Education Archives

1. What databases does Opswise Managed File Transfer support?
This is just one of the areas that Opswise Managed File Transfer helps you keep TCO down verses other solutions. There is no requirement to purchase and support a third party database.

The Opswise Managed File Transfer database is maintained automatically so there is no need for additional resources for database administration. This is a huge benefit compared to other solutions that require additional hardware and software driving TCO much higher.

2. What operating systems and hardware are supported?
Opswise Managed File Transfer was designed for the enterprise so we support all the major operating systems including legacy. You are a large enterprise organization, which is a perfect fit.

3. What protocols does Opswise Managed File Transfer support?
Opswise Managed File Transfer provides its own proprietary protocol over TCP/IP and can be implemented in such a way to support all other protocols for cross-domain transfers inside and outside the organization. Want to bring value to your organization? Consolidate the number of solutions you currently have down to one flexible solution and show an ROI within the first year.

4. What reporting is available out of the box?
Opswise Managed File Transfer provides the ability to dump or archive the database to various formats such as XML so 3rd party report writers can be utilized. Your specific business needs can be met with this kind of flexibility. You decide which information is of most value to you.

5. What if I need a custom report?
Opswise Managed File Transfer provides the ability to dump or archive the database to various formats such as XML so 3rd party report writers can be utilized. Your specific business needs can be met with this kind of flexibility. You decide which information is of most value to you.

6) How do I address ad-hoc file transfer in Opswise Managed File Transfer?
Opswise Managed File Transfer provides internal, cross-domain, and ad-hoc file transfer capabilities. Ad-hoc is handled via a web-based application, which is offered as software as a service or can be part of the internal on-site version. All provide central monitoring and management, policy enforcement and audit and logging capabilities.

7) Can you use your product for email attachments?
Often times there are file size limits and security concerns when using email as a method to exchange data. This is where Opswise Managed File Transfer fits in. By moving data with the web-based application Scribbos, data is moved within a secure manner regardless of size ensuring corporate requirements are met.

8) Does Opswise Managed File Transfer provide failover?
Yes. Opswise Managed File Transfer is designed for enterprise environments with fault tolerance in mind so that your business keeps running even through difficult times.

9) Can it handle large files? What is the file size limit?
There is no file size limit; in fact built in options help you ensure you meet your business needs when transferring very large amounts of data. You decide what is most important, time or resource utilization.

10) Do you provide central logging and management?
Yes. Real-time and history information is available to business stakeholders ensuring visibility throughout the organization.

11) How about alerts?
Yes, alerts are available from a central activity monitor and also as alert messages on the system so that automation can be built around the alert. This gives you proactive monitoring so business is not interrupted.

12) Can I define different access and functionality based on roles? For instance, my end user, my business partner, my technical support person?
Yes, each can be given access based on their needs. Your applications programmer does not need the same access as your business partner. You decide and customize the access as needed. This ensures data integrity and privacy throughout your organization.

13) Can I integrate with web-based processes?
Universal Command Agent for SOA expands the Universal Products workload management capabilities to include internet and message based workloads that are part of a System Oriented Architecture (SOA) environment. Internet and message based workloads, which execute in application server environments that utilize technologies, such as SOAP, HTTP, CGI, and JMS, are often left out of enterprise workload management solutions.

14) Will it be as fast as my current solution? or How does it compare to FTP in speed (or any other tool)?
Each network environment is different, however in our lab when comparing apples to apples, meaning both products with the same functionality, we compare favorably to the market and our often faster. The best way to find out is a proof of concept where a technician will come on site. With a proof of concept we not only show you technically what is possible but clearly define ROI and TCO to ensure value to your organization.

15) Can you automatically convert all my FTP's?
The conversion to Stonebranch's Opswise Managed File Transfer is not time consuming, risky or expensive. In fact, we can tell you up front how long the migration will take, how much it will cost and when you would expect to start receiving a return on your investment. Essentially, the analysis and migration tool from Stonebranch enables you to easily migrate to Opswise Managed File Transfer, our Intelligent File Transfer solution.

