Image courtesy of Compuware, Inc. |
Compuware continues to add to
and extend its mainframe solutions as it advances in its campaign to mainstream
the mainframe. This time with two major innovations that help their customers
preserve, advance and protect their mainframe investments.
Before we get into the
innovations, we want to mention Electric Cloud, a new partner, who proactively
integrated their service through the Compuware open API. This is the latest
example of how Compuware takes an open borders approach where they integrate
with a variety of solutions to help customers build out their DevOps
toolchains.
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Now, onto the announcements. First, a new product, Compuware zAdviser.
It leverages machine learning and intelligent analysis for continuous mainframe
DevOps improvements. This new capability provides development managers with
multi-level analysis of tool usage and performance data. They focus on the
critical DevOps KPI’s (key performance indicators) of application quality,
development team efficiency and velocity. All are also key to agile
development. Even better, the product is free to Compuware customers.
Second, is a new GUI for Compuware’s ThruPut Manager, which provides
intuitive, actionable insight into how batch jobs are being initiated and
executed, as well as their impact on cost. Users can leverage graphical
visualizations of batch jobs that are waiting to execute and when they might run.
In-depth detail on why a job has been waiting can also be easily obtained.
zAdviser
+ KPIs + Measurement = Success
Mainframe KPIs are a must if organizations want to successfully compete
in the digital age. After all, you can’t improve what you can’t measure and if
you’re not continuously improving, you are wasting your time and worse, your
customers’ time. Teams must also be able to prioritize and measure the KPIs
that will directly impact development and business outcomes.
A Forrester
Consulting study conducted on behalf of Compuware found that over 70% of
firms responding had critical customer-facing services reliant on mainframe
operations. Providing the customer with an exceptional experience, not
simply good, clean code, has become the new measure of operational success.
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Compuware zAdviser uses machine-learning to identify patterns that
impact quality, velocity and efficiency of mainframe development by exposing
correlations between a customer’s Compuware product usage and the KPIs.
Equipped with empirical data, IT leadership can identify what capabilities
within the tools developers can exploit to become better developers. The day of beating the drum to go faster are
long gone with the machine learning.
ThruPut
Manager: Visualization for Batch Execution
Compuware’s ThruPut Manager brought automated optimization to batch
processing. ThruPut Manager allocates resource decisions by balancing the needs
of multiple interested parties. It involves cost-benefit tradeoffs between
risks and costs, such as risking SLA (service level agreement) violations of
timely service delivery to avoid a costly increase in software MLC (monthly
license cost) charges.
Compuware reports
that batch processing jobs account for about 50% of mainframe workloads!
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ThruPut Manager’s new web interface provides operations staff with a
visual representation of intelligible information of the cost/benefit tradeoffs
as they work to optimize workload timing and resource performance.
In combination with Compuware Strobe, ops staff can more easily
identify potential issues. They can manage and balance competing metrics
relating to cost, resource allocation, service policies and customer interests
to make the best decisions for optimizing the workloads, as well as application
performance.
A big part of ThruPut Manager’s advantage is the multiple drill-down
views it provides. Starting with an overview, which displays data about the
General Services and Productions Services queue, users can drill down to a
detailed view of specific job data and job history, as well as where work is
getting selected. The GUI also collects and displays the R4HA information for
the last eight hours. And, if the Automated Capacity Management feature is
constraining less important workload to mitigate the R4HA, this will be
displayed on the graph.
The
Final Word
Mainframe workloads continue to increase even as experts steadily leave
the workforce and responsibilities shift to mainframe-inexperienced staff.
Organizations must constantly work to modernize mainframe environments and
remove impediments to innovation to not only increase their business agility,
but also attract a new generation of staff to the platform.
Compuware zAdviser provides concrete data that allows mainframe staff
to link the results of actions taken to improve performance based on KPI measurements.
DevOps management and staff have access to intelligible, visual information on
the impact of those changes in detail.
Compuware ThruPut Manager provides much needed clarity and insight to
fine-tune batch execution for optimal value easing budget stresses while
fulfilling business imperatives.
These products provide strong evidence of Compuware’s ability to create
innovative ways to identify and resolve challenges in mainframe development,
management and operations that have long been barriers to its wider use. The
entire team deserves a salute for their 14th consecutive quarter of
very agile delivery of solutions that are driving the mainframe more and more
into the mainstream of 21st century computing. Congratulations once
again for your efforts.