage unit 22, a metadata storage unit 23, and a workflow information storage unit 24. These functions of the document management system 10 are functions or means realized by the CPU 501 of the computer 500 shown in FIG. 3 executing a program stored in the HD 504. In addition, the HTML information storage unit 21, the document information storage unit 22, the metadata storage unit 23, and the workflow information storage unit 24 are constructed in the HD 504, the RAM 503, etc. of the computer 500 shown in FIG. 3. The HTML information storage unit 21, the document information storage unit 22, the metadata storage unit 23, and the workflow information storage unit 24 do not have to be limited to the case where the document management system 10 has them, and may be on the network.

[0041] The communication unit 11 transmits and receives various types of information with the terminal device 50 or the electronic contract system 30. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 11 receives a document from the terminal device 50 and transmits the screen information of various screens to the terminal device 50. The communication unit 11 transmits a document and a processing request to the electronic contract system 30, and receives the document and its identification information after being processed by the electronic contract system 30. Further, the communication unit 11 transmits a withdrawal request to the electronic contract system 30 and receives a response according to the status of the document from the electronic contract system 30.

[0042] The screen generation unit 12 refers to the HTML information storage unit 21 and generates the screen information of various screens to be displayed on the terminal device 50. In the HTML information storage unit 21, the screen templates are stored, and various tags, the format of the script language, and the format of each tag are preset in the templates. Tags define the layout of titles, characters, tables, labels, buttons, etc. to be displayed on the web page. The format defines the color, size, or font of characters in the HTML document by CSS (Cascading Style Sheet). The format of the script language defines the content of the process. The screen generation unit 12 uses this template to generate the screen information for displaying a search screen, a document list screen, etc., which will be described later. The screen information is a program described in HTML, XML, script language, CSS, etc. The structure of the web page is mainly defined by HTML, the operation of the web page is defined by the script language, and the style of the web page is defined by CSS. Note that, by dynamically generating the web page in this way, a mechanism that enables the server and the client to process interactively is called a web application. A web application refers to software or its mechanism that operates on a web browser and is executed by the cooperation of a program written in a programming language (for example, JavaScript (registered trademark)) operating on the web browser and a program on the web server side.

[0043] The data management unit 13 manages the documents transmitted from the terminal device 50 in association with the metadata. The data management unit 13 stores the document body (file) of the document in the document information storage unit 22 and stores the metadata in the metadata storage unit 23.

[0044] The workflow control unit 14 accepts the registration of the workflow, refers to the workflow information storage unit 24, and controls the monitoring of the start trigger and the generation of the process execution unit 15, etc. The workflow information will be described later.

[0045] The process execution unit 15 is a module that executes the workflow. The process execution unit 15 may be referred to as the workflow itself. The process execution unit 15 is an instance dynamically generated by the workflow control unit 14. The process execution unit 15 automatically executes the process according to the processing content of the workflow. The process execution unit 15 operates independently as an individual module for each document. The processing of the process execution unit 15 includes task assignment and interaction with external systems.

[0046] FIG. 5 shows an example of the document information stored in the document information storage unit 22. The document information represents each document itself or the storage location of the document.

[0047] · The document ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the document. The document ID may be a file name as long as it does not duplicate, or it may be a file path or a URL. The user can access the document using the document ID.

[0048] · The file path represents each document itself or the storage location of the document.

[0049] FIG. 6 shows an example of the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 23. The metadata is useful data for managing the document, which is attached to each document. Hereinafter, each item of the metadata will be described. Note that the metadata is sometimes referred to as data of data.

[0050] · The document ID is the same as the document ID in the document information storage unit 22, and is identification information that uniquely identifies a document.

[0051] · The file name is the file name of the document.

[0052] · The document ID of the electronic contract system is the identification information of the document in the electronic contract system 30 for the document registered in the document management system 10. With this item, the document management system 10 can easily identify which document it is when the document registered in the document management system 10 is processed in the electronic contract system 30.

[0053] · The document type indicates what kind of processing the document is used for. When processed by the electronic contract system 30, as shown in the figure, there are many contract-related document types, but this is just an example.

[0054] · The contract start date is the start date of the contract period when the document is related to a contract. The contract end date is also the end date of the contract period. The user can change the contract start date and the contract end date.

[0055] · The status represents the state of the document. For example, there are valid, rejected, withdrawal requested, etc. Valid: The state where the processing of the contract document is in progress in the electronic contract system 30 Rejected: The state where the contract document has been rejected in the electronic contract system 30 Withdrawal requested: A transitional state until the user requests the electronic contract system 30 to withdraw a valid document and the document management system 10 changes it to rejected (it may not be rejected). That is, when the user requests the withdrawal of a contract document, etc., that state is temporarily set in the metadata.

