Helping Customers Embrace the Future Changes in Information Technology

1. Helping Customers Embrace the Future Changes in Information Technology Neville Kroeger SMA

2. Food for thought…. “I'm in favor of progress; it's change I don't like.” Mark Twain

3. SMA – Company Background • Founded in 1980 • Privately owned • Staffing:- • 50 in the USA, primarily at Corporate Office in Houston • 7 at SMA France • 4 at SMA Switzerland • 3 in S. Korea • 1 in the U.K., 1 temporarily in India • Focused on Automated Solutions to Customer problems

4. Customers

5. Product Evolution • Customer ‘Issue’ Driven • 1980 – What do I need to run and when? • Paper-based Batch Job Scheduling Solution • Early 1980’s – I can’t keep up! I keep making mistakes! • Fully automated batch job scheduler for OS2200

6. Product Evolution • Early 1990’s – I need to include other platforms! • Delivery of agents for mainframe-based Scheduler • Mid 1990’s – I’m getting rid of my mainframe! • Windows-based replacement for mainframe-based Scheduler

7. Most-requested features • Get rid of ‘24-hour’ processing window • Platform Independence • Scalable • High Availability • Dynamic • Modular workflows • Easy to use • Audit and History

8. OpCon/xps Architecture A G E N T S Manager Monitors Triggers, Initiates Jobs, Checks Constraints, Performs Notifications, etc. Database Agent definitions Job definitions Workflows Triggers Comms Communicates With Agents Notification Rules Current Job Status History Audit

9. Most-requested features • Get rid of ‘24-hour’ processing window • Platform Independence • Scalable • High Availability • Dynamic • Modular workflows • Easy to use • Audit and History

10. Most-requested features • Get rid of ‘24-hour’ processing window • ‘Batch Windows’ were vanishing • Workflows needed to be able to span long periods of time, if required • Workflows needed to be able to overlap seamlessly • The ‘daily build’ process was cumbersome and inefficient

11. Most-requested features • Platform Independence • Need to run tasks on a variety of platforms • The tool needs to operate the same way no matter what platform the individual job runs on • Workflows must be able to contain jobs running on different platforms with seamless dependencies

12. Most-requested features • Scalable • Be able to run tens of thousands of jobs per day • Be able to communicate with hundreds of agents • Cost-effectively…

13. Most-requested features • High Availability • Provide cost-effective fail-over capabilities • Fail-over strategies must be customizable based on site requirements

14. Most-requested features • Dynamic • Add agents ‘on the fly’ • Make ‘one-off’ changes to jobs • Make workflows modifiable while executing • Automatically create workflows and jobs • Provide for Triggers other than date/time or job dependencies

15. Most-requested features • Modular workflows • Maintain workflows independently from each other, with their own ‘privileges’ • Allow interdependencies between workflows • Be able to have multiple, different triggers cause a workflow to be executed.

16. Most-requested features • Easy to use • Graphical views • Familiar environment • Platform-transparent • Be able to operate ‘hands-off’

17. Most-requested features • Audit and History • Who did what, when? • Historical job and workflow information

18. Typical uses • Traditional calendar-based automation • ‘Event-driven’ automation, based on • Notification from another management tool • File arrival • Manual request • Application event • Request from an internal task • Console display • Email • User-developed application

19. OpCon/xps Version 4 • Response to customers’ existing and future needs • Significant new features • Multi-Machine jobs • Nested Workflows • Multi-Instance Workflows • User-definable properties for • Machine, Workflow and Job Instances • Enhanced Web-Browser Interface

20. Technological Changes • Virtualization • Real Time Infrastructure • Flexible, dynamic environments • Increased interaction with ‘business partners’ • Focus on ‘Business Services’ • Service Levels

21. Review…. • What does OpCon/xps provide/do? • Automates IT processes • Provides a single repository for all IT workflows • Enables the execution of jobs within these workflows across ALL platforms (not just Windows and *nix) • Extends the reach of other automation tools across ALL platforms (not just Windows and *nix) • Provides flexible and dynamic triggering of workflows • Provides a single source of audit and history for automated activities as well as any manual over-rides that may have been applied

22. In the context of modern IT.. • Business Service Monitoring • Ensure critical processes are running and available • Ensure that activities complete ‘on-time’ • Dynamically modify the IT environment based on application input • Across all platforms…

23. In the context of modern IT.. • Extend the concept of RTI across all platforms • Manual provisioning requests • Dynamic provisioning • Automatic expiring of virtual machines • Automating virtual test labs • Change processing priorities based on business priorities • Across all platforms…

24. In the context of modern IT.. • Data-Driven Automation • Construct ad-hoc workflows based on data received by an application • With full history and reporting • Across all platforms…

25. In the context of modern IT.. • Metered Storage • Ensure that data is in the right place, at the right time • Across all platforms…

26. In the context of modern IT.. • Run Book Automation • It’s what OpCon/xps does, and has done since 1995… • It doesn’t provide the Run Books, it automates them • This approach provides the greatest flexibility for customers • Across all platforms…

27. OpCon/xps • A proven, mature automation tool that can do the work of many • Today and in the future… • Across all platforms…