16) Do you support PGP?
Yes. We provide encryption internally and also allow incorporation of pre and post processing to include 3rd party encryption solutions. Ensuring your data is secure and correct and where it needs to be is our number one priority so that you continue to meet your business goals.

17) Does a file have to sit on a server in the DMZ or do you allow pass through?
We allow pass through which allows you to meet compliance requirements from internal and outside sources.

18) How many parallel file transfers can I run at the same time?
Opswise Managed File Transfer was built for enterprise organizations, which typically include very high-end processors running high capacity loads to low-end old processes with limited power. You decide based on your unique environment. Opswise Managed File Transfer was built with this in mind.

19) How much space do I need?
Space requirements are determined by platform and feature. The footprint will be as small as necessary to get you the value you need.

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As a follow-up to yesterday's Opswise Universal Agent Technical FAQs, here's Opswise Universal Agent Business FAQs.

1. What makes you different than IBM, CA, or BMC who all offer scheduling agents?
In the past, these companies have been very successful at offering MVS scheduling systems. With the increased presence of distributed environments, they acquired server solutions and attempted to integrate them to provide an enterprise-wide solution. The result has proven to be inadequate for the customer yet very lucrative for the vendor raking in licensing and implementation costs. Most often, the integration is too complex to be of value and the duplication of software and hardware required increases cost. Opswise Universal Agent takes a different approach. We allow you to leverage and extend your preferred scheduling engine throughout the enterprise, controlling the execution of work no matter what the scheduler or operating system. Because of this, you only need to be competent in one native platform language, eliminating the cost and redundancy of siloed teams managing distributed systems.

2. How soon can I expect a return on my investment?
Our customers typically receive return on investment within 1 year of implementation, resulting in immediate value to your organization. This fast of a return is unheard of in traditional approaches. ROI is mostly affected by the ability to eliminate duplicate licensing costs and FTEʼs that manage the redundant solutions existing in your environment today.

3. I already have a scheduling system; why not use its agents?
Some primary issues with a legacy scheduler's agents are high cost, instability and unreliability. But, most importantly, once you implement these solutions, the vendor can now lock you into using only their solution because their solution is not independent. It cannot be used with any other vendor solution in the marketplace, limiting your ability to negotiate future contracts and to migrate from their product. We offer value no matter what scheduler you use now or in the future.

4. Conversions are risky. Why should I trust you with my environment?
Stonebranch has done 100ʼs of successful implementations without customer or production impact. Stonebranch's methodology and proven implementation tools mitigate risk and start delivering value upon inspection of your current environment. Typically we discover things that you weren't even aware of. We have a proven track record in implementation services and can offer whatever level of assistance required from advice to turnkey.

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1. What databases does Opswise Universal Agent support?
This is just one of the many areas that Opswise Universal Agent helps you keep TCO down verses other solutions. There is no requirement to purchase and support a third party database. The Opswise Universal Agent database is maintained automatically so there is no need for additional resources for database administration. This is a huge benefit compared to all other solutions that require additional hardware and software, driving their total cost of ownership even higher.

2. What operating systems and hardware are supported?
Opswise Universal Agent was designed for the enterprise so we support all of the major operating systems including legacy platforms.

3. What reporting capabilities are available out of the box?
Opswise Universal Agent provides a GUI to report on process activity, including attributes of the process such as success or failure, duration and security. Data can also be kept and archived for audit and history reporting.

4. What if I need a custom report?
We provide the ability to dump or archive the database to various formats such as XML so that 3rd party report writers can be utilized. Your specific business needs can be met with this kind of flexibility. You determine which information is most valuable to you.

5. Is Opswise Universal Agent highly available?
Yes. Opswise Universal Agent is designed for enterprise environments with fault tolerance in mind so that your business keeps running even through difficult circumstances.