[0056] These states are merely examples, and there may be other states or the names of each state may be different.

[0057] Note that when registering a document, the user can edit the file name, document type, contract start date, contract end date, etc. on the web page. That is, the user can register metadata. Furthermore, the user can set what attributes to register in the metadata storage unit 23. That is, the user can register metadata items. Thus, the user can register the attributes of the document used for searching as metadata. Therefore, the items in the metadata storage unit 23 are not limited to those shown in the figure.

[0058] Also, although metadata is saved for each document, there may be documents without metadata.

[0059] FIG. 7 shows an example of the workflow information stored in the workflow information storage unit 24. The workflow information defines the content of a series of processes processed by the workflow. Hereinafter, each item of the workflow information will be described.

[0060] · The workflow ID is the identification information of the workflow. If it has uniqueness, the name of the workflow may also be the identification information.

[0061] · The start trigger is the condition under which the workflow control unit 14 generates the process execution unit 15 (that is, the process execution unit 15 starts the workflow). When an event that satisfies this start trigger occurs, the process execution unit 15 automatically starts the execution of the workflow. Therefore, the user does not need to explicitly specify and start the execution of the workflow. The start trigger shown in the figure is merely an example, and there may be a workflow with a start trigger of regular execution, a workflow with a start trigger of registration of a fixed file name, etc.

[0062] · Flow 1 and Flow 2 show the series of processes performed by the processing execution unit 15 in the workflow in order. Flow 1 is the first process, and Flow 2 indicates the second process. In FIG. 7, the number of processes is two, but the number of processes can be any number and can vary depending on the workflow.

[0063] For example, in the workflow with Workflow ID = 1, it represents that with the start trigger of document change, the review process of Mr. A and the approval process of Mr. B are performed. In the workflow with Workflow ID = 2, it represents that with the start trigger of new document saving, the process of sending the document to the electronic contract system 30 is performed. In the workflow with Workflow ID = 3, it represents that with the start trigger of changing the "status" of the metadata to "withdrawal requested", the process of requesting the withdrawal of the document to the electronic contract system 30 is performed.

[0064] <<Electronic Contract System>> Returning to FIG. 4 for explanation. The electronic contract system 30 includes a communication unit 31, an electronic signature unit 32, a status information storage unit 38, a document information storage unit 39, and a status change response information storage unit 40. These functions of the electronic contract system 30 are functions or means realized by the CPU 501 of the computer 500 shown in FIG. 3 executing the program stored in the HD 504. Also, the status information storage unit 38, the document information storage unit 39, and the status change response information storage unit 40 are constructed in the HD 504, RAM 503, etc. of the computer 500 shown in FIG. 3. The status information storage unit 38, the document information storage unit 39, and the status change response information storage unit 40 may be located on the network in addition to being possessed by the electronic contract system 30.

[0065] The communication unit 31 mainly transmits and receives various information with the terminal device 50. In this embodiment, the communication unit 31 receives a document from the document management system 10 and transmits the document and its identification information after being processed by the electronic contract system 30 to the document management system 10. The communication unit 31 receives a request to cancel the processing of a document from the document management system 10 and returns a response according to the status of the document.

[0066] The electronic signature unit 32 performs a series of processes related to the contract and attaches an electronic signature to the document to prove that the contract has been completed. The electronic signature unit 32 manages the documents used in the contract and other matters in the document information storage unit 39 and manages the status of each document in the status information storage unit 38. The electronic signature is merely an example, and the second system corresponding to the electronic contract system 30 may attach a time stamp, remove the noise of the document, or create an electronic watermark.

[0067] FIG. 8 shows an example of the document information stored in the document information storage unit 39 of the electronic contract system 30. The document information represents each document itself or the storage location of the document.

[0068] · The document ID is identification information that uniquely identifies a document in the electronic contract system 30. The document ID may be a file name or a file path as long as there are no duplicates. The user can access the document using the document ID. Even for the same document, the document ID in the electronic contract system 30 is often different from the document ID in the document management system 10.

[0069] · The file path represents each document itself or the storage location of the document.

[0070] Figure 9 shows an example of the status information stored in the status information storage unit 38 of the electronic contract system 30. The status information indicates the status of each document. For example, the following statuses exist. These statuses are merely examples, and there may be other statuses, or the names of each status may be different. In Draft: A state where the document has only been uploaded onto the electronic contract system 30 and has not entered the agreement process on the electronic contract system 30 Awaiting Counterparty Confirmation: A state where the agreement process has started on the electronic contract system 30 and is waiting for the counterparty's agreement (the state from the start to the end of the contract process) Agreement Reached: A state where an agreement with the counterparty has been concluded Rejected: A state where the processing of the document sent to the electronic contract system 30 has been withdrawn Figure 10 shows an example of the status change response information stored in the status change response information storage unit 40. The status change response information indicates, for each current status in the electronic contract system 30, "the result for the withdrawal request" and "the processing after the result notification within the electronic contract system 30". This is because depending on the processing status (progress) of the document in the electronic contract system 30, it may be difficult to withdraw the processing of the document by the electronic contract system 30 or change the status.

