Information processing system, program, and information processing method

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a technology capable of improving the ease of management of services used within an organization. [Solution] One embodiment of the present invention provides an information processing system for providing an IT management service for managing services used by an organization. The information processing system is provided with at least one processor capable of executing a program in such a way as to perform each of the following steps. In a detection step, services being used by the organization are detected. In an identification step, a service that is not being managed by the IT management service as a service used by the organization is identified from among the detected services. Identification is performed to determine whether the service that is not being managed is an automatic acquisition service. The automatic acquisition service is an API-linkable service with which an API link to the IT management service can be established, or a scrapable service allowing data acquired by scraping to be managed in the IT management service.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In the prior art, a technology is disclosed that provides a system and a method for discovering the use of applications in a computing environment and managing access to the applications in order to minimize security threats and risks in the computing environment of an organization (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-050462 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, there has been a demand for technology that can improve the manageability of services used within an organization.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a technique that can improve the manageability of services used within an organization. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing system for providing an IT management service for managing services used in an organization. The information processing system includes at least one processor capable of executing a program to perform the following steps: In the detection step, services used in the organization are detected; In the identification step, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used in the organization are identified from the detected services; and It is determined whether the unmanaged service is an automatically acquired service. The automatically acquired service is an API-integrated service that can be integrated with the IT management service through an API, or a scrapeable service that allows data acquired by scraping to be used on the IT management service.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a technique that can improve the manageability of services used within an organization. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an information processing system 1. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device 2. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a user terminal 3. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional units included in a processor 21. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an activity diagram showing the flow of operations of the information processing system 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a service registration screen 6 in the IT management service of the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a service confirmation screen 7 in an IT management service. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a service registration screen 8 in an IT management service according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] [Embodiment] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various features shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0010] The program for realizing the software appearing in this embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable medium, or may be provided so that it can be downloaded from an external server, or may be provided so that the program is started on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client device (so-called cloud computing).

[0011] In this embodiment, the term "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in the broad sense and software information processing that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. Furthermore, this embodiment handles various types of information, which may be represented by, for example, physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltages and currents, high and low signal values ​​as a binary bit set consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called quantum bits), and communication and calculations may be performed on the circuit in the broad sense.

[0012] In a broad sense, a circuit is a circuit realized by at least an appropriate combination of a circuit, circuitry, a processor, a memory, etc. That is, a circuit includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (e.g., a simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), etc. The circuit also includes a serverless architecture that uses container-based services to run applications in an environment abstracted from the management of physical infrastructure.

[0013] 1. System configuration of information processing system 1 First, the system configuration of an information processing system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of an information processing system 1. The information processing system 1 is an information processing system for providing IT management services. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 2, a user terminal 3, a service server 4, a detection server 5, and a communication network N. Note that there may be multiple information processing devices 2, multiple user terminals 3, multiple service servers 4, and multiple detection servers 5. Here, the system exemplified by the information processing system 1 is composed of one or more devices or components. Therefore, even an information processing device 2 alone, a user terminal 3 alone, a service server 4 alone, and a detection server 5 alone are included in the system exemplified by the information processing system 1.

[0015] The information processing device 2 is configured with one or more servers and provides an IT management service, which will be described later.

[0016] The user terminal 3 is a terminal used by a user, and may be any of a PC (Personal Computer), a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc.

[0017] The service server 4 is a server that provides services used within an organization, and is configured from a plurality of different servers for each service.

[0018] The detection server 5 is a server that acquires detection data for detecting shadow IT used within the organization. The detection server 5 is one or more servers. The detection server 5 includes at least one of a data management server, a mail server, an accounting service server, an expense service server, a prepaid service server, or a credit card service server, and a banking service server. The data management server manages information regarding the use of personal computers and mobile phones provided to each employee within the organization, such as data on internet browsing history and account usage history. The mail server manages data on emails sent and received within the organization. The accounting service server, expense service server, prepaid service server, and credit card service server manage payment data acquired from the accounting service, expense service, prepaid card service, and credit card service, respectively. The banking service server manages data on withdrawal details acquired from the banking service.

[0019] The communication network N enables the information processing device 2, the user terminal 3, the service server 4, and the detection server 5 to communicate with each other. The communication network N may be wireless communication using the Internet, but is not limited to this and may also be wired communication.

[0020] 2. Hardware Configuration Next, the hardware configurations of the information processing device 2, the user terminal 3, the service server 4, and the detection server 5 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0021] 2.1. Hardware configuration of information processing device 2 Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the information processing device 2 includes a processor 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit 23, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 20 inside the information processing device 2. The information processing device 2 executes processing according to the embodiment.

[0022] The processor 21 processes and controls the overall operations related to the information processing device 2. The processor 21 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). The processor 21 reads out a predetermined program stored in the storage unit 22 and executes processing based on the program, thereby realizing various functions related to the information processing device 2, for example, the processing shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 described below. The processor 21 is not limited to being single, and may be implemented with multiple processors 21 for each function. Alternatively, a combination of these may be used.

[0023] The memory unit 22 stores various pieces of information defined above. This can be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the information processing device 2 executed by the processor 21, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to the program operations. The memory unit 22 stores various programs and variables related to the information processing device 2 executed by the processor 21, as well as data and the like used when the processor 21 executes processing based on the programs. The memory unit 22 is an example of a storage medium.

