Service management device and service management method

Abstract

This service management device retains: segment structure information indicating a mutual structure to which a hierarchical structure based on an inclusion relationship between segments is imparted for each segment including a company, an organization, and a user; and service provision condition management information indicating a license of a service and a mutual structure of segments possessing the license. The service management device: receives an authentication request indicating a user and a service to be authenticated; specifies a mutual structure including the user indicated by the authentication request from the segment structure information; and performs authentication of the authentication request on the basis of the license of the service possessed by the segment included in the specified mutual structure and the service indicated by the authentication request.

Description

Service management device and service management method Incorporation by Reference

[0001] This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-097522, filed on June 14, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a service management device and a service management method.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2020-067777 (Patent Document 1) is a background technology in this technical field. This publication describes a subscription product sales system that includes a product information management means for managing product information related to multiple types of subscription products that can be sold, a product designation means for designating one of the multiple types of subscription products, and a contract information management means for acquiring product information related to the subscription product designated via the product designation means from the product information management means and managing subscription contract information corresponding to the subscription product in association with the product information (see Abstract).

[0004] Publication No. 2020-067777

[0005] Patent Literature 1 describes a subscription product sales system that manages information on customers who have signed up for subscription products. Customers who sign up for subscription services can be various hierarchical segments, such as companies, organizations within companies, and users within organizations. For example, when an organization belonging to a company or a user belonging to such an organization accesses and uses a subscription service that the company has signed up for, access management must be performed taking into account the hierarchical structure between segments.

[0006] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not mention taking into consideration the hierarchical structure between the segments of such a contract destination. Therefore, one aspect of the present invention aims to realize flexible access management to services based on the hierarchical structure between segments.

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention employs the following configuration: A service management device includes a processor and a memory, and the memory stores segment structure information indicating a mutual structure in which a hierarchical structure based on inclusion relationships between segments is assigned for each of segments including companies, organizations, and users, and service provision condition management information indicating service licenses and the mutual structures of segments that hold the licenses, and the processor receives an authentication request indicating a user and service that are the subject of authentication, identifies from the segment structure information a mutual structure that includes the user indicated by the authentication request, and performs authentication in response to the authentication request based on the service licenses held by segments included in the identified mutual structure and the service indicated by the authentication request.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, flexible access management to services based on a hierarchical structure between segments can be realized.

[0009] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

[0010] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a service management system in an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each device included in the service management system in an embodiment, and a computer constituting a user terminal. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a service management device in an embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an overview of various information before centralized management in an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a user structure management table in an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a segment structure management table in an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a budget structure management table in an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a service provision condition management table in an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a usage-based calculation rule management table in an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a usage-based actual performance management table in an embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a report evidence management table in an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a service provision segment structure management table in an embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a service profit distribution management table in an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of usage-based actual performance generation processing in an embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of an authentication management processing in an embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a billing processing in an embodiment. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a profit distribution processing in an embodiment.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the same components are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted. It should be noted that this embodiment is merely an example for realizing the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0012] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a service management system. The service management system 500 includes, for example, a service management device 100, a service providing device 200, user payment management information 300, and company management information 400, which are connected to one another via a network such as the Internet. The service management system 500 is connected to a user terminal 600 via a network such as the Internet.

[0013] The service management device 100 manages the services that the service providing segment provides to the user, the company to which the user belongs, the payment for the service, and the distribution of profits to the organization that provides the service.

[0014] The service providing device 200 provides services to the user terminal 600. The service providing device 200 may be installed in a service providing segment and provide various cloud services to the user terminal 600, or may be installed in a user organization and operated on-premise.

[0015] The user payment management information 300 is information related to payments used by a user to use a service, and includes, for example, user identification information 310. The user identification information 310 includes, for example, information that identifies a user in the payment service that the user uses.

[0016] The corporate management information 400 is information about the company to which the user belongs, and includes, for example, corporate budget structure information 410, organizational payment structure information 420, and organizational structure information 430. The corporate budget structure information 410 includes information about the budget items owned by the company and the payment methods used by the company (hereinafter, the budget items and payment methods are collectively referred to as simply "budget"). The organizational payment structure information 420 indicates the payment structure of the organizations belonging to the company. The organizational structure information 430 indicates the structure of the organization to which the user belongs.

[0017] In addition, the user payment management information 300 and the company management information 400 may be stored in the service management device 100, or may be stored in another device included in the service management system 500, or in an external device connected to the service management system 500.

[0018] The user terminal 600 is a terminal that uses the service provided by the service providing device 200, and when using the service, transmits and receives communication packets 700 to and from the service providing device 200. The service management device 100 acquires the communication packets 700 and uses the acquired communication packets 700 for service management.

[0019] In this embodiment, although a company may be included in another company (for example, in a parent-subsidiary company relationship), a company is not included in an organization or a user. Also, although an organization may be included in a company or another organization, an organization is not included in a user. Also, a user is included in a company or an organization. Therefore, in a hierarchical structure showing the inclusion relationship between segments such as a company, organization, and user (the containing side is a higher hierarchical level, and the contained side is a lower hierarchical level), an organization belongs to a lower hierarchical level than a company, and a user belongs to a lower hierarchical level than a company and an organization.

[0020] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each device included in the service management system 500 and a computer that constitutes the user terminal 600. The computer 1000 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1100, a memory 1200, an auxiliary storage device 1300, a communication device 1400, an input device 1500, and an output device 1600.

[0021] The CPU 1100 is an example of a processor and executes programs stored in the memory 1200. The memory 1200 includes a non-volatile storage element, Read Only Memory (ROM), and a volatile storage element, Random Access Memory (RAM). The ROM stores unchanging programs (e.g., a Basic Input / Output System (BIOS)). The RAM is a high-speed, volatile storage element such as Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and temporarily stores programs executed by the CPU 1100 and data used when the programs are executed.

[0022] The auxiliary storage device 1300 is a large-capacity, non-volatile storage device such as a magnetic storage device (HDD (Hard Disk Drive)) or a flash memory (SSD (Solid State Drive)), and stores programs executed by the CPU 1100 and data used when the programs are executed. In other words, the programs are read from the auxiliary storage device 1300, loaded into the memory 1200, and executed by the CPU 1100.

[0023] The input device 1500 is a device such as a keyboard or mouse that receives input from an operator. The output device 1600 is a device such as a display device or printer that outputs the results of program execution in a format that can be viewed by the operator.

[0024] The communication device 1400 is a network interface device that controls communication with other devices in accordance with a predetermined protocol, and includes a serial interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0025] Some or all of the programs executed by the CPU 1100 may be provided to the computer 1000 from removable media (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.) which are non-transitory storage media, or from an external computer equipped with a non-transitory storage device via a network, and may be stored in the non-volatile auxiliary storage device 1300 which is also a non-transitory storage medium. For this reason, the computer 1000 should preferably have an interface for reading data from removable media.

[0026] Each device included in the service management system 500 and the user terminal 600 is a computer system configured on a single physical computer or on multiple logically or physically configured computers, and may operate in separate threads on the same computer, or may operate on a virtual computer constructed on multiple physical computer resources.

