As the administrator of BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline, I set up applications, pipelines, associations, flags, and deployment. BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline's deployment process has three phases. The first phase moves the source code from ISPW's internal libraries to the production libraries. Then it performs the implementation phase, and the final phase is the activation phase. The activation phase moves the code and performs DB2 binds if DB2 is involved in the COBOL programs. During the activation phase, if there are any CICS modules, it performs new copies and phasing commands. It actually runs and kicks off those started tasks to handle the activation phase.

I could not compare how BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline has impacted my company positively because when I joined the company, this product was already installed. The organization had switched from Changeman to this product, ISPW, before my arrival, so I could not compare the benefits. BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline is secure and has really tight controls. Nothing can get into production without the proper approvals and following the policies. The developers prefer to use it and are happy with it.

The best feature of BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline that impresses me is the fallback functionality. The fallback functionality impresses me because when developers deploy large releases involving multiple components, such as COBOL programs, underlying copy books, and CICS modules, backing out changes would typically become a nightmare. With ISPW, developers can back out the entire release or entire package. If they deployed 100 components and want to back out everything, they can do so with one function and back out all components without worrying about backing out each individual component. They can back out the entire deployment set, which handles everything and brings them back to the previous versions. Developers can also selectively back out a subset of the deployed components. They also have the ability to revert to not just the most previous version but can go back several versions if they choose to do so. This gives them a lot of flexibility.

The only thing that bothers me about BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline is the screen movement. On the screens, I cannot move to fields easily. I have to put my cursor on the field and tap it to bring focus there, or use the tab key multiple times to get to a field on the screen. This sometimes bothers me. If BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline can improve the UI and user interface on the screens, that would be beneficial. Otherwise, I think the product works well.

I have been using BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline since 2019, which is seven years.

BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline is stable and reliable.

BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline runs on one LPAR, and no matter where someone is in the world, they have to use it on that LPAR. My company does not provide copies of this product on different LPARs. For example, my company has the product installed on one LPAR, let's say SysB. If someone is in India, another country, or another state in the United States and wants to use it, they have to use it on SysB and all log into that. BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline does have a PC version or internet version called Topaz. Again, it has to go to the same SysB and signs into the same SysB TSO and the same LPAR.

I have a very good experience with BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline customer service and technical support. Every time I open a case, I get an immediate response. Sometimes it takes a while for them to provide a solution, but they usually do. They are very responsive.

My company was using Changeman before adopting BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline. Changeman is another version control system that is similar in nature but did not have all the same functionalities that BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline offers. It was limited.

I was not here to see the initial setup of BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline, but I heard it took a while. A team of BMC engineers and developers came and sat with the company staff. It took them considerable time because the company had thousands of programs and underlying components, with DB2 and CICS involved. They had to study everything, take inventory of all the artifacts, and then set up sample applications in the product and test everything. I would assume the initial setup took at least a year.

My company is not currently considering changing to anything else regarding BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline. In the past, the company may have considered other products, but I do not know how many others are available. The only other option is cloud-based, but I do not think the company is going in that direction.

BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline is a solid product that any company can benefit from if they want to have tight control and a standard way of deploying applications into production in a secure manner. This is an excellent product to work with. I give this product a rating of 9.

We do development for our customers and we use Topaz to do backend systems for some Latin American banks. It's for enterprise data. It runs on AWS. I'm working on performance testing to do batch performance tests doing step functions with AWS for processes running through the database.

The enterprise data is mostly for web applications and users are mostly online. There are long-term processes or transactions. The solution helps with a variety of use cases.

Users don't have to pay for on-prem servers. The application is mostly in the cloud. It can be used across many countries. It doesn't matter where you are, you can use the application anywhere, anytime.

The solution does handle large amounts of data. Banking systems always have big data that takes a lot of time to get processed.

Test data management capabilities are good. Sometimes it can be difficult to align with the requirements of the customer as it isn't exactly like transactional data.

It's a very complicated tool.

Sometimes the customer wants better, faster transaction times. They want the solution to move as fast as possible. We're trying to scale and grow our application with more servers to get the level of speed desired. Everything from small processes to big batch processing needs to be faster.

I've been using the solution for three years.

The solution is stable for the most part. Mostly it is stable. Sometimes, if you have a beta version, it's not so stable.

The scalablity is great and it scales well within AWS. You do have to understand the scalability within those systems, and you have to understand the network and how much processing you need, et cetera.

We have thousands of users.

A lot of pipelines are executed during the installation process. The setup can be complex, depending on the parameters and requirements. Each pipeline could take an hour or more to implement. The compiling and testing processes take time. The security requirements and availability of the system are things that need to be considered at the outset.

Maintenance is a big deal in the company I work with. The processes sometimes change from time to time and we need to adjust.

I don't directly deal with the pricing side of the solution.

We use various versions of the solution.

I'd rate the solution overall at a seven out of ten.

Using BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS has greatly improved our database administration tasks. Although we don't test the database before production, we have experienced benefits in disaster recovery situations and capacity management. For instance, when facing capacity issues during peak transaction times, I've been able to quickly allocate additional resources to ensure smooth operations. This has been crucial, especially during times when the demand surges, such as peak flight hours.

BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it. With IMS, recovery meant reloading the last transaction backup to restore databases quickly during downtime. It has been effective, ensuring minimal disruption and enabling smooth operations even during recovery events.

One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution. As someone involved in managing infrastructure, understanding the steps and terminology around disaster recovery is crucial for effectively rebuilding the business after a disaster.

Within our company, which has many thousands of employees, the data management team, including project managers and other roles, typically consists of around 50 people.

I would rate the support as an eight out of ten.

Setting up IMS with BMC's data management solutions is straightforward, but it requires collaboration across different parts of the business to understand critical data and recovery needs. It involves imagining scenarios and planning for disaster recovery, ensuring that essential data and operations can be restored efficiently in case of a disaster. The number of people maintaining the solution varies depending on the enterprise size, but typically it ranges from five to ten individuals.

From my perspective as an infrastructure guy, the most valuable aspect of BMC's data management solutions was their ability to optimize CPU cycles, improving IMS performance without directly impacting the database. This helped ensure smoother operations and faster transaction processing without significant changes to the underlying data structures.

I wouldn't recommend this product over others without considering individual business needs. For a small company, an SQL solution might be more suitable. The choice between BMC and other solutions depends on factors like support and budget availability. Overall, I would rate BMC Data Management as an eight out of ten.

We use the solution clone test files.

The product has made our mainframe data management process easier. It has helped us save manhours. The tool's most valuable feature is the ability to edit tape files. Its ability to clone files is beneficial in application development.

We plan to replace BMC Compuware File-AID due to its price. Two years back, we paid 11,000 dollars. However, the current price is 27,900 dollars. The price has increased to at least eight times its initial cost. We would need to pay around 60,000 dollars to have all three products together. We also encountered issues during version updates.

I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten.

BMC Compuware File-AID is scalable.

The tool's deployment is simple.

We have seen ROI with the tool's use.

I rate the product an eight out of ten.