[0024] The communication unit 23 is preferably a wired communication means such as USB, IEEE1394, Thunderbolt (registered trademark), wired LAN network communication, etc., but may also include wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as LTE / 3G / 4G / 5G, BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) communication, etc. as needed. In other words, it is more preferable to implement it as a collection of multiple communication means. In other words, the information processing device 2 may communicate various information from the outside via the communication unit 23.

[0025] 2.2. Hardware configuration of user terminal 3 Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the user terminal 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the user terminal 3 has a processor 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, an input unit 34, and an output unit 35, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 30 inside the user terminal 3. The user terminal 3 executes the processing according to the embodiment. For the processor 31, storage unit 32, and communication unit 33 of the user terminal 3, please refer to the processor 21, storage unit 22, and communication unit 23 of the information processing device 2.

[0026] The input unit 34 may be included in the housing of the user terminal 3 or may be externally attached. For example, the input unit 34 may be implemented as a touch panel integrated with the output unit 35. A touch panel allows the user to input tapping, swiping, and the like. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, or the like may be used instead of a touch panel. That is, the input unit 34 accepts an input based on an operation performed by the user. The input is transferred as a command signal to the processor 31 via the communication bus 30, and the processor 31 can execute predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0027] The output unit 35 can function as a display device for the user terminal 3. The output unit 35 may be included in the housing of the user terminal 3 or may be attached externally. The output unit 35 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) screen that can be operated by the user. This is preferably implemented by selectively using display devices such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and a plasma display depending on the type of user terminal 3.

[0028] 2.3. Hardware Configuration of Service Server 4 and Detection Server 5 The service server 4 and the detection server 5 each include a processor, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The components of the service server 4 and the detection server 5 are electrically connected via a communication bus within the service server 4 and the detection server 5. The service server 4 and the detection server 5 execute the processing according to the embodiment. For the processor, storage unit, and communication unit of the service server 4 and the detection server 5, please refer to the processor 21, storage unit 22, and communication unit 23 of the information processing device 2.

[0029] 3. Functional configuration of the processor 21 of the information processing device 2 Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional units included in the processor 21. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the processor 21 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 22, thereby functioning as an information transmitting / receiving unit 210, a detecting unit 211, an identifying unit 212, a display unit 213, a managing unit 214, an acquiring unit 215, and a notifying unit 216. In other words, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 22 is specifically realized by the processor 21, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the processor 21.

[0030] The information transmitting / receiving unit 210 is configured to accept, receive, or acquire various information from the user terminal 3, the service server 4, or the detection server 5 via the communication network N and the communication unit 23. The information transmitting / receiving unit 210 is also configured to transmit or output various information to the user terminal 3, the service server 4, or the detection server 5 via the communication unit 23 and the communication network N.

[0031] The detection unit 211 detects the services used in the organization.

[0032] The identifying unit 212 identifies, from the detected services, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used in the organization. The identifying unit 212 also identifies whether the unmanaged services are automatically acquired services or manually registered services.

[0033] The display unit 213 displays the unmanaged services in a manner that makes it possible to identify what kind of services they are.

[0034] When the management unit 214 receives an operation for any first registered object, it manages the linkable service associated with the first registered object as a service used by the organization via the IT management service and starts API linkage with the IT management service. When the management unit 214 receives an operation for any second registered object, it manages the scrapable service associated with the second registered object as a service used by the IT management service in the organization and starts scraping the scrapable service. When the management unit 214 receives an operation for any third registered object, it manages the unlinked service associated with the third registered object as a service used by the organization via the IT management service.

[0035] The acquisition unit 215 acquires usage status data indicating the usage status of the automatic acquisition service through API cooperation or scraping.

[0036] The notification unit 216 notifies the user that the service requires the user to input usage data.

[0037] The information transmitting / receiving unit 210, the detecting unit 211, the identifying unit 212, the displaying unit 213, the managing unit 214, the acquiring unit 215, and the notifying unit 216 will be described in detail later.

[0038] 4. Explanation of terms An "organization" is a group that aims to achieve a specific purpose. An organization may include any legal entity, such as a joint stock company, a limited liability company, a limited partnership, a general incorporated association, a general incorporated foundation, a public interest incorporated association or public interest incorporated foundation, an NPO, or a union. Furthermore, if the organization is a company, the organization may include, for example, group companies, affiliated companies, related companies, parent companies, and subsidiaries.

[0039] An "IT management service" is a service that manages services used by an organization. The IT management service itself is a service. The IT management service is configured to be able to register services that are permitted for use within the organization. The IT management service is also configured to be able to detect shadow IT. Furthermore, the IT management service is configured to be able to manage which users within the organization use each service and how frequently. The IT management service stores various services provided in the world, and among those services, stores API-integrated services, scrapable services, and manually registered services in a distinguishable manner.

[0040] A "service" is a service provided using computer-based information processing. From another perspective, a service may be a service provided via a user terminal 3. The user terminal 3 may be loaned or provided by a service provider.

[0041] "Shadow IT" refers to services that are not managed as services used within an organization by IT management services. From another perspective, shadow IT can also be services used within an organization that are introduced or used at the discretion of each employee or business department, and that are not understood or managed by the management department, system management department, etc.

[0042] "Management" of a service means that an organization recognizes it as a service used within the organization and approves its use. Shadow IT is no longer shadow IT when it is managed. For example, services registered with an IT management service can be managed and visualized via a screen such as that shown in Figure 7, which will be described later, and therefore do not qualify as shadow IT. In other words, services that are not registered with an IT management service but are used by users belonging to an organization may qualify as shadow IT. Services not managed by an organization, i.e., shadow IT, include automatically acquired services and manually registered services, and are classified as either automatically acquired services or manually registered services.