[0027] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the service management device 100. The service management device 100 has, for example, a currency linking function 111, a user terminal management function 112, a budget structure identification function 113, a segment structure identification function 114, a service provision condition management function 115, a service provision segment management function 116, a usage-based calculation rule management function 117, a billing function 118, a billing amount aggregation function 119, a profit distribution function 120, and a reporting function 121.

[0028] The currency linking function 111 converts amounts and points between multiple currencies and points. The user terminal management function 112 manages the user terminals 600. The budget structure identification function 113 identifies the budget structure of users, organizations, and companies. The segment structure identification function 114 identifies the segment structure of segments including users, organizations, and companies. The service provision condition management function 115 manages licenses, required fees, etc. for the provision of services.

[0029] The service provision segment management function 116 manages the segments for providing services. The usage-based calculation rule management function 117 manages usage-based calculation rules for calculating the usage-based fees for services. The billing function 118 bills fees for the use of services and the possession of licenses. The billing amount aggregation function 119 aggregates the billing amounts for the use of services and the possession of licenses.

[0030] The profit sharing function 120 distributes profits obtained from fees for using the service or holding a license to the service provider. The reporting function 121 generates reports on billing and payment of fees for using the service or holding a license.

[0031] For example, the CPU 1100 of the computer 1000 constituting the service management device 100 functions as a currency linking function 111 by operating in accordance with a currency linking program loaded into the memory 1200 of the computer 1000, and functions as a user terminal management function 112 by operating in accordance with a user terminal management program loaded into the memory 1200 of the computer 1000. The same relationship between the program and the function applies to other functions included in the service management device 100.

[0032] Note that some or all of the other functions included in the service management device 100 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

[0033] The service management device 100 stores a user structure management table 131, a segment structure management table 132, a budget structure management table 133, a service provision condition management table 134, a usage-based calculation rule management table 135, a usage-based actual performance management table 136, a report evidence management table 137, a service provision segment structure management table 138, and a service profit distribution management table 139. Details of these various tables will be described later using Figures 5 to 13.

[0034] The tables held by the service management device 100 are stored, for example, in the memory 1200 or auxiliary storage device 1300 of the computer 1000 that constitutes the service management device 100 , or in an external storage device connected to the service management device 100 .

[0035] In this embodiment, the information used by the service management system 500 and the user terminal 600 does not depend on the data structure and may be expressed in any data structure. For example, the information can be stored in a data structure appropriately selected from a list, a table, a database, or a queue.

[0036] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an overview of various information before it is centrally managed. As explained in FIG. 1, the information before it is centrally managed and held by the service management system 500 and the user terminal 600 includes, for example, user identification information 310, user identification information 610, communication packets 700, enterprise budget structure information 410, organizational payment structure information 420, and organizational structure information 430. Each of these pieces of information indicates one or more pieces of identification information in a hierarchical structure.

[0037] Although the details will be described later, these pieces of identification information have different hierarchical structures, but they may contain the same type of ID, or a hierarchical structure may be defined between an ID included in one piece of identification information and an ID included in another piece of identification information. By having the service management device 100 hold information that centralizes these pieces of identification information, authentication to services, payment for services, etc. can be centrally managed.

[0038] The user identification information 610 is the user's identification information at the time of authentication when the user terminal 600 activates a service provided by the service providing device 200 or when logging in to the service, and is expressed, for example, in the format of user terminal ID / service ID / user ID.

[0039] The user terminal ID is an ID that identifies the user terminal 600. The service ID is an ID that identifies a service. The user ID is a user ID that identifies a user. The ID on the left side separated by " / " is an ID that belongs to a higher level in the hierarchical structure than the ID on the right side.

[0040] The user identification information 310 is identification information of the budget of the user of the user terminal 600, and is expressed in the format of, for example, user terminal ID / budget ID / user ID. The budget ID is an ID that identifies the payment service (different from the service provided by the service providing device 200) and the budget.

[0041] 4 is a packet transmitted from the user terminal 600 to the service providing device 200 when the user terminal 600 uses a service provided by the service providing device 200, and includes identification information expressed in the form of a service ID / user ID. The header of the communication packet 700 may also include a user terminal ID.

[0042] Although the user identification information 310, the user identification information 610, and the communication packet 700 have different hierarchical structures and the IDs contained in the hierarchical structures, they all contain a user ID. Therefore, by centrally managing these identification information, the service management device 100 can, for example, realize both user authentication to the service providing device 200 and payment by the user using the user ID indicated by the user identification information 610 for authentication.

[0043] The corporate budget structure information 410 is identification information for a budget held by a company, and is expressed, for example, in the format of company ID / budget ID. The organizational payment structure information 420 is identification information for an entity that makes payments for services provided to an organization, and is expressed, for example, in the format of company ID / organization ID (i.e., indicating that the company indicated by the company ID pays for services provided to the organization indicated by the organization ID). The organizational structure information 430 is identification information for a user as a member of an organization within a company, and is expressed, for example, in the format of company ID / location ID / organization ID / user ID.

[0044] The organizational payment structure information 420 indicates that payment for services provided to the organization will be made by the company to which the organization belongs, and the corporate budget structure information 410 indicates the budget that the company has.Therefore, by centrally managing the organizational payment structure information 420 and the corporate budget structure information 410, the service management device 100 can identify the budget (for example, of the company) for making payment for the service based on the organization that received the service.

[0045] Furthermore, since the organizational structure information 430 indicates the organization or company to which the user belongs, and the organization or company to which the organization belongs, when payment for the service used by the user is made by the organization to which the user belongs or the company to which the organization belongs, the service management device 100 can centrally manage the organizational payment structure information 420, the company budget structure information 410, and the organizational structure information 430, thereby identifying the budget (of the organization or company) for making payment for the service used by the user.

[0046] Furthermore, by the service providing device 200 centrally managing the user identification information 610 and the organizational structure information 430, it is possible to perform authentication of the user against the service providing device 200 and authentication of the organization to which the user belongs, for example, based on the user ID indicated by the user identification information 610 for authentication.

[0047] Furthermore, the service management device 100 centrally manages information regarding the structure of the service provision segments described below, information defining the methods by which the service provision segments receive profits (e.g., payment services, currency, etc.), and the various identification information described above, so that the payment for services paid by a user or the organization or company to which the user belongs can be distributed to the service provision segments using the payment services, currency, etc. used by the service provision segments.

[0048] 5 to 13, various management tables held by the service management device 100 will be described below. As will be described later, each management table includes a record number, a data type structure, a structured ID, a value, and a unit.

[0049] A structured ID is identification information consisting of only one identifier or consisting of multiple identifiers separated by " / ". A structured ID is identification information corresponding to the terminal identifier (located at the rightmost position) of the structured ID, and indicates a hierarchical structure that traces the upper hierarchy of the terminal identifier up to the root (of all structured IDs). The data type structure indicates the type of ID included in the structured ID and the hierarchical structure separated by " / ".

[0050] "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 1," an example of a structured ID defined by the data type structure of "Root / Company ID / Organization ID," identifies the organization "Location Name 1," which is the terminal identifier (the identifier located farthest to the right), and also identifies that the organization "Location Name 1" belongs to the company "Company Name 1."