[0071] As shown in Figure 10, the electronic signature unit 32 returns three patterns of statuses, namely "Deleted", "Withdrawn", and "Withdrawal Not Allowed", to the document management system 10 in response to the withdrawal request.

[0072] · When the status of the document in the electronic contract system is In Draft The electronic signature unit 32 returns "Deleted" to the document management system 10. While it is a draft, it is before the agreement process performed by the electronic contract system 30. Also, since the contract has been cancelled, the document is no longer needed. Since those not processed on the electronic contract system 30 do not need to be retained as history, the status is set to "Deleted". The electronic signature unit 32 deletes the document. Note that the electronic contract system 30 may only change the status without deleting the document.

[0073] · When the status of a document in the electronic contract system is under counterparty confirmation The electronic signature unit 32 returns "Cancelled" to the document management system 10. "Cancelled" means that the process in the electronic contract system 30 has been cancelled. For documents for which processing has started on the electronic contract system 30, since the file itself cannot be deleted in order to retain the history even before agreement, "Cancelled" is returned. The electronic signature unit 32 changes the status to "Rejected". Note that the electronic contract system 30 may respond with "Cannot cancel" instead of responding with "Cancelled".

[0074] · When the status of a document in the electronic contract system is agreed The electronic signature unit 32 returns "Cannot cancel" to the document management system 10. When the agreement has been made based on the document, it cannot be cancelled, so the electronic contract system 30 returns "Cannot cancel". The electronic signature unit 32 does nothing about the status.

[0075] · When the status of a document in the electronic contract system is rejected The electronic signature unit 32 returns "Cancelled" to the document management system 10. When the process has been cancelled in the electronic contract system 30 (that is, when there is a cancellation request again), "Cancelled" is returned. The electronic signature unit 32 does nothing about the status.

[0076] <<Terminal device>> The terminal device 50 includes a communication unit 51, a display control unit 52, and an operation reception unit 53. Each of these functional units is a function or means realized by the CPU 501 shown in FIG. 3 executing instructions included in one or more programs installed in the terminal device 50. Note that this program may be a web browser or a dedicated application.

[0077] The communication unit 51 mainly transmits and receives various types of information to and from the document management system 10. In this embodiment, the communication unit 51 receives various types of screen information and the like from the document management system 10, and transmits documents and user input contents to the document management system 10.

[0078] The display control unit 52 interprets the screen information of various screens and displays it on the display 506. The operation reception unit 53 receives various operations of the user with respect to the various screens displayed on the display 506.

[0079] <Procedure of registration process> Next, with reference to FIG. 11, a procedure will be described in which the document management system receives registration of a document and reflects the status change in the electronic contract system 30. FIG. 11 is an example of a sequence diagram showing the procedure in which the document management system 10 reflects the status change in the electronic contract system 30.

[0080] S1: When the document management system 10 is started or the workflow information in the workflow information storage unit 24 is updated, the workflow control unit 14 acquires the workflow information from the workflow information storage unit 24. This process may be performed by an administrator's operation.

[0081] S2: The user operates the terminal device 50 to create a contract document, which is an example of a document. The file format is not limited. For example, it may be a general format such as PDF or Word (registered trademark), or the format of a specific application. Note that the document management system 10 may assist in creating the document. In this case, the terminal device 50 executes a Web application provided by the document management system 10, and can create a desired document by inputting or selecting characters according to the guidance of the Web application.

[0082] S3: Next, the terminal device 50 displays the document registration screen generated by the screen generation unit 12, and the user sends the contract document from this document registration screen to the information processing system 100. An example of the document registration screen is shown in Fig. 15(a). The user inputs an operation to send the contract document to the information processing system 100 on the document registration screen to the terminal device 50.

[0083] Also, when the terminal device 50 sends the contract document to the information processing system 100, the screen generation unit 12 generates a metadata setting screen, and the communication unit 11 sends the screen information of the metadata setting screen to the terminal device 50. The communication unit 51 of the terminal device 50 receives the screen information of the metadata setting screen, and the display control unit 52 displays the metadata setting screen. An example of the metadata setting screen is shown in Fig. 15(b). The user sets the items of the desired metadata and inputs values. The operation reception unit 53 of the terminal device 50 receives the operation, and the communication unit 51 sends the metadata to the document management system 10. The document management system 10 may extract the metadata without the terminal device 50 sending the metadata (or after the terminal device 50 has sent the metadata).