[0043] An "API (Application Programming Interface)" is a mechanism for calling the functions of one piece of software from another piece of software. Examples of APIs include Web APIs. "API integration" is the integration of data or functions between an IT management service and an API-compatible service. API integration enables the IT management service to accumulate usage data on API-compatible services.

[0044] "Scraping" refers to the acquisition of desired data within a service based on a preset algorithm. In this embodiment, for example, usage data for each service is acquired through scraping. The scraping algorithm is developed within or outside the organization of the IT management service. By releasing an IT management service incorporating the developed scraping algorithm, a service that does not support scraping becomes a service that does support scraping. Scraping includes web scraping, which analyzes HTML, XML, etc.

[0045] "Usage data" refers to data on the usage status of services used within an organization. Usage data varies for each service and includes at least one of account count information, user identification information, job information, and cost information. Account count information may be information indicating the number of accounts according to account type, such as the number of subscribed workspaces, the number of free / paid accounts, the number of administrator / general accounts, and the number of accounts for each grade. User identification information may be information that can identify an account, such as the email address, name, employee number, nickname, and photo of the user associated with the account. Job information may be information indicating the number of jobs for each service, such as the number of tasks, documents, contracts, orders, posts, and comments. Cost information may be information on the amount used for the service, such as a payment history associated with the service and the purpose of the payment.

[0046] "Automatic Acquisition Service" means a service that enables an IT Management Service to acquire usage data by utilizing the functions of the IT Management Service. An automatic acquisition service is at least one of an API-enabled service and a scraping-enabled service.

[0047] An "API-integrated service" is a service that can be integrated with an IT management service via API. An API-integrated service can automatically acquire usage data through API integration. If a provider of a manual registration service starts offering an API and the IT management service is updated to support the provision of that API, the manual registration service can become an automatic acquisition service. Note that usage data for an API-integrated service may be acquired in the same way as for a manual registration service.

[0048] A "scrapable service" is a service that can scrape data acquired through scraping on the IT management service. If the IT management service is updated to a state that enables scraping of a manually registered service, the manually registered service can become a scrapable service. Note that usage data for a scrapable service may be acquired in a manner similar to that of a manually registered service.

[0049] A "manual registration service" is a service that does not fall under the category of an automatic acquisition service and can be managed by an IT management service. A manual registration service is a service for which an API is not provided and for which a scraping algorithm is not available. For example, manual registration services include recently released services, services with a small number of users, services developed by users themselves, and services developed by the organization to which the user belongs. Usage data for a manual registration service is obtained by user input, user upload of files in formats such as CSV, TXT, and JSON, or by using an API provided by the IT management service itself.

[0050] 5. Operational flow of information processing system 1 An example of a preferable information process executed by the information processing system 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0051] In addition, in the information processing described below, various information sent and received via the communication network N, communication unit 23, communication unit 33, the communication unit of the service server 4, or the communication unit of the detection server 5 is stored in memory unit 22, memory unit 32, the memory unit of the service server 4, or the memory unit of the detection server 5.

[0052] In the information processing described below, the information processing for displaying information on the output unit 35 may be briefly described as simply the processor 31 displaying certain information on the output unit 35, or indirectly as the processor 21 displaying certain information on the output unit 35. In such cases, the information processing described below is performed, for example. For example, the processor 31 receives a user instruction to change the state of a screen. The processor 31 generates display information based on the instruction. The processor 31 controls the display on the output unit 35 based on the generated display information. As another example, the processor 31 receives a user instruction to display information on a screen from the user. The processor 31 transmits the instruction to the information processing device 2. The processor 21 receives the instruction from the user terminal 3. The processor 21 generates display information based on the instruction. The processor 21 transmits the generated display information to the user terminal 3. The processor 31 receives the generated display information from the information processing device 2. The processor 31 controls the display on the output unit 35 based on the generated display information. Here, the display information is a concept that includes not only the information itself, such as a screen, an image, an icon, or text, that is generated in a form that can be viewed by the user, but also rendering information for displaying the information.

[0053] 5.1. Overview of information processing Fig. 5 is an activity diagram showing the flow of operations of the information processing system 1. Fig. 5 illustrates an example in which an IT management service is used to manage various services used within an organization.

[0054] (Step S1) First, the information transmitting and receiving unit 210 accesses an arbitrary detection server 5 to request detection data. Here, the information transmitting and receiving unit 210 accesses the arbitrary detection server 5 using the login ID and password of the admin (administrator) account of the organization, which have been acquired in advance from the user.

[0055] This detection data is data used to detect shadow IT within an organization. The detection data includes at least one of the following within the organization: internet browsing history data, account usage history data, sent and received email data, payment data obtained from accounting services, expense services, prepaid card services, or credit card services, and withdrawal details data obtained from banking services. These detection data include text information. Text information is composed of arbitrary characters and is information that can detect services by referencing a database. In the case of internet browsing history data, the text information includes strings of characters and URLs within the relevant webpage. In the case of account usage history data, the text information includes log data from devices used by employees of the organization. In the case of sent and received email data, the text information includes information about the email recipient, title, body, or attachment. In the case of payment data or withdrawal details data, the text information includes information about the characters or amount included in each transaction.