[0051] Also, for example, if a user with "User ID 1" belongs to an organization with "Location Name 1" of a company with "Company Name 1" and an organization with "Location Name 2" of the company with "Company Name 1," two structured IDs, "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 1 / User ID 1" and "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 2 / User ID 1," can be given, thereby defining multiple hierarchical structures corresponding to one user.

[0052] In a structured ID, various identifiers are separated by " / " to define various hierarchical structures such as inclusion relationships, use relationships, provision relationships, etc. For example, if the data type structure of a structured ID includes a portion "organization ID / user ID," this indicates a relationship in which the organization indicated by the "organization ID" includes the user indicated by the "user ID."

[0053] For example, if the data type structure of a structured ID includes a portion "company ID / budget ID," this indicates a usage relationship in which a company indicated by the "company ID" uses a budget indicated by the "budget ID." For example, if the data type structure of a structured ID includes a portion "organization ID / service ID," this indicates a relationship in which an organization indicated by the "organization ID" uses a service indicated by the "service ID."

[0054] Furthermore, if the data type structure of the structured ID includes the portion "service providing organization ID / service ID," this indicates a relationship in which the service providing segment indicated by the "service providing organization ID" provides the service indicated by the "service ID."

[0055] The values ​​defined in each management table indicate values ​​corresponding to the terminal identifiers of the structured IDs. The units defined in each management table indicate units assigned to the values ​​corresponding to the terminal identifiers of the structured IDs. Specific values ​​and units will be described later using Figures 5 to 13.

[0056] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the user structure management table 131. The user structure management table 131 is a table for managing user IDs. Since only user IDs are managed in the user structure management table 131, the data type structure of all structured IDs defined in the user structure management table 131 consists only of "user ID."

[0057] For example, the user's name is stored as a value in the user structure management table 131. In various management tables including the user structure management table 131, the unit corresponding to a value defined as a character string rather than a numerical value, such as the user's name, is "character string."

[0058] Furthermore, one or more email addresses owned by a user and user attributes may be defined in the user structure management table 131. User attributes may include, for example, the user's job title, years of service, age, and the like.

[0059] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the segment structure management table 132. The segment structure management table 132 is a table for managing the inclusion relationships between segments such as the organization to which a user belongs, the organizations to which the organizations belong, the companies to which the organizations belong, and the companies to which the companies belong.

[0060] The segment structure management table 132 stores a structured ID in which the identifier of a higher-level organization or company is assigned to each identifier of a user, organization, and company. In the segment structure management table 132, the name of the user, organization, or company corresponding to the terminal identifier of the structured ID is stored as a value, and a "character string" is stored as a unit. For example, if a company uses a base under a rental contract or the like, a value indicating the name of the location of the base, such as "Room XXX," can also be used as the organization ID.

[0061] The structured ID with record number 6 in the example of Figure 6 also defines the inclusion relationship between companies in which a parent company includes its subsidiary companies, and the inclusion relationship between organizations in which a base includes its departments.By using the structured ID, the inclusion relationship between multiple levels of organizations or individuals can be defined collectively in the segment structure management table 132.

[0062] In addition, the segment structure and user structure may be managed in a single table by merging the email address and attributes in the user structure management table 131 shown in Figure 5 with the record in the segment structure management table 132 where the end of the data type structure of the structured ID is ``user ID.''

[0063] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the budget structure management table 133. The budget structure management table 133 shows the budgets that each segment has. The structured ID stored in the budget structure management table 133 has an identifier indicating the budget at the end, and the identifier of the segment that has that budget is defined at the next higher level of that identifier. Therefore, the structured ID stored in the budget structure management table 133 can be used to manage the budgets that each segment has and the segments that contain that segment's segments.

[0064] In addition, in the budget structure management table 133, a numerical column indicating the budget amount such as the amount or number of points is stored as the budget value, which is the terminal identifier of the structured ID, and a unit corresponding to the budget amount such as the currency unit of the amount or the point unit, and a payment method for the budget amount (advance payment, deferred payment, payment on request, etc.) are stored as units.

[0065] For example, when a company or organization makes a payment, the payment may be made from the budget of a segment that is located at a lower level than the company or organization in the structure ID of the segment structure management table 132.

[0066] Furthermore, for example, it may be possible to allocate a portion or the entire amount of a company or organization's budget to the company or a segment located at a lower level than the company in the structure ID of the segment structure management table 132. For example, when the service management device 100 receives an instruction to allocate a portion of a company's budget to an organization located at a lower level than the company, the budget is allocated by subtracting the amount from the budget value in the budget structure management table 133 and adding a record of the budget of the amount corresponding to the organization.

[0067] The budget may be allocated to an organization or user of another company, or to an organization or company that is located at a higher level in the structure ID of the segment structure management table 132.

[0068] 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the service provision condition management table 134. The service provision condition management table 134 indicates licenses for segments and the compensation (budget) required for the segments to have the licenses.

[0069] 8, the records with record numbers 2, 3, 5, and 7 are records indicating licenses. In the example of Fig. 8, the structured ID "Root / Company Name 1 / Headquarters Base License 1 / User License 1" with record number 3 indicates that a license for a user called "User License 1" is included in a base license called "Headquarters Base License 1," and that "Headquarters Base License 1" is owned by a company called "Company Name 1."

[0070] Note that a base license is a license that requires a contract when using individual services provided by a service providing segment, and an entity using a service cannot use an individual service simply by holding a license for that service; an entity can use an individual service by holding both a base license and a license for that service. Therefore, a service ID that identifies an individual service is not written in a higher hierarchy than the base license identifier included in the structured ID related to the base license.

[0071] The value of a record indicating a license stores a number indicating the number of licenses held, a number indicating the amount of resources available through the license (e.g., storage capacity or communication volume), etc., and the unit stores "books," which is the unit of the number of licenses held, or a unit corresponding to the resource.

[0072] In the example of Figure 8, records with record numbers 1, 4, 6, and 8 indicate a structured ID corresponding to the segment budget, similar to the budget structure management table 133, and the value in the record indicates the required consideration to hold a license, and the unit in the record stores the currency unit, point unit, or payment method corresponding to the value.

[0073] Also, for example, in these records, if the units include "prepayment" (paying before signing a license agreement) or "pay as you go" (paying each time a license agreement is signed, or paying for service use each time a pay-as-you-go service is used), the segment will not be able to use the service if it does not have the ability to pay for the service.

[0074] The following describes the relationship between records indicating licenses and records indicating the necessary fees for holding the licenses in the service provision condition management table 134. As shown in the example of Fig. 8, the service provision condition management table 134 defines records indicating licenses (i.e., records whose data structure ends with a license ID) and records indicating the necessary fees for holding the licenses (i.e., records whose data structure ends with a budget ID).

[0075] In order for the service in a record indicating a license to be provided, the consideration indicated by the record containing a structured ID whose segment structure (a part consisting of a company ID, organization ID, and / or user ID connected by " / ", which is an example of a mutual structure) is identical to the structured ID contained in the record indicating the license is required.