[0084] S4: The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 receives the contract document and the metadata, and the screen generation unit 12 requests the data management unit 13 to save the contract document and the metadata.

[0085] S5: The data management unit 13 stores the contract document in the document information storage unit 22. The data management unit 13 obtains the document ID = "001" stored as the return value.

[0086] S6: The data management unit 13 sets "001" to the document ID of the metadata. Also, the data management unit 13 stores the contract start date, contract end date, etc. in the metadata storage unit 23.

[0087] Figure 12 shows the metadata after the process of step S6. In the description of Figure 12, the devices are mainly described in comparison with Figure 6. As shown in Figure 12, immediately after the registration of the document, the document ID, document type, contract start date, contract end date, and status (valid) are registered. Note that the status (valid) is the initial value.

[0088] S7: Returning to Figure 11 for explanation. The data management unit 13 specifies the document ID = "001" and notifies the workflow control unit 14 that a new document has been stored. This is for the workflow control unit 14 to determine whether the start trigger of the workflow is satisfied.

[0089] S8: The workflow control unit 14 sequentially refers to the start triggers in the workflow information storage unit 24 and determines whether the start trigger is satisfied. For the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the start trigger is satisfied. Note that when a document or event satisfies the start triggers of multiple workflows, the workflow control unit 14 may generate the process execution unit 15 simultaneously or sequentially. Hereinafter, the case where the start trigger of workflow ID = 2 is satisfied will be described.

[0090] S9: When the start trigger is satisfied, the workflow control unit 14 generates a process execution unit 15 for processing the document with the document ID = "001". Therefore, the process execution unit 15 is associated with the document ID = "001".

[0091] S10: To execute the first process (flow 1) of the workflow information, the process execution unit 15 requests the data management unit 13 to obtain the document with the document ID = "001".

[0092] S11: The data management unit 13 obtains the document with the document ID = "001" from the document information storage unit 22.

[0093] S12: The data management unit 13 notifies the process execution unit 15 of the document itself or the storage location of the document.

[0094] S13: Since the process execution unit 15 performs the process according to the workflow, it transmits the obtained document to the electronic contract system 30 via the communication unit 11.

[0095] S14: The communication unit 31 of the electronic contract system 30 receives the document, and the electronic signature unit 32 saves the document in the document information storage unit 39. As a return value, the electronic signature unit 32 obtains the document ID = "00A" managed on the electronic contract system 30.

[0096] S15: The communication unit 31 of the electronic contract system 30 transmits the document ID = "00A" to the document management system 10.

[0097] S16: The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 receives the document ID = "00A" in the electronic contract system 30, and the process execution unit 15 requests the data management unit 13 to save "00A" in the metadata by specifying the document ID = "00A".

[0098] S17: The data management unit 13 saves the document ID = "00A" in the metadata storage unit 23 in association with the document ID = "001".

[0099] Figure 13 shows the metadata after the processing of step S17. In the description of Figure 13, the devices are mainly described in comparison with those in Figure 12. As shown in Figure 13, "00A" is set as the identification information in the electronic contract system 30.

[0100] S18: Return to Figure 11 for explanation. Next, the user operates the terminal device 50 to change the status of the document registered in the document management system 10. For example, when the user notices an error in the document or the contract becomes unnecessary, the user can request to cancel the processing for the document.

[0101] The terminal device 50 displays the status setting screen generated by the screen generation unit 12, and the user inputs a status change request for this status setting screen. The status setting screen, the search screen until transitioning to the status setting screen, and the document list screen are shown in Figures 16 to 18.

[0102] The operation reception unit 53 of the terminal device 50 receives the operation, and the communication unit 51 transmits the document ID = "001" and the changed status to the document management system 10. Here, the user changes the status to "request for cancellation".

[0103] S19: The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 receives the status change request, and the screen generation unit 12 passes the status change request to the data management unit 13.

[0104] S20: The data management unit 13 changes the status of the metadata specified by the document ID = "001" to "request for cancellation".

[0105] Figure 14 shows the metadata after the processing of step S20. In the description of Figure 14, the devices are mainly described in comparison with those in Figure 13. As shown in Figure 14, the status of the metadata has been changed to "request for cancellation".

[0106] S21: Returning to FIG. 11 for explanation. The data management unit 13 specifies the document ID = "001" and notifies the workflow control unit 14 of the status change (withdrawal request). This is for the workflow control unit 14 to determine whether the start trigger of the workflow is satisfied.

[0107] S22: The workflow control unit 14 sequentially refers to the start triggers in the workflow information storage unit 24 to determine whether the start trigger is satisfied. For the sake of explanation, it will be described as if the start trigger is satisfied. Hereinafter, the case where the start trigger of workflow ID = 3 is satisfied will be described.