[0056] (Step S2) Subsequently, the service server 4 transmits the detection data to the information processing device 2. The information transmitting / receiving unit 210 acquires the detection data from a predetermined service server 4.

[0057] (Step S3) Next, the detection unit 211 detects shadow IT used within the organization based on the text information included in the detection data. For example, the detection unit 211 detects shadow IT used by the organization by matching the text information with a database stored in the storage unit 22. The detection unit 211 detects a shadow IT service name corresponding to the text information from among multiple service names stored in the accessed database. For example, if the text information is "Company A (service_a)," the detection unit 211 checks whether a service name corresponding to "Company A (service_a)" exists in the data stored in the database. Then, if the service name "service_a" corresponding to "Company A (service_a)" exists in the data stored in the database, the detection unit 211 acquires "service_a" as the shadow IT service name corresponding to the text information. This significantly reduces the amount of information processing by the computer used by an organization compared to when the organization manually detects shadow IT, and also significantly reduces the amount of data stored in a storage device at the organization. Therefore, it is possible to detect shadow IT using cheaper computers and storage devices than before.

[0058] (Step S4) Next, the identification unit 212 identifies, from the detected services, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used in the organization (shadow IT). Furthermore, the identification unit 212 identifies what type of service the identified service is. Specifically, for example, by referring to a database in which service names are associated with whether the service corresponds to an automatically acquired service, the identification unit 212 identifies whether the unmanaged service (shadow IT) is an API-integrated service, a scrapeable service, or a manually registered service that does not correspond to either an API-integrated service or a scrapeable service.

[0059] (Step S5) Next, the notification unit 216 notifies the user terminal 3 of information that an unmanaged service (shadow IT) has been identified and information indicating whether the unmanaged service is an API-integrated service, a scraping-enabled service, or a manually registered service.

[0060] (Step S6) Next, the processor 31 of the user terminal 3 receives an operation from the user to receive a request for access to the IT management service. The processor 31 transmits the request for access to the IT management service to the information processing device 2. The information transmitting / receiving unit 210 receives the request for access to the IT management service from the user terminal 3.

[0061] (Step S7) Next, in response to receiving the request for access to the IT management service, the display unit 213 displays a service registration screen 6 (described later in FIG. 6) for the IT management service on the output unit 35. At this time, the display unit 213 displays on the output unit 35 in an identifiable manner the type of service the identified service is. Specifically, for example, the display unit 213 displays on the output unit 35 in an identifiable manner whether the unmanaged service is an API-interoperable service, a scrapeable service, or a manual registration service. Furthermore, at this time, the display unit 213 displays on the output unit 35 one or more API registration objects 620 corresponding to each API-interoperable service, one or more scraping registration objects 622 corresponding to each scrapeable service, and one or more manual registration objects 624 corresponding to each manual registration service. The "identifiable manner" means that when a user visually checks the information displayed on the output unit 35, the user can recognize what information the information represents. The API registration object 620 is an example of a first registration object. The scraping registration object 622 is an example of a second registration object. The manual registration object 624 is an example of a third registration object. Step S7 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6. This allows the type of service to which shadow IT used in an organization corresponds to be displayed, enabling more efficient operation of services within the organization. As a result of the user being able to identify the type of service to which shadow IT corresponds, the user can reduce the number of information processing operations that the computer executes, thereby reducing the information processing load on the entire information processing system 1. This allows the information processing system 1 to be configured using less expensive computers than before.

[0062] When the unmanaged service identified by the identification unit 212 corresponds to an API-interconnectable service or a scrapable service, the display unit 213 may cause the output unit 35 to display information recommending management as an API-interconnectable service or a scrapable service. Furthermore, when the unmanaged service identified by the identification unit 212 corresponds to neither an API-interconnectable service nor a scrapable service, the display unit 213 may cause the output unit 35 to display information recommending management as a manual-registration service. The "information recommending management" is information for guiding the user to select a registration method (whether to register as an API-interconnectable service, a scrapable service, or a manual-registration service). The information recommending management may be displayed, for example, by a notification of the recommended registration method, displaying a pop-up on the screen, preferentially visualizing it on the screen, highlighting it on the screen, or the like.

[0063] (Step S8) The processor 31 of the user terminal 3 accepts an operation on the API registration object 620, the scraping registration object 622, or the manual registration object 624. The processor 31 transmits information identifying the object for which the operation has been accepted to the information processing device 2. The information transmitting / receiving unit 210 accepts, from the user terminal 3, information identifying the object for which the operation has been accepted.

[0064] (Step S9) In step S8, when an operation on the API registration object 620 is accepted, the management unit 214 manages the API-integrated service linked to the API registration object 620 as a service used in the organization by the IT management service, and starts API integration with the IT management service. That is, the information transmission / reception unit 210 sends an API request to the service server 4 of the API-integrated service corresponding to the API registration object 620. When an operation on the API registration object 620 is accepted, the management unit 214 may accept input of information such as the ID, password, email address, and access key of the account of the API-integrated service linked to the API registration object 620. When the input of information is accepted, the management unit 214 manages the API-integrated service as a service used in the organization by the IT management service, and starts API integration with the IT management service.

