• 217-071 IBM Watson Career Coach, a cognitive solution, gives employees the ability to get real-time career insights and guidance
• 217-108 IBM UrbanCode Deploy on Cloud V2 helps your business rapidly benefit from the speed and quality associated with application deployment automation
• 217-262 IBM Telecom Analytics Customer Care Insights V1.1 component of IBM Telecom Analytics Solutions delivers new visibility into the user experience for first line care agents
• 217-297 IBM Print Transform from AFP to Accessible PDF feature for z/OS, V1.2.1 is a new optional, priced feature to meet accessibility regulations
• 217-380 IBM® WebSphere® Commerce Managed Hosted delivers e-commerce services in the cloud for organizations that rely on digital customer engagement to grow and drive their B2B and B2C business
• 217-398 IBM Information Management System Version 15 helps you build trust into every transaction
• 217-399 IBM Z APM Connect V5.5.0, formerly known as IBM OMEGAMON® for Application Performance Management, improves visibility into IBM z /OS application components with support for transaction tracking, resource monitoring metrics, and events
• 217-404 IBM Data Virtualization Manager for z/OS allows organizations to virtualize z/OS data with other enterprise data in a form that is readily consumable by analytics, digital applications, and users
• 217-422 IBM Now Factory Analytics V9.5 and IBM Telecom Analytics Solutions V1.0.9 extend feature set of selected components, enhancing long-term storage approach, and improving platform support
• 217-434 IBM Resiliency Orchestration delivers a single dashboard that combines automation and analytics for faster, more cost-effective disaster recovery
• 217-435 IBM Operational Decision Manager V8.9.1 delivers performance and scalability improvements, a new REST API for automation, and enhanced usage metering
• 217-438 IBM Process Transformation Manager V8.10.1 delivers a license option to increase flexibility and enables you to deploy a combination of offerings to better manage your digital process automation environment
• 217-441 IBM Operational Decision Manager for z/OS, V8.9.1 delivers performance and scalability improvements, a new REST API for automation, and enhanced usage metering
• 217-446 IBM Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS®, V1.3 expands authentication options for creating a layered defense
• 217-467 IBM Financial Transaction Manager for ACH Services for z/OS, V3.0.4
• 217-468 IBM Financial Crimes Geographic Risk Insight delivers a geographic risk assessment solution
• 217-495 IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i, V1.2.0 offers compression and encryption enhancements
• 217-501 IBM Rational Developer for i, V9.6 delivers significant enhancements
• 217-514 IBM i 7.2 TR7 offers enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs
• 217-515 IBM i 7.3 TR3 offers enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs
• 217-517 IBM Db2 Event Store delivers transactions, hyper ingest, and real-time analytics
• 617-016 IBM Resiliency Orchestration and Implementation Services
• 917-162 Service withdrawal: Selected IBM Security Services

Software Announcements

217-380

IBM® WebSphere® Commerce Managed Hosted delivers e-commerce services in the cloud for organizations that rely on digital customer engagement to grow and drive their B2B and B2C business

PDF

At a glance

IBM WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted is a modern, e-commerce platform, delivered in the IBM Cloud, providing choice and flexibility in how brands build and manage digital customer experiences. Capabilities:

• Personalize customer engagement and online buying on digital touchpoints
• Reduce responsibilities for IT staff to install and manage software for e-commerce and customer engagement
• Achieve the agility needed to support rapidly changing markets and evolving customer expectations for business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) business models.

Overview

With rapidly changing markets, evolving customer expectations, and new competitive threats, organizations want the agility to quickly adjust their go-to-market strategies and transform how they engage customers across channels. Increasingly, organizations rely on cloud services to power cross-channel customer engagement with e-commerce capabilities that are flexible, easy to consume, and simple to manage.

WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted gives organizations a choice in how they employ IBM e-commerce capabilities. This cloud e-commerce solution eliminates the need for IT to install and manage software for e-commerce and digital customer engagement, but also provides the flexibility for organizations to customize the digital customer experience based on how they sell and engage their customers online.

WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted offers the same features as the on-premises version of IBM WebSphere Commerce. Capabilities:

• Online catalog and product content management
• Price and promotions management for online selling
• Precision marketing for personalized content and offers
• Enhanced site search for improved customer experience
• Support for multiple online storefronts across traditional web, mobile, and Internet of Things (IoT) channels
• Unique business-to-business (B2B) buyer contracts display right products and prices for your customers
• Built in capabilities to assist customer service representatives
• Prebuilt integrations with IBM Watson® Commerce Insights, IBM Watson Content Hub, IBM Dynamic Pricing, IBM CPQ, and IBM Watson Customer Experience Analytics

WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted supports all the ways organizations can sell, including business-to-consumer (B2C), B2B, and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) models. Additionally, with a prebuilt starter store, standard integrations with third-party commerce services, and easy-to-use business user tools, organizations can accelerate and simplify the creation and management of online stores and digital customer experiences across all touchpoints.

WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted runs in the IBM Cloud and is supported by a team of professionals with many years of experience managing WebSphere Commerce in a private cloud for some of the largest and smallest companies. It offers organizations all the convenience and IT cost-savings of a cloud solution with the flexibility to customize your customer experience to meet the unique requirements of your brand and digital selling models.

Packaging options include IBM WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted Standard Edition and IBM WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted Essentials Edition. WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted Standard Edition base subscription offers more volumes and includes integration, test, preproduction, and production environments. WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted Essentials Edition includes volumes for test and production environments only. The editions also differ in allocated time for setup and on boarding and disaster recovery.

Key prerequisites

WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted requires an internet connection and a supported browser.

Information about system requirements for WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted is in IBM Knowledge Center.

Planned availability date

October 3, 2017

217-071

IBM Watson Career Coach, a cognitive solution, gives employees the ability to get real-time career insights and guidance

PDF

At a glance

IBM Watson Career Coach capabilities:

• Enables the employee to view and explore personalized opportunities aligned with their current role, skills, and location, including relative fit rankings based on information provided by the employee.
• Provides recommendations of ways for employees to:
  • Expand their skills
  • Further their development
  • View possible future job roles or roles for which they may not currently have all required qualifications, through the use of a what if interactive experience
• Can interact and ask questions related to different types of opportunities in order to receive consultation through cognitive analytics that are continuously learned

Overview

Watson™ Career Coach is a virtual assistant that can help employees define a career path of their choice, as well as help with other career-related activities. Using IBM Watson, employees experience a virtual coach that is accessible by the employee as the employee wants to engage.

Over time, Watson Career Coach develops insights into the employee, with awareness of known job descriptions, levels, training history, and certifications. Through interactions and updates by the employee, Watson Career Coach learns about the employee's preferences and interests, and makes recommendations about existing opportunities as well as helps navigate future career moves.

Key prerequisites

• Internet connection
• Browser

Planned availability date

October 3, 2017

217-446

IBM Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS®, V1.3 expands authentication options for creating a layered defense

PDF

At a glance

IBM Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS raises the level of assurance of your mission-critical systems with a flexible and tightly integrated multi-factor authentication solution. The Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS product and z/OS Security Server RACF® help to create a layered defense by requiring selected IBM z/OS users to authenticate with multiple authentication factors:

• Something they know: A password or security question
• Something they have: An ID badge or cryptographic token device
• Something they are: Such as a fingerprint or other biometric

Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS, V1.3 supports many token types:

• RSA SecurID hard and soft tokens
• IBM TouchToken app for Time-based One-time Passwords (TOTP)
• PassTicket support and application-level granularity
• Smart card certificate-based authentication (one of the supported types is Personal Identity Verification/Common Access Cards (PIV/CAC))
• Generic RADIUS support
• SafeNet RADIUS support
• RSA SecurID RADIUS support
• Generic TOTP support

Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS also supports:

• Running multiple instances of the Multi-Factor Authentication Web Services started task in a sysplex
• The ability to configure Multi-Factor Authentication to operate in a strict PCI-compliant mode
• New integration through a new SAF API that enables Express® Logon Facility to work with Multi-Factor Authentication
• Compound authentication, which allows the specification of more than one authentication factor in the authentication process

Overview

Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS, V1.3 (IBM MFA) is enhanced with new functionality and support.