[0076] Specifically, for example, a record with record number 3 (a record indicating a license) indicates that a company with "Company Name 1" owns "200 accounts" of "User License 2" included in "Headquarters Base License 1." Furthermore, the segment structure indicated by the structured ID of the record with record number 3 consists only of "Company Name 1," and the record indicating the required consideration is the record with record number 1, which indicates a segment structure consisting only of "Company 1." Therefore, in order for the company with "Company Name 1" to own "200 accounts" of "User License 2" included in "Headquarters Base License 1" indicated by record number 3, a consideration of "100 million dollars or more" must be paid in advance from the "company budget" of "Company Name 1" indicated by the record with record number 1 (a record indicating the required consideration).

[0077] It should be noted that a license may be added as part of a gift campaign from a service providing segment, as in the structured ID with record number 5 in the example of Fig. 8. The end of the structured ID with record number 7 in the example of Fig. 8 indicates a license ID called "User Option B" included in the service indicated by the service ID called "Service ID 1."

[0078] For example, the entity holding the license can be identified from the service ID, license ID, or combination of the service ID and license ID contained in the communication packet 700 or the logs of various functions executed by the service providing device 200, and the structured ID contained in the service provision condition management table 134.

[0079] For example, if a company or organization has a license for a certain service, segments included in the company or organization may be prevented from signing up for a license for that service, thereby preventing multiple contracts and multiple billing. Specifically, for example, if a record with a data type structure of "company ID / organization ID / service ID / license ID" and a structured ID of "company name 1 / base name 1 / service ID 1 / license ID 1" is registered in the service provision condition management table 134, even if an instruction is given to register a license for "service ID 1" in the service provision condition management table 134 for the organization of "department name 1" included in "base name 1" (the inclusion relationship between segments can be determined from the segment structure management table 132), the instruction can be refused.

[0080] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the usage-based calculation rule management table 135. The usage-based calculation rule management table 135 shows usage-based calculation rules for licenses held by segments, as well as a budget for paying the usage fees calculated in accordance with the usage-based calculation rules.

[0081] 9, the records with record numbers 2 to 6 indicate usage-based calculation rules, and the data type structure of these records is such that a target ID is further added to the end of the data type structure of the record corresponding to the license in the service provision condition management table 134. The target ID is identification information that indicates the standard of the amount to be calculated when the price is determined by usage-based calculation for the license.

[0082] In addition, the value of the record corresponding to the pay-as-you-go calculation rule indicates the price per standard indicated by the target ID, and the unit of the record corresponding to the pay-as-you-go calculation rule indicates the currency unit, point unit, and / or payment method of the price, etc.

[0083] For example, in the record with record number 3 in the example of Figure 9, the combination of the structured ID "Root / Company Name 1 / Headquarters Base License 1 / User License 2 / 200 Accounts", the value "200", and the unit "Points" indicates that a company called "Company Name 1" has a "Headquarters Base License 1" that includes "User License 2" for "200 Accounts", and the payment price per "200 Accounts" is 200 points. Also, in the record with record number 4 in the example of Figure 9, for example, the license is the subject of a gift campaign, so the value indicating the payment price is a negative value (i.e., indicating a discount).

[0084] 9, the highest level of the data type structure for the records with record numbers 5 and 6 is the "service ID," and the usage-based calculation rule is defined without defining the users, organizations, and companies that have licenses for the "service ID." In other words, in these records, the usage-based calculation rule is defined only by the combination of the service ID, license ID, and target ID, regardless of the user, organization, or company. Therefore, in the structured IDs for the records with record numbers 5 and 6, the regular expression ".*," which allows any character string (i.e., any user entity), is assigned to the level above the service ID.

[0085] 9, the record with the record number 1 indicates the segment budget, its budget amount, and payment method, similar to the budget structure management table 133.

[0086] In the usage-based calculation rule management table 135, as shown in the example of FIG. 9, records indicating usage-based calculation rules (i.e., records whose data type structure ends with a target ID) and records indicating the budget that will be the source of payment for the usage-based calculation calculated by the usage-based calculation rule (i.e., records whose data type structure ends with a budget ID) are defined.

[0087] The price for the usage in a record indicating a usage-based calculation rule is paid using the budget indicated by a record including a structured ID whose segment structure is the same as the structured ID included in the record indicating the usage-based calculation rule.

[0088] Specifically, for example, the record with record number 3 (a record indicating a usage-based calculation rule) indicates that when a company named "Company Name 1" holds "User License 2" included in "Headquarters Base License 1," a payment of "200 points" is required for every 200 accounts of "User License 2" held by the company. Furthermore, the segment structure indicated by the structured ID of the record with record number 3 consists only of "Company Name 1," and the record indicating the budget that shows a segment structure consisting only of "Company 1" is the record with record number 1. Therefore, the payment of the "200" points indicated by record number 3 is paid in a "post-payment" from the "company-wide budget" of "100M$" for "Company Name 1" indicated by the record with record number 1 (a record indicating a budget).

[0089] For example, the segment structure indicated by the structure ID of the record with record number 4 (a record indicating a usage-based calculation rule) consists of "Company Name 1 / Location Name 1", but there is no record indicating a budget with a structure ID whose segment structure is "Company Name 1 / Location Name 1". Furthermore, the segment structure in the structure ID of the record with record number 5 (a record indicating a usage-based calculation rule) is expressed using a regular expression (i.e., corresponding to any segment structure). A method for identifying a budget for paying the price corresponding to such usage will be described later.

[0090] Here, for simplicity, numerical values ​​are set in the value column, but various arithmetic expressions can also be entered, such as an expression that multiplies the number of volumes used by the unit price, an expression that multiplies the volume used by the unit price and then adds the basic fee, or an expression that represents a stepped flat rate.

[0091] 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the usage-based performance management table 136. The usage-based performance management table 136 shows the usage results (usage-based performance) that are subject to calculation according to the usage-based calculation rules for the licenses held by the segment, as well as the budget for paying the usage fees calculated according to the usage-based calculation rules.

[0092] The records in the usage-based performance management table 136 have the same structure as the records in the usage-based calculation rule management table 135. However, the values ​​in the records (records with record numbers 2 to 6) indicating usage-based performance in the usage-based performance management table 136 indicate the usage amount of the target indicated by the target ID, and the units in the records indicating usage-based performance indicate the unit of the usage amount of the target indicated by the target ID.

[0093] Furthermore, since the usage performance indicates the performance of a user, organization, or company using the service, the hierarchy above the service ID in the data type structure includes the user ID, organization ID, and / or company ID that are the users of the service, and the structured ID includes an ID that indicates any of the users, and does not include a regular expression that indicates any user (unlike the structured IDs in records numbered 5 and 6 in the example of Figure 9).

[0094] In the example of Figure 10, the combination of the structured ID "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 1 / Division Name 1 / Section Name 1 / Service ID 2 / User Option B / Per 1000 Tbyte Transfer", value "1.5", and unit "Tbyte" in the record with record number 5 indicates a usage-based performance in which an organization called "Section Name 1" ("Section Name 1" is included in the organization called "Division Name 1", "Division Name 1" is included in the organization called "Location Name 1", and "Location Name 1" is included in the company called "Company Name 1") has a license called "User Option B" that is included in the service called "Service ID 2" and has a base unit of "Per 1000 Tbyte Transfer", and has used the service corresponding to the license for "1.5" and "Tbyte". The compensation for the usage-based performance is paid according to the budget and payment method indicated in the record with record number 1 that has a structured ID indicating the same segment structure.