[0065] In step S8, if an operation of the scraping registration object 622 is accepted, the management unit 214 manages the scrapable service associated with the scraping registration object 622 as a service used in the organization by the IT management service, and starts scraping the service server 4 by the information processing device 2 that provides the IT management service. That is, the information transmission / reception unit 210 transmits a source request to the service server 4 of the scrapable service corresponding to the scraping registration object 622. This source request may be information requesting a source that can be analyzed by scraping, such as an HTTP request. If an operation of the scraping registration object 622 is accepted, the management unit 214 may accept input of information such as the ID, password, email address, and access key of the account of the scrapable service associated with the scraping registration object 622. If the input of information is accepted, the management unit 214 manages the scrapable service as a service used in the organization by the IT management service, and starts scraping by the information processing device 2.

[0066] Note that, when an operation on the manual registration object 624 is accepted in step S8, the management unit 214 manages the manually registered service linked to the manually registered object 624 as a service used in the organization by the IT management service. Here, the notification unit 216 may notify the user that the manually registered service is a service that needs to accept input of usage data from the user. Specifically, for example, when a predetermined period (e.g., one month, three months, one year, etc.) has passed since the last input of usage data was accepted for a certain manually registered service (when a predetermined period has passed since the last input of usage data in the API linkage area 75), the notification unit 216 may notify the user that the service is a service that needs to accept input of usage data from the user.

[0067] (Step S10) When the API request is accepted in step S9, the service server 4 of the API-compatible service transmits an API response to the information processing device 2. That is, the acquisition unit 215 acquires the usage data through API collaboration between the IT management service and the API-compatible service. When a source request is received in step S9, the acquisition unit 215 acquires a source that can be analyzed by scraping, such as HTML, XML, etc. The acquisition unit 215 acquires usage data by scraping. The usage data that can be acquired through API integration and scraping may differ for each service, and the frequency at which usage data is acquired through API integration and scraping may be set for each service. This allows a computer to acquire usage data through API integration or scraping according to specific rules, thereby optimizing the number of information processing operations and reducing the load caused by information processing on the entire information processing system 1. This allows the information processing system 1 to be configured using a computer that is less expensive than conventional computers.

[0068] According to this embodiment, it is possible to improve the manageability of services used within an organization. Since complex information processing is not required to manage services used within an organization, it is possible to reduce the use of cache memory in the information processing device 2 and the user terminal 3. Furthermore, as a result of being able to reduce the use of cache memory, no large-scale device or computer is required, and information processing can be performed inexpensively.

[0069] 5.2 Details of data processing Next, the above-mentioned information processing will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0070] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a service registration screen 6 in the IT management service of the embodiment. The service registration screen 6 is a screen for providing various functions in the IT management service. The service registration screen 6 includes a menu area 60, a search area 61, and a service display area 62.

[0071] The menu area 60 is an area for transitioning the service registration screen 6 to another function. In response to pressing a portion indicated as "Service" included in the menu area 60, the display unit 213 displays the service confirmation screen 7 shown in FIG.

[0072] The search area 61 is configured so that a character string can be input, and is an area for searching for a service that matches the input character string.

[0073] The service display area 62 is an area where a certain organization's shadow IT is displayed in a listable format. The service display area 62 is an area where shadow IT detected by the detection unit 211 is displayed. The service display area 62 includes an API registration object 620 linked to multiple API-integrated services, a scraping registration object 622 linked to multiple scraping-enabled services, and a manual registration object 624 linked to multiple manually registered services. The API registration object 620 includes an API integration-enabled mark 621. The API integration-enabled mark 621 is any information indicating that the shadow IT is an API-integrated service, and may be composed of characters such as "API integration," or symbols, figures, illustrations, etc. The scraping registration object 622 includes a scraping-enabled mark 623. The scraping-enabled mark 623 is any information indicating that the shadow IT is a scraping-enabled service, and may be composed of characters such as "scraping," or symbols, figures, illustrations, etc. The manual registration object 624 includes a manual registration mark 625. The manual registration mark 625 may be any information indicating that the shadow IT is a manually registered service, and may be composed of words such as "manual registration," or may be composed of symbols, figures, illustrations, etc. The API registration object 620, the scraping registration object 622, and the manual registration object 624 may each display the number of users currently using the shadow IT associated with that object. Note that there may be services that are capable of both API integration and scraping; in the example of FIG. 6, "service_a" is an API integration-enabled service and a scraping-enabled service.

[0074] Furthermore, in a screen such as that shown in FIG. 6, when a user clicks (operates) an API integration-enabled mark 621, the IT management service may start processing to start API integration with the API integration-enabled service corresponding to the clicked API integration-enabled mark 621. In addition, when a user clicks (operates) a scraping-enabled mark 623, the IT management service may start processing to start scraping the scrapeable service corresponding to the clicked scraping-enabled mark 623. Furthermore, on such a screen, in addition to the API integration-enabled mark 621, the scraping-enabled mark 623, and the manual registration mark 625, an object called "Register" may be displayed. When the object is clicked (operated) by the user, the service corresponding to the clicked object may be registered in the IT management service. Registered services can be managed, for example, via a screen such as that shown in FIG. 7. Furthermore, in a screen such as that shown in FIG. 6, objects such as "Mute" and "Ignore" may be displayed. When the object is clicked (operated) by the user, the service corresponding to the clicked object may be stopped from being displayed to the user as shadow IT. In this way, by displaying objects such as "API integration," "scraping," "registration," and "mute" for each service, it is possible to encourage users to take the desired action against shadow IT.

[0075] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a service confirmation screen 7 for an IT management service. The service confirmation screen 7 is a screen for displaying, in list format, information about services managed by the IT management service in the organization. The service confirmation screen 7 includes a menu area 70, a search area 71, a service identification area 72, an alert area 73, an account area 74, an API integration area 75, a scraping status area 76, an expenditure area 77, and an engagement area 78. For details about the search area 71, please refer to the search area 61.