6. Do you provide central logging and management?
Yes. Real-time and historical information is available to business stakeholders, ensuring visibility throughout the organization.

7. Can I define different access and functionality based on user roles? For instance, defining by end-user, business partner or technical support personnel?
Absolutely. Each user can be given access based on their needs. Your applications programmer does not need the same access as your business analyst. You decide and customize the access as needed. This ensures data integrity and privacy throughout your organization.

8. Can you automatically convert my existing remote processes?
 Stonebranch has done 100ʼs of successful implementations without customer or production impact. Stonebranch's methodology and proven implementation tools mitigate risk and start delivering value upon inspection of your current environment. Typically we discover things that you weren't even aware of. We have a proven track record in implementation services and can offer whatever level of assistance required from advice to turnkey.

9. How many parallel processes can I run at the same time?
Opswise Universal Agent was built for enterprise organizations, which typically operate very high-end processors running high-capacity loads to low-end mature processes with limited power. Opswise Universal Agent was built with this in mind. You decide based on your unique environment.

10. How much space do I need?
Space requirements are determined by platform and feature. The footprint will be as small as necessary to get you the value you need.

11. Does my staff have to be granted access to the remote servers with Opswise Universal Agent?
No, you decide on which system to leverage for central management avoiding the need for access to remote systems. The value in the solution is the ability to reuse technology, which lowers cost and reduces risk.

12. Do the end-users or programmers have to be granted access and be trained on the central management system to view activity?
No, visibility to stakeholders is provided through an easy to use GUI, eliminating the need for additional platform specific training.

13. Do I need to change my remote scripts to convert?
One of the major values in the Opswise Universal Agent solution is its ease of implementation, which in affect requires no script or program conversion.

14. My scheduler runs on the mainframe and the mainframe is going away, how does this affect the value of the solution?
Opswise Universal Agent is future proof. You can reuse technology on whatever platform you decide to leverage. You can leverage the mainframe while it still exists in your environment. Once it has been eliminated, you can leverage another platform without changing the independent scheduling agents on remote systems. This is a significant value of the solution.

15. Can you execute web-based processes?
Our SOA solution enables Opswise Universal Agent's workload automation capabilities to include Internet and message based workloads that are part of a System Oriented Architecture (SOA) environment. Internet and message based workloads, which execute in application server environments that utilize technologies, such as SOAP, HTTP, CGI, and JMS, are often left out of enterprise workload automation solutions. This provides true business process workload automation to your enterprise, adding value to the business, not just IT.

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1. Fast Installation: Get up and running in hours, not days.
2. Ease of Use: Point-and-Click, drag-and-drop. It's that simple to use Automation Center.
3. 100% Web-Based: 100% HTML and JavaScript, do everything in the web browser you're most comfortable with.
4. Create IT Workflows: Build Dynamic workflows and see them run in real-time. Use logic to take different paths in workflows based on task status.
5. Integrated Reporting Tool: Dozens of report templates to choose from or build your own. Schedule reports to be distributed, and build interactive dashboard widgets to drop on your customizable home page.
6. Security from end-to-end: Using SSL from the browser all the way to the agent. Firewall traversal is made easy with our architecture.
7. Comprehensive Auditing: A huge step forward in improving your IT compliance initiatives! Every single user command action is audited.
8. Inter-Operational: 100% Cross-platform. The same code runs on Linux, Windows, UNIX, or z/OS.
9. Hassle-free licensing: Only pay for what you use.
10. Guaranteed savings: Drop your maintenance bill by 50%.

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File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP was not designed to be a secure protocol, especially by today's standards, and has many security weaknesses. In May 1999, the authors of RFC 2577 listed a vulnerability to the following problems:

• Bounce attacks
• Spoof attacks
• Brute force attacks
• Packet capture (sniffing)
• Username protection
• Port stealing

FTP is not able to encrypt its traffic; all transmissions are in clear text, and usernames, passwords, commands and data can be easily read by anyone able to perform packet capture (sniffing) on the network. If you're using FTP, you might want to visit YouTube.com and do a simple search for 'ftp hack'. It's pretty frightening.

