Patent ID: 8237941

Claim:
An image formation system comprising: a managing unit that manages both information on image forming functions of each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and information on a virtual device having one or more image forming functions realized by cooperatively using one or more of the image forming functions from the plurality of image forming apparatuses; a reception unit that accepts an instruction that designates an application program to be installed and an apparatus that is an installation destination of the application program; a determining unit that determines whether or not the application program to be installed operates on the apparatus that is the installation destination based on the functions that are managed by said managing unit; and a selecting unit that, according to a result of the determination, displays an apparatus as an installation destination for installing the application program and an installation method, to allow a user to select the apparatus as the installation destination and the installation method, and wherein the selecting unit displays an installation method of installing the designated application program in another image forming apparatus which is not designated and is different from the designated image forming apparatus, in a case where the installation destination of the application program is a single image forming apparatus, and wherein the selecting unit displays an installation method to realize a function equivalent to the designated application program by installing a specific application in an image forming apparatus having a specific image forming function in a case where the installation destination of the application program is a virtual device, and wherein the image forming apparatus being the virtual device.