[0076] The menu area 70 is an area for transitioning the service confirmation screen 7 to another function. In response to pressing a portion indicated as "Integration" included in the menu area 70, the display unit 213 displays the service registration screen 6 shown in FIG.

[0077] The service identification area 72 is an area where the names of services managed by the organization are displayed. The service identification area 72 may also show the number of workspaces subscribed to for each service, and in the example of Fig. 7, it shows that the number of workspaces for the service "service δ" is two. The number of workspaces may be acquired in association with account number information or amount information.

[0078] The alert area 73 is an area that may contain an alert. This alert is information indicating that there are accounts that are not managed within the organization for a certain service and the number of such accounts. When user identification information or account number information is acquired by starting API cooperation, the display unit 213 erases the alert and displays it.

[0079] The account area 74 indicates the number of accounts within the organization that are used for each service. The account area 74 is also an area for referencing information about the number of accounts within the organization that are used for each service. The number of accounts may be acquired in association with the account number information.

[0080] The API integration area 75 is an area where information indicating whether or not a service is an API-integrated service is displayed for each service. The API integration area 75 may also display the time when usage data was last entered, along with information indicating that the service is not an API-integrated service. Additionally, the scraping status area 76 is an area that displays information for each service indicating whether the service is scrapable or not. The scraping status area 76 may also display the time when usage data was last entered. That is, the display unit 213 displays a service list that lists the identified services, and the service list is a list that displays each service in a manner that makes it possible to identify whether it is an API-compatible service and whether it is a scraping-compatible service. In addition, a screen like that shown in Figure 7 may be configured so that services with API integration can be sorted from services with API integration without, or a screen like that shown in Figure 7 may be configured so that services with scraping can be sorted from services with scraping without.

[0081] The expenditure area 77 is an area for displaying expenditure for each service. This expenditure may be acquired in association with amount information.

[0082] The engagement area 78 is an area where information indicating the usage rate of a service according to the expenditure on the service and the number of accounts for the service is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7, the usage rate of the service may be displayed as a level such as "8 / 10." The usage rate of the service may be calculated based on account number information and amount information.

[0083] [others] With regard to the information processing system 1 according to the above embodiment, the program causes a computer to function as a processor of the information processing system 1. Furthermore, the information processing method executed by the information processing system includes steps executed by the processor of the information processing system.

[0084] As shown in Fig. 8, the service registration screen 8 of the modified example may be configured to distinguish between automatically acquired services and manually registered services in a manner different from that of the service registration screen 6 of the embodiment. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the service registration screen 8 for the IT management service of the modified example. The service registration screen 8 includes a menu area 80, a search area 81, an automatically acquired service display area 82, and a manually registered service display area 83. For the menu area 80 and the search area 81, please refer to the menu area 60 and the search area 61, respectively.

[0085] The display unit 213 displays the automatically acquired service display area 82 and the manually registered service display area 83 in a distinguishable manner. The automatically acquired service display area 82 is an area in which a plurality of automatically acquired services are displayed. The automatically acquired service display area 82 is an example of a first area. The manually registered service display area 83 is an area in which a plurality of manually registered services are displayed. The manually registered service display area 83 is an example of a second area.

[0086] The automatically acquired service display area 82 includes automatically acquired registration objects 820 linked to multiple automatically acquired services. The automatically acquired registration objects 820 include automatically acquired marks 821. The automatically acquired marks 821 are information indicating that the service displayed in association with the marks is an automatically acquired service. The manually registered service display area 83 includes manually registered objects 830 linked to multiple manually registered services.

[0087] In the embodiment, an API-interconnectable service is managed by an IT management service as a service used in an organization, and API integration with the IT management service is initiated. In a modified example, the service may only be managed, and API integration may not be performed. The information transmitting and receiving unit 210 may transmit a recommendation to start API integration to the user terminal 3 according to the frequency of use of the API-interconnectable service that it only manages. Similarly, for a scrapeable service, the information transmitting and receiving unit 210 may transmit a recommendation to start scraping to the user terminal 3.

[0088] In the embodiment, the IT management service is described as managing shadow IT as a service used by the organization. In a modified example, an option may be provided to leave shadow IT as shadow IT without managing it as a service used by the organization. The information transmitter / receiver 210 may transmit a recommendation to start management to the user terminal 3 depending on the subsequent frequency of use of shadow IT.

[0089] When a manual registration service becomes an automatic acquisition service, the user may be notified of this. For example, when a provider of the manual registration service starts providing an API and the IT management service supports the provision of the API, the notification unit 216 may notify the user terminal 3 that API integration is now possible. The notification unit 216 may also notify the user of scraping-enabled services in a similar manner.

[0090] In step S9 of FIG. 5, a notification of approval may be issued to the administrator of the organization to register the service. That is, when the API registration object 620 or the manual registration object 624 is operated, the information transmission / reception unit 210 notifies the user terminal 3 of the administrator that a request for approval to register the service has been generated. The processor 31 of the user terminal 3 of the administrator causes the output unit 35 to display the fact that this request for approval has been generated. The processor 31 of the user terminal 3 of the administrator accepts the approval from the administrator and transmits the approval to the information processing device 2. The information transmission / reception unit 210 accepts the approval. When accepting the approval, the management unit 214 manages the service as a service used in the organization by the IT management service. Note that there may be multiple approvers, and in that case, approval may be requested from multiple administrators simultaneously or in any order.