Here are 10 reasons you should be concerned about FTP:

1. FTP is not secure
2. FTP Servers tend to sprout up in networks
3. FTP Servers do not adequately protect sensitive information
4. Hackers target FTP
5. Sensitive data sometimes hides in plain view
6. Relying on employees to protect data is not a good strategy
7. FTP usage is not always being logged
8. Auditors are looking into FTP these days
9. Breaches are Expensive
10. FTP is not going away

If you're looking for secure and reliable file transfer, you want a free trial of Opswise Managed File Transfer.

Request one today.

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Beyond a Job Scheduler.
Opswise Universal Agent, Stonebranch's Independent Scheduling Agents solution, gives you the ability to upgrade your current job scheduler to solve mission-critical business problems. We are not a job scheduler. We are the solution to your job scheduling problems. You may need to upgrade your job scheduler, if you have one or more of following issues:

• Your existing scheduler is not or cannot be deployed enterprise-wide.
• You have too many schedulers and none of them can do everything you need.
• You want to integrate with newer applications and technologies.
• Your existing scheduling vendor continues to cash your maintenance checks, but the product has had limited or no updates in years

While you may think you need an entirely new scheduling system, there are reasons not to buy a new scheduler, including: risk, cost and effort.

So What is The Answer?
Stonebranch's Opswise Universal Agent enables you to upgrade your scheduling environment, without the risk, effort and cost associated with moving to a new scheduling system. We enable you to succeed where your existing vendor has failed you. Our solution enables you to:

• Reuse Technology, Which Reduces Cost and Eliminates Risk
• Consolidate Technology, Improving Business Service
• Provide Real-time Information to Business Stakeholders
• Provide Event-driven Processing
• Reduce Total Cost of Ownership

Reuse Technology, Which Reduces Cost and Eliminates Risk
With our Independent Scheduling Agents solution, you are able to leverage your existing investment in software, processes and skill sets. Opswise Universal Agent seamlessly integrates with your existing scheduling. It is an upgrade, not a replacement.

By implementing Opswise Universal Agent, a national retail chain did not have to throw away years of investment and know-how in order to extend the benefits of a mature and robust scheduling function to every critical business application.

"By installing Opswise Universal Agent, we were able to manage all of our platforms and their related workload in a reliable and secure way. Without extensive training effort, Opswise Universal Agent was integrated seamlessly, improving the quality of our production."

- Dieter Bauer, Finanz Informatik Technologie Service GmbH & Co. KG

Consolidate Technology, Improving Business Service
Can you really afford to have two or more groups providing the same business service? Stonebranch's Independent Scheduling Agents solution offers a viable strategy for consolidation of multiple scheduling tools.

A large global healthcare provider was able to consolidate two schedulers to a single scheduler and eliminated backup and application or platform-specific schedulers with Opswise Universal Agent. This single process and view aligned with their ITIL initiative. They are now able to leverage one small team to manage all scheduling using a consistent toolset.

Provide Real-time Information to Business Stakeholders
Let your business drive your visibility requirements, not your software. Our Independent Scheduling Agents solution delivers flexible visibility tools and capabilities to meet your specific business and operational needs.

A leading securities processor used an applications staff to run their own schedules using many different tools. By implementing Opswise Universal Agent, they now keep tabs on schedule progress and status without having to interface with different departments. Because of the success of this process, they now have centralized enterprise scheduling.

Provide Event-driven Processing
Integrating scheduling with business workflows streamlines the business process. Opswise Universal Agent optimizes the integration of business events with your enterprise scheduling to avoid delays and help you maximize revenue.

One financial services customer dynamically schedules workloads to process financial data and orders from investment companies and private-sector customers. Being able to process financial transactions in near real-time is a huge factor in their ability to satisfy and retain their customer base.