[0108] S23: When the start trigger is satisfied, the workflow control unit 14 generates a processing execution unit 15 for processing the document with the document ID = "001". Therefore, the processing execution unit 15 is associated with the document ID = "001".

[0109] S24: In order for the processing execution unit 15 to execute the first process (flow 1) of the workflow information, the data management unit 13 is requested to provide the metadata of the document with the document ID = "001" (document ID = "00A" in the electronic contract system 30).

[0110] S25: The data management unit 13 acquires the document ID = "00A" in the electronic contract system 30 that is associated with the document ID = "001".

[0111] S26: The data management unit 13 notifies the processing execution unit 15 of the document ID = "00A" in the electronic contract system 30.

[0112] S27: The processing execution unit 15 requests the electronic contract system 30 to obtain the status by specifying the document ID = "00A" via the communication unit 11.

[0113] S28: The communication unit 31 of the electronic contract system 30 receives a status acquisition request, and the electronic signature unit 32 acquires the status of the document specified by the document ID = "00A" from the status information storage unit 38.

[0114] S29: Further, the processing execution unit 15 transmits, via the communication unit 11, a status change (withdrawal request) to the electronic contract system 30 by designating the document ID = "00A".

[0115] S30: The communication unit 31 of the electronic contract system 30 receives a status change request, and the electronic signature unit 32 transmits the withdrawal result (response from the electronic contract system 30) of the document specified by the document ID = "00A".

[0116] Based on FIG. 10, the electronic signature unit 32 determines rejection of withdrawal, inability to withdraw, etc. based on the status of the corresponding document, and notifies the document management system 10 of the result. Further, the electronic signature unit 32 performs processing within the electronic contract system 30 as necessary. The details of the processing in step S30 will be described with reference to FIG. 22.

[0117] S31: The communication unit 31 of the electronic contract system 30 transmits a response (deleted, withdrawn, unable to withdraw) based on the status of the document to the document management system 10. The details of the processing in step S31 will be described with reference to FIG. 20.

[0118] <<Screen Example>> FIG. 15(a) is an example of the document registration screen 250 displayed on the terminal device 50. The document registration screen 250 has a file name field 251, a reference button 252, and a save button 253. The user presses the reference button 252 to select a document saved in the HD504 or the like. The file name of the selected document is displayed in the file name field 251. When the user presses the save button 253, the terminal device 50 transmits the document in the file name field 251 to the document management system 10.

[0119] Figure 15(b) is an example of the metadata setting screen 260 displayed by the terminal device 50. The metadata setting screen 260 has a document type column 261, a contract start date column 262, and a contract end date column 263.

[0120] · The document type column 261 is a column for the user to input the document type as one item of the metadata.

[0121] · The contract start date column 262 is a column for the user to input the contract start date as one item of the metadata. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar, and the operation reception unit 53 may receive a specific date from the user.

[0122] · The contract end date column 263 is a column for the user to input the contract end date as one item of the metadata. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar, and the operation reception unit 53 may receive a specific date or range from the user.

[0123] When the user sets the metadata and presses the confirmation button 264, the terminal device 50 transmits the metadata to the document management system 10.

[0124] Figure 16 shows an example of the search screen 210 displayed by the terminal device 50. The user operates the terminal device 50 to connect it to the information processing system 100. The screen generation unit 12 of the information processing system 100 generates a search screen according to the user operation, and the communication unit 11 transmits the screen information of the search screen to the terminal device 50.

[0125] The search screen 210 has a document type column 211, a contract start date column 212, a contract end date column 213, and a search button 214.

[0126] · The document type column 211 is a column for the user to input a search key for searching the document type of the metadata item.

[0127] · The contract start date column 212 is a column for the user to input a search key for retrieving the contract start date of the metadata item. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar, and the operation reception unit 53 may receive a specific date or range from the user.

[0128] · The contract end date column 213 is a column for the user to input a search key for retrieving the contract end date of the metadata item. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar, and the operation reception unit 53 may receive a specific date or range from the user.

[0129] · The search button 214 is a button for the terminal device 50 to send a search request (a list of documents) to the document management system 10.

[0130] Note that FIG. 16 is only an example, and there may be an input field for the file name or a free keyword input field. There may also be an input field for the document ID. When the search button 214 is pressed, the system transitions to the document list screen 220.

[0131] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the document list screen 220 displayed by the terminal device 50. The document list screen 220 has items such as the file name 221 of the document that matches the search, the document type 222, the contract start date 223, and the contract end date 224. That is, the document list screen 220 displays at least a part of the metadata items in the metadata storage unit 23 for each record (one line) that matches the search. In FIG. 17, since all the document types are "basic contract", it is considered that the user entered the search key "basic contract" in the document type column on the search screen 210.