[0091] In the above embodiment, a system for identifying (determining) whether a service detected as shadow IT can be integrated with an API has been described, but the present invention should not be limited to this. For example, for each of multiple services manually registered in an IT management service by a user, the availability of API integration with the IT management service (the latest availability of API integration) may be visualized on a screen such as that shown in FIG. In other words, the present disclosure may be configured to identify whether or not API integration with the IT management service is possible (whether or not API integration is possible at the most recent point in time) for each of multiple services registered in the IT management service and / or multiple services detected by the IT management service, and make this visible to the user. That is, the system disclosed herein can display to the user whether or not each of multiple services is API-integrated. As a result, for API-integrated services, usage data including account data can be automatically updated in the IT management service via the API, but for services that are not API-integrated, the system can notify / suggest to the user that the user must manually update usage data including account data in the IT management service. In this way, the user can appropriately manage the usage status of multiple services using the IT management service.

[0092] The IT management service may also manage software or systems used within an organization, in which case "services" in this specification shall be read as "services, software, or systems."

[0093] Furthermore, the "object operation" in this embodiment may be any mode that can accept an instruction from the user, and may be a button press, a button selection, or the like.

[0094] Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects.

[0095] (1) An information processing system for providing an IT management service for managing services used in an organization, the information processing system having at least one processor capable of executing a program to perform each of the following steps: in a detection step, detecting services used in the organization; in an identification step, identifying, from the detected services, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used in the organization, and identifying whether the unmanaged service is an automatically acquired service; wherein the automatically acquired service is an API-integrated service that can be integrated with the IT management service through an API, or a scrapeable service that can be used on the IT management service to acquire data by scraping.

[0096] (2) In the information processing system described in (1) above, in the display step, the automatically acquired service identified in the identification step is displayed in an identifiable manner as to whether it is an API-interoperable service or a scraping-enabled service.

[0097] (3) In the information processing system described in (1) or (2) above, the unmanaged services include manual registration services, which are services that do not fall under the category of automatically acquired services, and in the notification step, the user is notified that the manual registration services are services that require the user to input usage data, and the usage data includes data indicating the usage status of the manual registration services.

[0098] (4) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (3) above, in the display step, a first area and a second area are displayed in a distinguishable manner, wherein the first area is an area in which a plurality of the automatically acquired services are displayed, the second area is an area in which a plurality of manually registered services are displayed, and the manually registered services are services that do not fall under the automatically acquired services.

[0099] (5) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (4) above, in the display step, one or more first registered objects corresponding to one or more API-integrated services, one or more second registered objects corresponding to one or more scrapable services, and one or more third registered objects corresponding to one or more manually registered services are displayed, and the manually registered services are services that do not fall under the automatically acquired services. In the management step, when an operation of any of the first registered objects is received, the IT management service manages the integrateable services linked to the first registered objects as services used in the organization and starts API integration with the IT management service. When an operation of any of the second registered objects is received, the IT management service manages the scrapable services linked to the second registered objects as services used in the organization and starts scraping of the scrapable services. In this information processing system, when an operation of any of the third registered objects is received, the IT management service manages the unintegrated services linked to the third registered objects as services used in the organization.

[0100] (6) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (5) above, in the display step, a service list listing the identified services is displayed, and the service list is a list displayed in a manner that makes it possible to identify, for each service, whether it is an API-integrable service and whether it is a scraping-enabled service.

[0101] (7) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (6) above, in the detection step, services used within the organization are detected based on detection data, and the detection data includes at least one of data on internet browsing history within the organization, data on account usage history, data on sent and received emails, payment data obtained from an accounting service, expense service, or prepaid card service, data on usage details obtained from a credit card service, and data on withdrawal details obtained from a banking service.

[0102] (8) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (7) above, in the acquisition step, usage data indicating the usage status of the API-interoperable service is acquired through API integration between an IT management service and the API-interoperable service.

[0103] (9) In the information processing system according to any one of (1) to (8) above, the IT management service further manages software or systems used within the organization.

[0104] (10) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (9) above, in the display step, if the unmanaged service identified in the identification step does not correspond to either an API-interoperable service or a scrapable service, information recommending management as a manually registered service is displayed, and the manually registered service is a service that is not an automatically acquired service.

[0105] (11) A program for causing a computer to function as the processor of the information processing system according to any one of (1) to (10) above.

[0106] (12) An information processing method executed by an information processing system, the information processing method comprising the steps executed by the processor of the information processing system according to any one of (1) to (10) above. Of course, this is not the case.

[0107] Finally, while various embodiments of the present invention have been described, they are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments may be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Such embodiments and modifications are intended to be included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the accompanying claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 1: Information processing system, 2: Information processing device, 20: Communication bus, 21: Processor, 210: Information transmission / reception unit, 211: Detection unit, 212: Identification unit, 213: Display unit, 214: Management unit, 215: Acquisition unit, 216: Notification unit, 22: Memory unit, 23: Communication unit, 3: User terminal, 30: Communication bus, 31: Processor, 32: Memory unit, 33: Communication unit, 34: Input unit, 35: Output unit, 4: Service server, 5: Detection server, 6: Service registration screen, 60: Menu area, 61: Search area, 62: Service display area, 620: API registration object, 621: API integration possible mark, 622: Scraping registration object, 62 3: Scraping possible mark, 624: Manually registered object, 625: Manually registered mark, 7: Service confirmation screen, 70: Menu area, 71: Search area, 72: Service identification area, 73: Alert area, 74: Account area, 75: API integration area, 76: Scraping status area, 77: Expenditure area, 78: Engagement area, 8: Service registration screen, 80: Menu area, 81: Search area, 82: API integration possible service display area, 820: Integration management registration object, 821: API integration possible mark, 83: API unintegrated service display area, 830: Manually registered object, N: Communication network

