So you have all your source code under change control. If it’s under control of ChangeMan ZMF you are in the best hands possible.
But what about all those other datasets? How do you control the changes to the SYS1.PARMLIB? How would you know if an authorized application updated SYS1.LINKLIB? How do you keep changes to SYS1.PROCLIB in step on every image?
It’s not only SYS1.** but what about the configuration datasets for CICS, IMS, DB2 and for Websphere? There are thousands of datasets in our infrastructure that are not under any form of change control other than through the security access controls of RACF, ACF2 or Top Secret.
Of course, secure access control is usually enough but errors do occur and they can go unnoticed for hours, even days before their effects are discovered. This is why you need to put your system files under change control too; but a new kind of change control that meets the dynamic needs of systems programmers and the risk parameters of the business continuity team.
ChangeMan SSM provides real-time tracking of system datasets. The systems programmers choose which ones and report changes as they occur. Changes are noted and stored away in a dataset. In the future, those changes can be reviewed and, if needed, can be restored to their original state through a very simple online interface. Of course, the changes can be propagated to other systems too if they are needed elsewhere, thus making multi-system changes easy.
Find out more information about ChangeMan ZMF and ChangeMan SSM or contact me, gkestler@serena.com.