[0132] A status change button 226 is displayed in each document. When the user presses the status change button 226 of the document for which the status is to be changed, the terminal device 50 displays a status setting screen. The transition from the document list screen 220 to the status setting screen may be performed on the side of the terminal device 50 or by the document management system 10.

[0133] In addition, when the user selects one or more documents and presses the open button 225, the terminal device 50 can display the file body of the selected document.

[0134] FIG. 18 is an example of the status setting screen 230 displayed by the terminal device 50. The status setting screen 230 has, as an example, a document type column 231, a contract start date column 232, a contract end date column 233, and a status column 234. For the document type column 231, the contract start date column 232, and the contract end date column 233, similar to the document list screen 220, the user can set the changed values.

[0135] The current status is displayed in the status column 234, and the statuses (valid, rejected, withdrawal requested) that the user can select are selectable from a pull-down menu. The user changes the status and presses the confirm button 235. Thereby, the processing after step S18 is started.

[0136] <Processing on the Document Management System Side> FIG. 19 shows a list of processes performed by the document management system 10 for the withdrawal result (response from the electronic contract system 30). The withdrawal result of this embodiment is either deleted, withdrawn, or not withdrawable as described in FIG. 10.

[0137] · When the withdrawal result is "deleted", since the file in the electronic contract system 30 has been deleted, the document management system 10 also deletes the document for synchronization.

[0138] · If the withdrawal result is "withdrawn", the file is not deleted within the electronic contract system 30, and only the status is changed. Therefore, the document management system 10 only changes the metadata without deleting the document. Accordingly, in the document management system 10, the status is changed from "withdrawal requested" to "rejected".

[0139] · If the withdrawal result is "unable to withdraw", since the status of the document in the electronic contract system 30 does not become rejected, the metadata in the document management system 10 is also changed to "valid" accordingly. Accordingly, in the document management system 10, the status is changed from "withdrawal requested" to "valid".

[0140] Figure 20 is a flowchart diagram for explaining the processing of a document or status that the document management system 10 performs according to the response (withdrawal result) from the electronic contract system 30. The processing in Figure 20 is the processing in step S31 of Figure 11.

[0141] The data management unit 13 determines whether the response from the electronic contract system 30 is "deleted" (S101).

[0142] If the determination in step S101 is Yes, the data management unit 13 deletes the document specified by the document ID (S102). The data management unit 13 also deletes the metadata along with the deletion of the document.

[0143] If the determination in step S101 is No, the data management unit 13 determines whether the response from the electronic contract system 30 is "withdrawn" (S103).

[0144] If the determination in step S103 is Yes, the data management unit 13 changes the status of the document specified by the document ID to "rejected" (S104). That is, when the processing by the electronic contract system 30 starts and is in the state before completion (during contract partner confirmation), the data management unit 13 sets the status of the document to "rejected" indicating that the processing has been withdrawn.

[0145] If the determination in step S103 is No, the data management unit 13 changes the status of the document specified by the document ID to "valid" (S105).

[0146] By doing so, the document management system 10 can change the status of the document according to the contract status in the electronic contract system 30.

[0147] <<Document display example>> When the status of the metadata in the document management system 10 is "rejected", the document management system 10 displays the document so that the user can distinguish the status.

[0148] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a document list screen 240 by status displayed on the terminal device 50. In the description of FIG. 21, mainly the differences from FIG. 17 will be described. In FIG. 21, the document list screen 240 has a valid document column 241 and a rejected document column 242. In the valid document column 241, documents with the status of "valid" are displayed, and in the rejected document column 242, documents with the status of "rejected" are displayed. On the document list screen 240, the documents are displayed in a distinguished manner based on the status of the documents.

[0149] Note that in FIG. 21, the documents are classified into two types: valid and rejected. If there are documents under withdrawal request, the documents under withdrawal request are also classified and displayed.

[0150] Therefore, the user can grasp the status of the document according to which column the document is displayed in.

[0151] <Processing of Electronic Contract System for Cancellation Request> Referring to FIG. 22, the processing of the electronic contract system 30 for the cancellation request will be described. The electronic contract system 30 notifies the document management system 10 of the cancellation result based on the status change response information in FIG. 10, and deletes the document or changes its status.

[0152] FIG. 22 is a flowchart diagram for explaining the processing of the electronic contract system 30 for the cancellation request. This processing is executed at step S30 in FIG. 11.

[0153] The electronic signature unit 32 of the electronic contract system 30 determines whether the status of the document requested to be cancelled is being drafted (S201).

[0154] If the determination in step S201 is Yes, the electronic signature unit 32 transmits the cancellation result of deletion to the document management system 10 via the communication unit 31 (S202).