[0095] Therefore, by comparing the usage-based results indicated by the usage-based results management table 136 with the usage-based calculation rules indicated by the usage-based calculation rule management table 135, the price that is the subject of usage-based calculation can be calculated.

[0096] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the report evidence management table 137. The report evidence management table 137 shows evidence related to billing and payment for the fee for holding a segment license.

[0097] The records in the report evidence management table 137 have the same structure as the records in the service provision conditions management table 134. However, at the end of the unit of records indicating budgets in the report evidence management table 137, a status related to payment of fees is assigned, and at the end of the unit of records indicating licenses in the report evidence management table 137, a status related to billing of fees is assigned.

[0098] For example, the records indicating the licenses with record numbers 2 and 3 have " / invoice" appended to the end of the unit, indicating that the fee for the license has already been invoiced, and the record with record number 1 indicating the fee corresponding to the license has " / completed" appended to the end of the unit, indicating that the fee for the license has been paid. In other words, the licenses with record numbers 2 and 3 are valid.

[0099] 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the service provision segment structure management table 138. The service provision segment structure management table 138 shows the services provided by the service providing device 200, the service provision segments that provide the services, and the segments that include the service provision segments.

[0100] The data type structure in the service provision segment structure management table 138 is such that the segment structure of the service provision segment that provides the service is assigned to a higher level than the service ID that identifies the service. Also, in the service provision segment structure management table 138, the name of the service corresponding to the service ID indicated at the end of the structured ID is stored as a value, and a "character string" is stored as a unit.

[0101] For example, the record with record number 1 in Figure 12 indicates that an organization with a service providing organization ID of "service providing organization ID 1" that is included in a company with a service providing company ID of "service providing company ID 1" has a service ID of "service ID 1" and provides a service named "service name 1."

[0102] 13 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the service profit distribution management table 139. The service profit distribution management table 139 indicates a method for receiving profits obtained as compensation for services provided by the service providing device 200.

[0103] The data type structure of the service profit distribution management table 139 is, for example, a data type structure in the service provision segment structure management table 138, to which a profit distribution ID for identifying a profit distribution rate is added at the end. The profit distribution rate indicated by the profit distribution ID is stored as a value in the service profit distribution management table 139, and the currency unit or point unit for receiving the distributed profit is stored as the unit of the service profit distribution management table 139.

[0104] For example, the record with record number 1 in FIG. 13 indicates that an organization with a service providing organization ID of "service providing organization ID 1" that is included in a company with a service providing company ID of "service providing company ID 1" will receive "80%" of the profits earned as payment for a service with a service ID of "service ID 1" in "dollars."

[0105] For example, if the service profit sharing management table 139 contains a structured ID of "Root / Service Provider Company ID 1 / Service Provider Organization ID 1 / Service ID 1 / Profit Sharing ID 1" and a structured ID of "Root / Service Provider Company ID 1 / Service Provider Organization ID 2 / Service ID 1 / Profit Sharing ID 2," this indicates that the organization with "Service Provider Organization ID 1" and the organization with "Service Provider Organization ID 2" will receive the profit in consideration for the service with "Service ID 1."

[0106] 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a usage-based performance data generation process. Before the process of FIG. 14 starts, a user structure management table 131, a segment structure management table 132, a budget structure management table 133, and a usage-based calculation rule management table 135 are set in advance.

[0107] The budget structure identification function 113 reads the budget structure management table 133 (S1401). The budget structure identification function 113 reads the segment structure management table 132 (S1402). The budget structure identification function 113 reads the usage-based calculation rule management table 135 (S1403). After the processing of step S1403, a series of processes including the processing of steps S1404 to S1407 is repeated.

[0108] The budget structure identification function 113 acquires a terminal access event message or a service operation event message (S1404). The terminal access event message is information indicating that the user terminal 600 has accessed the service providing device 200. The service operation event message is information indicating that the service providing device 200 has performed processing related to a service. The terminal access event message and the service operation event message are included, for example, in a communication packet 700 transmitted and received between the service providing device 200 and the user terminal 600, an operation log of a service executed by the service providing device 200, etc.

[0109] In addition, the terminal access event message and the service operation event message include the user ID of the user terminal 600, the service ID of the service executed by the service providing device 200, and the amount subject to pay-as-you-go calculation provided by the service (e.g., storage capacity, communication volume, number of uploads, etc.).

[0110] The budget structure identification function 113 uses regular expressions to search for a structured ID including a user ID or service ID contained in the terminal access event message or service operation event message from each management table read in steps S1401 to S1403 (S1405).

[0111] For example, in step S1404, the budget structure identification function 113 can search the segment structure management table 132 for a structured ID that includes the user ID, thereby obtaining the segment structure to which the user with the user ID belongs as a search result.

[0112] Also, for example, in step S1404, the budget structure identification function 113 can obtain the user's budget and the organization or company's budget as search results by searching the budget structure management table 133 for a structured ID that includes the user ID and a structured ID that includes the organization ID or company ID of the organization or company included in the segment structure to which the user belongs.

[0113] Also, for example, in step S1404, the budget structure identification function 113 can search the usage-based calculation rule management table 135 for a structured ID that includes the user ID, the organization ID, or the company ID and the service ID, and obtain, as search results, the usage-based calculation rule corresponding to the service, and the budget and payment method for paying the usage-based fee calculated in accordance with the usage-based calculation rule.

[0114] The budget structure identification function 113 generates information necessary for usage-based calculation based on the usage-based calculation rule included in the search result obtained in step S1405 (S1406). Specifically, for example, the budget structure identification function 113 identifies the target of usage-based calculation and the standard of the amount of the target (for example, per 1000 Tbyte transfer) from the target ID of the usage-based calculation rule included in the search result, and obtains the amount of the identified target of usage-based calculation (for example, 1.5 Tbyte) from the terminal access event message or the service operation event message.

[0115] The budget structure identification function 113 writes information to the usage-based performance management table 136 (S1407). Specifically, for example, the budget structure identification function 113 writes a data type structure, a structured ID, a value, and a unit corresponding to the budget and payment method for paying the usage-based fee included in the search result to the usage-based performance management table 136. Furthermore, for example, the budget structure identification function 113 writes a data type structure and a structured ID corresponding to the usage-based calculation rule included in the search result to the usage-based performance management table 136, and writes the identified target amount of usage-based calculation (e.g., 1.5 Tbytes) and the unit of the identified standard (e.g., Tbytes included per 1,000 Tbytes transferred) as a value and a unit in the usage-based performance management table 136.

[0116] In addition, if a record corresponding to the budget and payment method for paying the pay-as-you-go fee included in the search results already exists in the pay-as-you-go actual performance management table 136, the budget structure identification function 113, for example, does not write out a record related to the budget and payment method.

[0117] In addition, if a record containing a data type structure and structured ID corresponding to the usage-based calculation rule included in the search results already exists in the usage-based actual management table 136, the budget structure identification function 113 adds the amount of the identified usage-based calculation target to the value in that record.