Claims

1. An information processing system for providing an IT management service for managing services used in an organization, comprising: at least one processor capable of executing a program to perform the following steps; The detecting step detects services used by the organization; In a particular step, Identifying, from among the detected services, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used by the organization; Identifying whether the unmanaged service is an automatic acquisition service, wherein the automatic acquisition service is an API-linkable service that can be linked with the IT management service via API, or a scrapeable service that can use data acquired by scraping on the IT management service; In the display step, the automatic acquisition service identified in the identification step is displayed in an identifiable manner as to whether it is the API-linkable service or the scraping-enabled service. Information processing system.

2. In the information processing system according to claim 1, In the identifying step, the information processing system identifies whether the unmanaged service corresponds to the automatically obtained service by referring to a database in which service names and automatically obtained service applicability are associated with each other.

3. In the information processing system according to claim 1, In the identification step, an information processing system determines whether the unmanaged service corresponds to the automatically acquired service by referring to a storage means having information stored in a manner that allows identification of whether the service corresponds to the API-interoperable service, the scrapeable service, or the manual registration service for multiple services.

4. An information processing system for providing IT management services for managing services used by an organization, comprising: at least one processor capable of executing a program to perform the following steps; The detecting step detects services used by the organization; In a particular step, Identifying, from among the detected services, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used by the organization; Identifying whether the unmanaged service is an automatic acquisition service, wherein the automatic acquisition service is an API-linkable service that can be linked with the IT management service via API, or a scrapeable service that can use data acquired by scraping on the IT management service; In the display step, the automatic acquisition service identified in the identification step is displayed in an identifiable manner as to whether it is the API-linkable service or the scraping-enabled service; The unmanaged service includes a manual registration service, and the manual registration service is a service that does not fall under the category of the automatic acquisition service; In the notification step, the user is notified that the manual registration service is a service that requires input of usage status data from the user, and the usage status data includes data indicating usage status of the manual registration service. Information processing system.

5. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, In the display step, a first area and a second area are displayed in a distinguishable manner, wherein the first area is an area in which a plurality of the automatically acquired services are displayed, and the second area is an area in which a plurality of manually registered services are displayed, and the manually registered services are services that do not fall under the automatically acquired services. Information processing system.

6. An information processing system for providing IT management services for managing services used by an organization, comprising: at least one processor capable of executing a program to perform the following steps; The detecting step detects services used by the organization; In a particular step, Identifying, from among the detected services, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used by the organization; Identifying whether the unmanaged service is an automatic acquisition service, wherein the automatic acquisition service is an API-linkable service that can be linked with the IT management service via API, or a scrapeable service that can use data acquired by scraping on the IT management service; In the display step, one or more first registered objects corresponding to one or more of the API-interoperable services, one or more second registered objects corresponding to one or more of the scrapable services, and one or more third registered objects corresponding to one or more manually registered services are displayed, and the manually registered services are services that do not fall under the automatically acquired services, In the management step, When an operation of any of the first registered objects is received, the IT management service manages the linkable services associated with the first registered object as services used in the organization, and starts API linkage with the IT management service; When an operation of any of the second registered objects is received, the scrapable service associated with the second registered object is managed by the IT management service as a service used in the organization, and scraping of the scrapable service is started; When an operation of any of the third registered objects is received, the unlinked service associated with the third registered object is managed by the IT management service as a service used in the organization. Information processing system.

7. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, In the display step, a service list listing the identified services is displayed, and the service list is a list displayed in a manner that makes it possible to identify, for each service, whether it is an API-interoperable service and whether it is a scraping-enabled service. Information processing system.

8. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, In the detection step, services used within the organization are detected based on detection data, and the detection data includes at least one of data on internet browsing history, data on account usage history, data on emails sent and received within the organization, data on payments obtained from an accounting service, expense service, or prepaid card service, data on usage details obtained from a credit card service, and data on withdrawal details obtained from a bank service. Information processing system.

9. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, In the acquisition step, usage status data indicating a usage status of the API-cooperable service is acquired through API cooperation between the IT management service and the API-cooperable service. Information processing system.

10. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, The IT management service further manages software or systems used within the organization. Information processing system.

11. An information processing system for providing IT management services for managing services used in an organization, comprising: at least one processor capable of executing a program to perform the following steps; The detecting step detects services used by the organization; In a particular step, Identifying, from among the detected services, services that are not managed by the IT management service as services used by the organization; Identifying whether the unmanaged service is an automatic acquisition service, wherein the automatic acquisition service is an API-linkable service that can be linked with the IT management service via API, or a scrapeable service that can use data acquired by scraping on the IT management service; In the display step, if the unmanaged service identified in the identification step does not correspond to either the API-interoperable service or the scrapeable service, information recommending management as a manually registered service is displayed, and the manually registered service is a service that is not the automatically acquired service. Information processing system.

12. A program, A program for causing a computer to function as the processor of the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. An information processing method executed by an information processing system, The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising steps executed by the processor. Information processing methods.

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