Reduce Total Cost of Ownership
Software cost does not stop at the purchase price. Stonebranch's Opswise Universal Agents provide real value through our pricing model, integration capabilities and ease-of-use.

A large financial institution was able to consolidate scheduling functionality from six groups to one with Opswise Universal Agent, greatly reducing staffing needs. Quality and efficiency was increased, allowing them to do more with less.

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Is the cost of doing business with your current vendor causing you budget issues? Do you think vendors penalize you for being successful with pricing that is based on the number of MIPS or size of your server? Maybe it's time to fight back? There is an alternative!

What if we can show you ways to leverage your current investment, and add additional agents for a fraction of the cost you are paying today.

Give us a moment of your time and we'll show you how. Contact Stonebranch today.

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Many have invested in Opswise Universal Agents (formerly known as Indesca) and the reasons are aplenty.

• Counter price increases
• Limited deployment due to cost
• Require platform not supported
• Current agents not getting the job done
• Minimum order requirements
• Standardize on a single agent
• Multiple function agent
• Leverage "bench strength"
• Consolidate schedulers

Why invest in Opswise Managed File Transfer (formerly known as Infitran)? Here are several reasons:

• Counter price increases
• FTP not getting the job done
• Single agent with multiple functions
• Standardize scripting
• Integration to workload automation
• Guaranteed delivery
• Encryption and compression

The Opswise Automation Center is indeed intelligent workload automation for the modern data center. Here's why:

• Reduced cost
• Web based solution
• Visibility and Reporting
• Ease of use
• Portability

If you're wondering why you should invest in Opswise, the answers are above, but don't take our word for it. Check out the several case studies from very happy Opswise Automation Center customers.

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In an Information Week Analytics report, "Inside Out: Protecting Your Partnerships and Your Data," Curtis Franklin, Jr. of Dark Reading writes, "Partners are a critical element (to enterprise security) - in fact, their importance is matched only by the potential threat they pose to the security of corporate data and the network infrastructure. For IT professionals, the vital question is how to balance trust versus risk in enabling communication between the organization and partners."

The report adds, "there have been instances in which partner connections were used to steal data or sabotage computer systems. These breaches show us that enterprises must stay vigilant about security, even in dealing with their closest and most trusted suppliers." Other findings? "The difference between employee and partner risk varies by industry - in food service, partners accounted for as many as 70 percent of breaches; in the technology arena, partners accounted for only 18 percent."

Organizations must be wary of:

• the introduction of malware
• confidential software theft
• the data at risk - proprietary, intellectual property to private customer information

While concrete corporate security policies, firewalls and other security measures, help alleviate the threat, how do you ensure B2B partner and trading partner security is achieved while still optimizing those partnerships, making it easier for your partners to do business with you?

B2B Managed File Transfer - From secure ad-hoc file transfer to EDI to enterprise-wide Managed File Transfer a complete B2B communications solution can prevent these breaches from happening to you. Because whether the breach is accidental or intentional, the damage has still been done.

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Are expensive scheduling agents preventing you from meeting you Job Scheduling requirements?

Replacing or even acquiring additional legacy scheduling agents is a costly, daunting and resource-draining task. Vendor-independent technology enables you to avoid these risks while streamlining, optimizing and modernizing your Job Scheduling environment without replacing a single agent. Not to mention you can add agents to meet your growing requirements at the fraction of the cost of purchasing additional agents from existing scheduling vendor. All of which significantly reduces cost and increases your return on investment.

Are you throwing money away with legacy scheduler agents?

Costs can increase because your scheduling vendor bases agent cost on multiple CPUs. With technology-independent technology, whether it's one CPU or 20, the cost remains the same. You are not locked down by a particular vendor, platform or scheduling system. You gain value and additional functionality at a reasonable price that is not offered by Job Scheduling vendors.

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