[0118] By the processing of Figure 14, the service management device 100 can identify the segment structure, budget, and pay-as-you-go calculation rule associated with the user ID or service from the terminal access event message and service operation event message indicating the user ID or service ID, and calculate the pay-as-you-go calculation results.

[0119] For example, the budget structure identification function 113 may suspend the service if it detects fraudulent or unauthorized use from a terminal access event message or a service operation event message. Specifically, for example, if a segment included in the segment structure to which the user ID indicated in the terminal access event message or the service operation event message belongs does not have a license for the service ID indicated in the terminal access event message or the service operation event message (this can be determined from the service provision condition management table 134), it determines that fraudulent or unauthorized use has occurred and suspends the license held by the user with that user ID (specifically, for example, it deletes a record in the service provision condition management table 134 that indicates a license whose structured ID includes that user ID).

[0120] 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the authentication management process. Before the process of FIG. 15 starts, a user structure management table 131, a segment structure management table 132, a budget structure management table 133, and a service provision condition management table 134 are set in advance.

[0121] The service provision condition management function 115 reads the budget structure management table 133 (S1501). The service provision condition management function 115 reads the user structure management table 131 (S1502). The service provision condition management function 115 reads the segment structure management table 132 (S1503). The service provision condition management function 115 reads the service provision condition management table 134 (S1504).

[0122] The service provision condition management function 115 acquires a terminal access request or an online activation request (S1505). The terminal access request is information indicating that the user terminal 600 has requested access to the service providing device 200. The online activation request is information indicating that the user terminal 600 has requested the service providing device 200 to activate a service provided by the service providing device 200. The terminal access request or the online activation request is included in, for example, a communication packet 700 transmitted from the user terminal 600 to the service providing device 200.

[0123] The terminal access request and the online activation request also include the user ID of the user terminal 600 and the service ID of the service to be activated that can be provided by the service providing apparatus 200. The terminal access request and the online activation request are both examples of an authentication request for the user terminal 600.

[0124] The service provision condition management function 115 searches each management table read in steps S1501 to S1504 using regular expressions to determine whether the user indicated in the access request or online activation request is authorized to access or online activate the service indicated in the request (S1506).

[0125] For example, in step S1506, the service provision condition management function 115 can search the segment structure management table 132 for a structured ID that includes the user ID, thereby obtaining the segment structure to which the user with the user ID belongs as a search result.

[0126] Also, for example, in step S1506, the service provision condition management function 115 can obtain the user's budget and the organization or company's budget as search results by searching the budget structure management table 133 for a structured ID that includes the user ID and a structured ID that includes the organization ID or company ID of the organization or company included in the segment structure to which the user belongs.

[0127] Also, for example, in step S1506, the service provision condition management function 115 can search the service provision condition management table 134 for a structured ID that includes the user ID, organization ID, or company ID and the service ID, and obtain as search results the license corresponding to the service for the user, organization, or company, and the required fee to hold the license.

[0128] Furthermore, for example, the service provision condition management function 115 determines that access to or activation of the service indicated by the service ID by the user indicated by the user ID is permitted if the search result includes a license corresponding to the service of the user, organization, or company, and the value of the required consideration corresponding to the license indicated by the search result is less than or equal to the value of a budget searched from the budget structure management table 133 and having the same structured ID as the required consideration, and determines that access or activation is not permitted in any other cases.

[0129] If the service provision condition management function 115 determines that access or activation is permitted (S1507: YES), it permits the access request or online activation request (S1508); if it determines that access or activation is not permitted (S1507: NO), it rejects the access request or online activation request and terminates the authentication request processing.

[0130] By processing FIG. 15, the service management device 100 can identify the segment structure, budget, license, and required fee associated with the user ID or service from an authentication request indicating the user ID or service ID, and determine whether to grant the authentication request.

[0131] In the example of Figure 15, a service ID is included in the authentication request, but if the authentication request does not include a service ID but does include a user ID, the service provision condition management function 115 may identify all services for which the user is permitted to request authentication and present them to the user terminal 600.

[0132] Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of billing processing. Before the processing of Fig. 16 starts, the user structure management table 131, the segment structure management table 132, and the usage-based calculation rule management table 135 are set in advance, and the usage-based actual performance management processing is performed (i.e., the usage-based actual performance management table 136 is set).

[0133] The billing function 118 reads the usage-based actual usage management table 136 (S1601). The billing function 118 reads the user structure management table 131 (S1602). The billing function 118 reads the budget structure management table 133 (S1603). The billing function 118 reads the usage-based calculation rule management table 135 (S1604).

[0134] The billing function 118 calculates the billing amount for the usage-based performance based on the record indicating the usage-based performance indicated in the usage-based performance management table 136 and the usage-based performance rule indicated in the usage-based performance rule management table 135 (S1605). Specifically, for example, the billing function 118 acquires the structured ID, value, and unit in the record indicating the usage-based performance in the usage-based performance management table 136, acquires the record indicating the usage-based performance corresponding to the acquired structured ID from the usage-based performance rule management table 135, and calculates the billing amount for the usage-based performance based on the value and unit and the value and unit indicated in the record indicating the usage-based performance.

[0135] The billing function 118 identifies the segment structure indicated by the structured ID in the record indicating the usage actual performance in the usage actual performance management table 136 and the segment structure indicated by the structured ID in the record indicating the budget in the usage actual performance management table 136 (S1606).

[0136] For usage results that have a budget that matches the segment structure identified in step S1606 (S1607: YES), the billing function 118 bills the calculated fee to the budget of the identified segment structure, and the reporting function 121 writes a record related to the license to be billed, a record related to the budget of the billing destination, the billing amount, etc. to the report evidence management table 137, and ends the billing process. Note that the billing details and payment details for the fee may be recorded in the blockchain.

[0137] 10, the segment structure indicated by the structured ID in the records indicating the usage-based performance with record numbers 2 and 3 consists only of "Company Name 1," and the segment structure indicated by the structured ID in the record indicating the budget with record number 1 also consists only of "Company Name 1." Therefore, the billing function 118 bills for payment of the payment for the usage-based performance indicated by the records with record numbers 2 and 3 in accordance with the budget and payment method indicated by the record with record number 1.

[0138] For usage results for which there is no budget that matches the segment structure identified in step S1606 (S1607: NO), the reporting function 121 identifies a budget from the budget structure management table 133 that has a segment structure that corresponds to the segment structure of the usage results, and generates a detailed report that charges the calculated fee for the identified budget (S1609).

[0139] Specifically, for example, in the example of the usage-based performance management table 136 in Figure 10, the segment structure indicated by the structure ID in the record indicating the usage-based performance with record number 4 is "Company Name 1 / Location Name 1," and there is no record that has a structure ID with a segment structure of "Company Name 1 / Location Name 1" and indicates a budget. On the other hand, the budget structure management table 133 in Figure 7 has a record (record with record number 2) that has a structure ID with a segment structure of "Company Name 1 / Location Name 1," and the budget indicated by this structure ID is "Location Budget." Therefore, the billing function 118 generates a detailed report that bills for payment of the payment for the usage-based performance indicated by the record with record number 4 in the example of the usage-based performance management table 136 in Figure 10 in accordance with the budget and payment method indicated in the budget structure management table 133 in Figure 7.