[0155] Also, the electronic signature unit 32 deletes the document requested to be cancelled from the document information storage unit 39 and deletes the status from the status information storage unit 38 (S203).

[0156] If the determination in step S201 is No, the electronic signature unit 32 of the electronic contract system 30 determines whether the status of the document requested to be cancelled is under counterparty confirmation (S204).

[0157] If the determination in step S204 is Yes, the electronic signature unit 32 transmits the cancellation result of rejection to the document management system 10 via the communication unit 31 (S205).

[0158] Also, the electronic signature unit 32 changes the status in the status information storage unit 38 of the document for which the withdrawal request has been made to "rejected" (S206).

[0159] If the determination in step S204 is No, the electronic signature unit 32 of the electronic contract system 30 determines whether the status of the document for which the withdrawal request has been made has been agreed upon (S207).

[0160] If the determination in step S207 is Yes, the electronic signature unit 32 transmits, via the communication unit 31, a withdrawal result of "withdrawal not possible" to the document management system 10 (S208).

[0161] If the determination in step S207 is No, the electronic signature unit 32 of the electronic contract system 30 determines whether the status of the document for which the withdrawal request has been made is "rejected" (S209).

[0162] If the determination in step S209 is Yes, the electronic signature unit 32 transmits, via the communication unit 31, a withdrawal result of "rejected" to the document management system 10 (S210).

[0163] In this way, the electronic contract system 30 can execute processing according to the status of the document for which the withdrawal request has been made.

[0164] <Main effects> As described above, the document management system 10 manages by associating the document identification information in the document management system 10 with the document identification information in the electronic contract system 30, so that the user can reflect the processing performed on the document in the document management system 10 in the electronic contract system 30. Since the document management system 10 performs processing on the document according to the status of the document in the electronic contract system 30, it can execute processing so as not to be inconsistent with the progress of the processing on the document by the electronic contract system 30.

[0165] <Other application examples> As described above, the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described using examples. However, the present invention is not limited to such examples, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0166] For example, in the present embodiment, the document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 cooperate during the execution process of the workflow, and document IDs are associated. However, the document management system 10 does not necessarily have to execute the workflow. For example, the user may instruct the processes for the document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 in sequence.

[0167] Also, even if there is only one document transmitted by the document management system 10, a plurality of documents may be generated by the processing of the electronic contract system 30. In this case, identification information is assigned to each document generated by the electronic contract system 30.

[0168] Also, when the workflow is executed, there are various workflows in the workflow, such as those that perform OCR of documents → saving to cloud storage, receiving emails or faxes → saving to cloud storage, etc. The workflow can be generated by the user setting each process.

[0169] Also, in the present embodiment, as the second system, the electronic contract system 30, the timestamp system, the noise removal system, and the digital watermark system are mentioned. However, there are various systems for the second system, such as cloud storage, OCR, translation, speech recognition, etc.

[0170] In addition, in this embodiment, the document management system 10 has received a request to change the processing to the electronic contract system 30 due to a change in the status in the document management system 10. However, the document management system 10 may directly receive a request to change the processing to the electronic contract system 30, request the electronic contract system 30 to change the processing, and execute processing related to the documents in the document management system 10 according to the response from the electronic contract system 30.

[0171] In addition, configuration examples such as FIG. 4 are divided according to the main functions in order to facilitate the understanding of the processing by the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50. The present invention is not limited by the way of dividing the processing units and the names. The processing of the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 can be further divided into more processing units according to the processing content. Also, one processing unit can be divided so as to include more processing.

[0172] In addition, the device group described in the embodiments only shows one of a plurality of computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed in this specification. In one embodiment, the document management system 10 includes a plurality of computing devices such as a server cluster. The plurality of computing devices are configured to communicate with each other via any type of communication link including a network and a shared memory, and implement the processing disclosed in this specification.

[0173] Furthermore, the document management system 10 can be configured to share the processing steps disclosed in this embodiment, for example, FIG. 11, in various combinations. The document management system 10 may be integrated into one server device or divided into a plurality of devices.

[0174] Each function of the embodiment described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the "processing circuit" in this specification refers to a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) designed to execute each function described above, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and devices such as conventional circuit modules.

Explanation of Signs

[0175] 10 Document Management System 30 Electronic Contract System 50 Terminal Device 100 Information Processing System

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0176]

Patent Document 1

Claims

1. An information processing system having a first system capable of communicating with a terminal device and a second system via a network, wherein the first system includes a communication unit that receives electronic data from the terminal device, and a data management unit that stores the electronic data and first identification information for identifying the electronic data in a storage unit, and the communication unit transmits the received electronic data or the storage location of the electronic data to the second system, and receives second identification information for identifying the electronic data from the second system, the data management unit stores the second identification information in the storage unit in association with the first identification information, the first system further includes a processing execution unit that requests the second system to perform processing on the electronic data received by the communication unit, and the data management unit changes the status of the electronic data specified by the second identification information included in the response according to the response from the second system in response to a processing change request received from the terminal device. An information processing system characterized by this.

