Features - Enterprise Data Insights:

CA'S UNICENTER FOR IMS HELPS REDUCE COST AND COMPLEXITY

Computer Associates International Inc.,-CA- announced Unicenter Database Management Solutions for IMS for z/OS and OS/390 Release 4.3. This new product and enhancements will improve performance, data availability and DBA productivity, and reduce the complexity and cost of managing IMS database environments.

Increasing reliance on information services, sustained expansion of eBusiness initiatives and other factors are causing companies' mainframe databases to continue growing in size and activity. This places greater demand on database availability, performance and recoverability.

CA's Unicenter Database Management Solutions for IMS for z/OS and OS/390 release 4.3 is a direct response to this pressing need. The product set comprises three integrated suites -- Unicenter Database Performance Management, Unicenter Database Backup and Recovery, and Unicenter Database Administration -- that help customers more effectively manage their IMS environments, including IMS 7.1 database types, and better leverage their production systems to support eBusiness. A new information repository improves a DBA's ability to recognize trends based on historical data collected by the products in these suites.

"The health of our customers' mainframe environments directly impacts the health of their businesses," said Richard Bolesta, brand manager for database management, CA. "With the release of Unicenter Database Management Solutions for IMS for z/OS and OS/390 Release 4.3, CA has again proven that we are focused on delivering the advanced technology our customers need to optimize performance, maximize DBA productivity, and quickly recover from business interruption."

Unicenter Database Performance Management Suite for IMS

The Unicenter Database Performance Management suite for IMS increases database performance and availability through information analysis and bottleneck prevention. Enhancements include increased data availability through online reorganization of databases shared by multiple IMS systems, additional reports for detection of performance problems, and self-tuning reloads that reduce reorganization processing time and maximize data availability. A new product, Unicenter Prefix Resolution for IMS for z/OS and OS/390, increases IMS data availability by rapidly reestablishing the connections between logically related IMS databases after a reorganization or recovery.

Unicenter Database Backup and Recovery

Unicenter Database Backup and Recovery suite for IMS takes the guesswork out of IMS backup and recovery by reducing the time to backup and recover critical IMS production data. Enhancements include "point-in-time" recovery support that automates restoration of databases to a specific time before a malfunction or other problem occurred. A new product, Unicenter Change Accumulation, consolidates changes from IMS logs, ensures data availability and speeds the recovery of IMS databases by eliminating unnecessary updates during recovery.

"New functionality such as point-in-time recovery and Unicenter Change Accumulation add a lot of value by giving us the ability to pick the best time for recovery of our critical data," said Steve Potkonjak, team leader for IMS systems at St. George Bank Limited, the fifth largest bank in Australia. "The increased performance we've been able to achieve with CA's enhanced utilities has also enabled us to minimize our maintenance windows, which means we can maximize access to our critical IMS data."

Unicenter Database Administration

The Unicenter Database Administration suite for IMS automates and simplifies database administration tasks. Enhancements include automatic index rebuilding during reorganization and recovery, and HDSORT file pre-processing. This extended functionality is designed to increase data availability, reduce DBA workload and expedite loads.

About Computer Associates

Computer Associates International. Inc., delivers software that manages eBusiness. CA's world-class solutions address all aspects of eBusiness management through industry-leading brands:

Unicenter for infrastructure management, eTrust for security management, BrightStor for storage management, CleverPath for portal and business intelligence, AllFusion for application life cycle management, Advantage for data management and application development, and Jasmine for object-oriented database technology.

Founded in 1976, CA serves organizations in more than 100 countries, including 99 percent of the Fortune 500 companies.

For more information, visit ca.com.