[0140] The reporting function 121 writes the billing details allocated in step S1609 to the report evidence management table 137 (S1610). The billing function 118 issues a statement according to the lump-sum billing and budget structure (S1611), and ends the billing process.

[0141] By the process of FIG. 16, the service management apparatus 100 can calculate the fee for the usage-based performance based on the usage-based performance, the usage-based calculation rule, and the budget structure, and allocate the fee for billing.

[0142] Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of profit distribution processing. Before the processing of Fig. 17 starts, the service profit distribution management table 139 is set in advance, and records related to the invoice for the license in the report evidence management table 137 are generated.

[0143] The profit distribution function 120 reads the service profit distribution management table 139 (S1701). The profit distribution function 120 reads the report evidence management table 137 (S1702). The profit distribution function 120 calculates the profit distribution amount to the service provider based on the billing details indicated in the report evidence management table 137 and the distribution rate indicated in the service profit distribution management table 139 (S1703).

[0144] Specifically, for example, the profit distribution function 120 identifies the service ID included in the structured ID corresponding to the claimed license indicated in the report evidence management table 137 and the budget value for paying the fee for the claimed license indicated in the report evidence management table 137.

[0145] Furthermore, for example, the profit distribution function 120 identifies the service provider to which the profit of the service ID will be distributed and the distribution rate of the profit (which may be the fee itself or a specified percentage of the fee) from the service profit distribution management table 139, and calculates the profit to be distributed to the identified service provider.

[0146] Once payment has been made for the invoice, the reporting function 121 writes to the report evidence management table 137 that payment for the invoice has been completed, and the profit distribution function 120 distributes the profit from the invoice to the service provider in accordance with the distribution amount calculated in step S1703 (S1704), thereby completing the profit distribution process.

[0147] In addition, if the unit (currency or points) used to pay the fee indicated in the report evidence management table 137 is different from the unit for receiving the distributed profit indicated in the service profit distribution management table 139, for example, the currency linking function 111 converts the amount of the unit used to pay the fee into the unit for receiving the distributed profit, calculates the distribution amount, and distributes the converted distribution amount to the service provider.

[0148] By the process of FIG. 17, the service management device 100 can appropriately distribute the profits obtained by providing the service to the service provider.

[0149] In addition, the service management device 100 of this embodiment can flexibly respond to user changes, user transfers, license transfers, etc. by managing user structure, segment structure, budget structure, service provision conditions, etc. using the various management tables described above.

[0150] For example, when the service management device 100 receives an instruction to change a user with "user ID 1" to a user with "user ID 3," it changes the portion of "user ID 1" included in the structured IDs of the segment structure management table 132, the budget structure management table 133, the service provision conditions management table 134, and the usage-based calculation rule management table 135 to "user ID 3." As a result, the services and budgets that were available to the user with "user ID 1" become available to the user with "user ID 3."

[0151] Furthermore, for example, when the service management device 100 receives a notification indicating that a user with "user ID 1," who belongs to an organization whose hierarchical structure is defined as "company name 1 / base name 1 / department name 1 / section name 1," has been transferred to an organization whose hierarchical structure is defined as "company name 1 / base name 2 / department name 2 / section name 2," the service management device 100 changes the portion of the structured ID, such as "company name 1 / base name 1 / department name 1 / section name 1 / user ID 1," to "company name 1 / base name 2 / department name 2 / section name 2 / user ID 1" in the segment structure management table 132, the budget structure management table 133, the service provision condition management table 134, and the usage-based calculation rule management table 135. As a result, the user with "user ID 1" can continue to use the licenses and budgets associated with the user with "user ID 1" after the transfer, but the licenses associated with the organization to which the user with "user ID 1" belonged before the transfer become unavailable after the transfer.

[0152] Also, for example, when the service management device 100 receives an instruction to transfer 30 of the 100 licenses defined by "Service ID 1 / Gift Campaign A" held by the organization "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 1" to the organization "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 2," the service management device 100 changes the value of the structured ID "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 1 / Service ID 1 / Gift Campaign A" in the service provision condition management table 134 to "70" (=100-30), and adds a record with the structured ID "Root / Company Name 1 / Location Name 2 / Service ID 1 / Gift Campaign A," the value "30," and the unit "book" to the service provision condition management table 134.

[0153] Furthermore, for example, when the service management device 100 receives a notification indicating that the user with "user ID 1" is resigning (i.e., an instruction to delete the user), it deletes records including a structured ID that includes "user ID 1" from the user structure management table 131, the segment structure management table 132, and the budget structure management table 133, deletes records including a structured ID that includes "user ID 1" in the service provision condition management table 134 or deletes " / user ID 1" included in the structured ID (i.e., the license is transferred to the organization to which "user ID 1" belongs), and deletes " / user ID 1" from structured IDs including "user ID 1" in the usage-based calculation rule management table 135 and the usage-based actual management table 136 (i.e., the billing for usage-based fees is taken over to the organization to which "user ID 1" belongs).

[0154] In addition, the information expressed using the structured ID in the above example may be expressed using any structured data using a nested structure such as XML (Extensible Markup Language) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) or a Key-Value data structure.

[0155] In addition, to perform even more complex identification, a prefix (pillow identification information) may be added to the identifier included in the structured ID, thereby enabling even more complex structure management using an identification structure one level deeper.

[0156] In this embodiment, a process for discounting the price based on a predetermined rule performed by the service management device 100 will be described. Differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and descriptions of similarities to the first embodiment will be omitted in principle.

[0157] A first example of discounting the fee will be described. In the first example, when multiple different organizations belonging to the same company hold licenses for the same service, the fees for the service are discounted for the multiple organizations. In other words, when multiple records indicating licenses in the service provision condition management table 134 have the same service ID included in the structured ID, the same company ID in the segment structure indicated by the structured ID, and different organization IDs in the segment structure, the services related to the licenses indicated by the multiple records will be subject to a discount.

[0158] For example, the usage-based calculation rule management function 117 identifies the license that is eligible for the discount from the service provision condition management table 134, and adds a record indicating a structured ID similar to the structured ID indicating the license and a predetermined discount amount to the usage-based calculation rule management table 135. This makes it possible to define a rule for the discount in the usage-based calculation rule management table 135, and to realize a discount on services provided to multiple different organizations belonging to the same company.

[0159] Furthermore, the billing amount may be calculated taking the discount into consideration during billing processing without defining rules regarding the discount in the usage-based calculation rule management table 135. For example, during billing processing, the billing function 118 may search for the license eligible for the discount described above from the service provision conditions management table 134, and use the value obtained by subtracting a predetermined discount amount from the billing amount calculated in step S1605 as the billing amount for the discounted service.

[0160] In this way, by offering a discount when the same service is used by different organizations of the same company, it is possible to promote the introduction of the service and prevent cancellation of the introduced service.

[0161] A second example of discounting the fee will be described. In the second example, when multiple different affiliated companies hold licenses for the same service, a discount is applied to the fees for the service for the multiple companies. For example, the service management device 100 can identify affiliated companies by having a table that manages groups consisting of the company IDs of the multiple affiliated companies. When the service ID included in the structured ID is the same among multiple records indicating licenses in the service provision condition management table 134, and the company IDs in the segment structure indicated by the structured ID are affiliated companies, the services related to the licenses indicated by the multiple records are subject to a discount.