2. The response is determined based on the state of the electronic data in the second system, and the data management unit executes processing related to the electronic data according to the state of the electronic data in the second system. The information processing system according to claim 1, characterized by this.

3. The data management unit changes the status of the electronic data to the same status as the state of the electronic data in the second system. The information processing system according to claim 2, characterized by this.

4. The processing change request is cancellation of processing of the electronic data in the second system, and when the state of the electronic data in the second system is a state after the processing by the second system has ended, the data management unit sets the status of the electronic data in the first system to "valid" indicating that the processing of the electronic data is in progress in the second system. The information processing system according to claim 2, characterized by this.

5. The processing change request is cancellation of processing of the electronic data in the second system, and when the state of the electronic data in the second system is a state before the processing by the second system starts, The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the data management unit deletes the electronic data in the first system.

6. The change request for the process is the cancellation of the process of the electronic data in the second system, When the state of the electronic data in the second system is a state before the process by the second system starts and ends, The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the data management unit sets the state of the electronic data in the first system to "rejected" indicating that the process has been cancelled.

7. The change request for the process is the cancellation of the process of the electronic data in the second system, When the response indicates that it is impossible to cancel the process of the electronic data in the second system, The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the state of the electronic data in the first system is set to "valid".

8. The change request for the process is the cancellation of the process of the electronic data in the second system, When the response indicates that the electronic data is to be deleted, The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the data management unit deletes the electronic data in the first system.

9. The change request for the process is the cancellation of the process of the electronic data in the second system, When the response is "cancelled" indicating that the process for the electronic data has been cancelled, The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the data management unit sets the state of the electronic data in the first system to "rejected" indicating that the process has been cancelled.

10. The second system executes a process related to the electronic data according to the state of the electronic data in the second system when receiving the change request for the process, according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The information processing system described in the item.

11. The first system is When a list of the electronic data is requested from the terminal device, a screen in a mode distinguishing the electronic data according to the state of the electronic data in the first system is created, The terminal device displays a list of the electronic data by distinguishing the electronic data based on the state of the electronic data, according to any one of claims 1 to 10. The information processing system described in the item.

12. The first system executes a workflow that sequentially executes a series of processes, and has a workflow control unit that determines whether or not the conditions for starting the workflow are satisfied. When the communication unit receives a request for changing the process from the terminal device, the workflow control unit determines to execute the workflow. The process execution unit transmits the request for changing the process to the second system as the workflow, and executes a process related to the electronic data in response to a response from the second system. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that.

13. A system capable of communicating with a terminal device and a second system via a network, comprising a communication unit that receives electronic data from the terminal device, and a data management unit that stores the electronic data and first identification information for identifying the electronic data in a storage unit. The communication unit transmits the received electronic data or the storage location of the electronic data to the second system, and receives second identification information for identifying the electronic data from the second system. The data management unit stores the second identification information in the storage unit in association with the first identification information. The system further includes a process execution unit that requests the second system to perform a process on the electronic data received by the communication unit. The data management unit changes the status of the electronic data specified by the second identification information included in the response in response to a response from the second system to a request for changing a process received from the terminal device. A system characterized by that.

14. A data processing method performed by a system capable of communicating with a terminal device and a second system via a network, comprising a step in which a communication unit receives electronic data from the terminal device, a step in which a data management unit stores the electronic data and first identification information for identifying the electronic data in a storage unit, a step in which the communication unit transmits the received electronic data or the storage location of the electronic data to the second system and receives second identification information for identifying the electronic data from the second system, and a step in which the data management unit stores the second identification information in the storage unit in association with the first identification information. The step in which the processing execution unit requests the second system to process the electronic data received by the communication unit; The step in which the data management unit changes the status of the electronic data specified by the second identification information included in the response in accordance with the response from the second system to the change request for processing received from the terminal device; A data processing method characterized by comprising the above.

15. An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a terminal device and a second system via a network, A communication unit that receives electronic data from the terminal device, Functioning as a data management unit that stores the electronic data and first identification information for identifying the electronic data in a storage unit, The communication unit transmits the received electronic data or the storage location of the electronic data to the second system, and receives second identification information for identifying the electronic data from the second system, The data management unit stores the second identification information in the storage unit in association with the first identification information, Functioning the information processing apparatus further as a processing execution unit that requests the second system to process the electronic data received by the communication unit, A program characterized in that the data management unit changes the status of the electronic data specified by the second identification information included in the response in accordance with the response from the second system to the change request for processing received from the terminal device.

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