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.