As the leading worldwide users of Computer Associates' Advantage Repository for Distributed Systems (CAARDS), various teams at Old Mutual are aware of the benefits of using this powerful tool.
Old Mutual's philosophy of utilising existing software whenever possible meant that when the company's Enterprise Data Warehousing (EDW) department needed to upgrade its systems development-related meta data storage capacity, CAARDS was their point of departure.
Says Ann Garrett, the Project Manager involved in this initiative: "The EDW team experienced a need to couple our existing meta data storage capability with added functionality, and that created a real documentation challenge. CAARDS provided us with an excellent facility allowing access to documentation in a structured and controlled manner."
With more than 220 000 "objects", including programs, JCLs, rules and copybooks needing to be stored in the new warehouse, it was no easy task to pull everything together.
Says Garrett: "Old Mutual is quite a forward-thinking organisation in terms of meta data, but it is also such a big organisation and has so many different tools. Initially CAARDS was used to bolster the meta data dimension of information architecture, and was predominantly aimed at our impact assessment model. CAARDS is serving a very important role in that space, and we have made good progress."
CA's change control product, Harvest, played a vital role in the migration process and it was mandatory for everything to go through Harvest before being placed in the repository.
Says Garrett: "By implementing Harvest and coupling it with the CAARDS repository, we achieved a certain amount of control at a meta data level. We don't claim to have cracked the meta data problem, and we are still trying to tidy up aspects of it, but the combination of the technology selected and the processes implemented have laid a good foundation for the future. The challenge will be to ensure these processes become common practice throughout systems development at Old Mutual."
Says Sue Dods, account manager at CA: "Like all CA products, CAARDS and Harvest are structured around ITIL best practice guidelines. ITIL competency is essential for helping customers evolve and refine their service management strategies, as required to meet the escalating challenges of an increasingly fluid and complex technology environment. This becomes even more essential in an organisation as large and customer-centric as Old Mutual."
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