Initial situation
The company previously used the CA Spool solution as a central control point for output management. It was used to centralize the company-wide print and output management in the z/OS environment across locations and platforms. CA Spool was called up by a COBOL program and sent the mainframe print data onto Canon’s workflow and output management PRISMAproduction server via JES3 – a powerful overall system, but one that was characterized by high costs and, most recently, a lack of German-language support.
The Challenge
The goal was to make the data center operation even more efficient and to save costs. Therefore, the company’s management started looking for an alternative mainframe output management solution. They found what they were looking for at Beta Systems, the European specialist for data center software, and its _beta doc|z software.
Bedag faced the particular challenge of being able to control output dynamically based on different sysout classes. For this, the _beta doc|z CICS interface had to be linked to the COBOL programs used at Bedag. Due to many links in the system, this was technically very demanding. And it also had to be done quickly due to critical time constraints.
CICS (Customer Information Control System) is a transaction monitor from IBM for imple-menting OLTP applications. CICS commands are often used in conjunction with COBOL. The CICS interface allows programs running in IBM’s Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) operating system to call other programs in a CICS environment.
Implementation of _beta doc|z (output management) at Bedag Informatik
Output Management Bedag Informatik: Bedag has set up two _beta doc|z instances. They can now be used to print and layout payroll, court, and other documents 1:1 as they are generated by the mainframe. All lists and documents are created from the CICS environment and transferred to _beta doc|z – a high-performance output printing solution that also features user-friendly interfaces.
For Bedag’s customers, for example, tax offices and other public institutions, this makes operation particularly easy. They receive payslips, delinquency letters, etc. in exactly the output format they need.
Solution
We are really pleased with the implementation,” says Andreas Meyer, Senior Manager of Platform Management. ” We now have a fully functional Output Management solution that is also very attractively priced compared to the previous CA Spool.
Costs, benefits, and support are really in a very good ratio here.” As a further step for the future, the IT service provider plans to make files available for file transfer from the output management system to external service providers.