[0162] The method for realizing a discount on the service fee for the discounted license is the same as that described in Example 1. In this way, by offering a discount when the same service is used by multiple affiliated companies, it is possible to promote the introduction of the service and prevent cancellations of the introduced service.

[0163] A third example of discounting the fee will be described. In this third example, when multiple users of the same organization in the same company who have a specific relationship hold licenses for the same service, the fee for the service is discounted for the multiple users. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the multiple users who have the specific relationship are a pair of a senior user and a novice user.

[0164] For example, the user's age is defined as an attribute in the user structure management table 131, with users aged 60 or older being considered senior users and users aged 25 or younger being considered new users. If two records indicating licenses in the service provision condition management table 134 have the same service ID included in the structured ID, the segment structures indicated by the structured IDs are the same, and the users indicated by the structured IDs are respectively a senior user and a new user (which can be determined from the ages indicated by the attributes in the user structure management table 131), then the services related to the licenses indicated by the two records will be subject to a discount.

[0165] The method for realizing a discount on the service fee for a discounted license is the same as that described in Example 1. In this way, by offering a discount on the fee when multiple users who have a specific relationship with the same organization in the same company use the same service, it is possible to promote the introduction of the service and prevent cancellations of the introduced service.

[0166] A fourth example of discounting the fee will be described. In the fourth example, when multiple users belong to the same group and use the same service at the same time, the fee for the service is discounted for the multiple users.

[0167] For example, the service management device 100 can identify multiple users by having a table that manages groups consisting of the user IDs of multiple users. For example, if access requests for the same service by each of the multiple users with the multiple user IDs are permitted within a predetermined time, the service for each of the multiple users will be subject to a discount.

[0168] The method for realizing a discount on the service fee for a discounted license is the same as that described in the fourth example. Furthermore, even if some of the access requests of the multiple users are permitted, some of the users may not be able to use the service until all of the multiple users are permitted access (i.e., some of the users may be placed in a waiting state for using the service). In this way, by discounting the fee when multiple users use the same service in the same time period, it is possible to promote the introduction of the service and prevent cancellation of the introduced service, and by creating the waiting state described above, it is possible to control the time period during which the service is used.

[0169] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

[0170] Furthermore, the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The above-described configurations, functions, etc. may also be implemented in software, with a processor interpreting and executing a program that implements each function. Information such as the program, table, and file that implements each function can be stored in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD.

[0171] In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines in the product. In reality, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected.

Claims

1. A service management device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory holds segment structure information indicating a mutual structure in which a hierarchical structure is assigned based on inclusion relationships between segments for each segment including companies, organizations, and users, and service provision condition management information indicating a service license and the mutual structure of the segments that hold the license, wherein the processor receives an authentication request indicating a user and service to be authenticated, identifies from the segment structure information a mutual structure including the user indicated by the authentication request, and performs authentication in response to the authentication request based on the service license held by a segment included in the identified mutual structure and the service indicated by the authentication request.

2. A service management device as described in claim 1, wherein the service provision condition management information indicates a budget for a segment using the license to utilize the service corresponding to the license, the memory holds budget structure information in which the mutual structure of the segment is added to the budget held by each of the segments, and the processor compares the budget corresponding to the service indicated by the authentication request in the service provision condition management information with the budget indicated by the budget structure information held by the segment included in the identified mutual structure, and performs authentication in response to the authentication request.

3. A service management device as described in claim 1, wherein the memory holds usage-based calculation rule management information indicating a license for the service, the mutual structure of the segments holding the license, and usage-based calculation rules which are rules for calculating a fee based on the usage of the service, and the processor acquires a message indicating a service, a user who has used the service, and the usage amount of the service, identifies from the usage-based calculation rule management information a usage-based calculation rule corresponding to the mutual structure including the user indicated by the message and the service indicated by the message, and calculates a fee based on the usage amount of the service based on the usage amount indicated by the message and the identified usage-based calculation rule.

4. A service management device as described in claim 3, wherein the memory holds budget structure information in which the mutual structure of the segment is added to the budget held by each of the segments, and the processor charges the calculated fee against the budget indicated by the budget structure information held by the segment included in the mutual information including the user indicated by the message.

5. A service management device as described in claim 3, wherein the memory holds service profit distribution management information indicating an organization that will receive profits obtained from the service and a distribution rate of the profits obtained from the service, and the processor refers to the service profit distribution management information to identify an organization that will receive a service corresponding to the calculated consideration, and calculates the profit to be distributed to the identified organization based on the consideration and the distribution rate corresponding to the service and the identified organization in the service profit distribution management information.

6. A service management device as described in claim 5, wherein the memory holds information indicating a payment currency in which the consideration is paid and a receiving currency in which the distributed profit is received, and the processor converts the payment currency of the paid consideration into the receiving currency and distributes the profit to the identified organization.

7. A service management device as described in claim 3, wherein the processor detects fraudulent use or unauthorized use based on an interactive structure including a user indicated by the message, a service indicated by the message, and a license service corresponding to the interactive structure indicated by the service provision condition management information, and when the processor detects the fraudulent use or unauthorized use, deletes information regarding the license held by the user indicated by the message from the service provision condition management information.

8. A service management device as described in claim 1, wherein the processor accepts an instruction to change a first user to a second user, and changes the first user included in the mutual structure in the segment structure information and the first user included in the mutual structure in the service provision condition management information to the second user.

9. A service management device as described in claim 1, wherein the processor: accepts an instruction to register information indicating that a first segment holds a license for a first service in the service provision condition management information; identifies from the segment structure information a segment that is located at a higher level than the first segment in a mutual structure including the first segment; and rejects the instruction if it determines based on the service provision condition management information that the identified segment holds a license for the first service.

10. A service management device as described in claim 1, wherein the memory holds information indicating a group of multiple users, and the processor, even if authentication is successful in response to an authentication request received from some of the multiple users, keeps the some of the multiple users in a waiting state to use the service until authentication is successful in response to authentication requests received from all of the multiple users.

11. A service management device as described in claim 1, wherein the memory holds budget structure information in which the mutual structure of each of the segments is added to the budget held by each of the segments, and the processor, when receiving an instruction indicating the segment from which the budget is to be loaned, the segment to which the budget is to be loaned, and the amount to be loaned, subtracts the amount of the loan from the budget of the segment from which the budget is to be loaned in the budget structure information, and adds the mutual structure of the segment to which the budget is to be loaned and the amount of the loan to the budget structure information.

12. A service management method using a service management device, the service management device having a processor and a memory, the memory holding: segment structure information indicating a mutual structure in which a hierarchical structure is assigned based on inclusion relationships between segments for each segment including companies, organizations, and users; and service provision condition management information indicating a service license and the mutual structure of the segments that hold the license, the service management method comprising: the processor receives an authentication request indicating a user and service to be authenticated, the processor identifies from the segment structure information a mutual structure including the user indicated by the authentication request, and the processor performs authentication in response to the authentication request based on the service license held by a segment included in the identified mutual structure and the service indicated by the authentication request.

Images