New RADIUS-based factors

In addition to the existing RSA SecurID support, IBM TouchToken support, and Personal Identity Verification and Common Access Card support, IBM now includes support for three new RADIUS-based factors:

• A generic RADIUS factor that enables interoperability with generic RADIUS servers
• A SafeNet RADIUS factor that is designed to operate with Gemalto SafeNet Authentication Service servers
• An RSA SecurID RADIUS factor that is optimized to communicate with RSA Authentication Manager servers using the RADIUS protocol

The support for generic RADIUS and Gemalto SafeNet is available for Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS, V1.2 with the PTF for APAR PI82734.

Generic TOTP support

The time-based, one-time password factor has been enhanced to support more generic TOTP token applications. This introduces support for standard-compliant TOTP third-party applications that run on Android and Microsoft™ Windows™ devices.

Compound In-band Authentication support

In some cases, it may be desirable to authenticate with both an IBM MFA credential and a RACF password. If this support is activated, the user enters their token code and their RACF password or password phrase into the password phrase field of applications.

The support for Compound In-band Authentication is available for Multi-Factor Authentication for z/OS, V1.2 with the PTF for APAR PI86469.

IBM MFA Express Logon Facility support

New integration has been provided, through a new SAF API, that enables Express Logon Facility users to interface with the IBM MFA smart card support. This enhancement requires the presence of a user's smart card when authenticating. It prevents RACF user ID-only authentication attempts.

The support for Express Logon Facility is available with the PTF for APAR PI86470.

High-Availability IBM MFA Web Services support

IBM MFA now supports running multiple instances of the IBM MFA Web Services started task in a sysplex. Thus if an LPAR running IBM MFA Web Services has to be rebooted or is otherwise out of service for planned maintenance, users can continue to preauthenticate with IBM MFA Web Services on one of the remaining instances running within the sysplex. Additionally, this eliminates the need to explicitly configure the host name of the LPAR for IBM MFA Web Services and IBM TouchToken registration.

The support for High-Availability IBM MFA Web Services is available with the PTF for APAR PI82735.

Bulk provisioning support

IBM MFA now includes scripts that enable a large number of users to be easily provisioned. In particular, this simplifies provisioning PIV/CAC users who can be provisioned and enabled immediately, eliminating the self-service provisioning step available in IBM MFA V1.2. Note that the self-service provisioning capability is still available for sites that are unable to use the new bulk provisioning capability.

Strict PCI compliance support

IBM MFA now includes the ability to configure IBM MFA to operate in a strict PCI-compliant mode. When this mode is activated, messages that "leak" information are not returned and the out-of-band preauthentication process always requires entry of all factor credential data before returning any information about the preauthentication attempt.

Key prerequisites

• z/OS Security Server RACF
• RSA Authentication Manager 8.1 for RSA SecurID exploitation
• SafeNet Authentication Service 3.5.4, or later

Planned availability date

November 17, 2017

217-422

IBM Now Factory Analytics V9.5 and IBM Telecom Analytics Solutions V1.0.9 extend feature set of selected components, enhancing long-term storage approach, and improving platform support

PDF

At a glance

IBM Customer and Network Analytics for Communication Service Providers V9.5, part of the IBM Now Factory Analytics V9.5 product suite, performs near-real-time, big data analytics across the communications service provider (CSP) enterprise.

IBM Analytics Accelerator Framework V3.5, an integral component of IBM Telecom Analytics Solutions V1.0.9, encompasses the analytics platform upon which Customer and Network Analytics for Communication Service Providers V9.5 and the other IBM Telecom Analytics offerings are deployed.

These components offer enhancements in analytic capabilities through the following platform improvements:

• Enhancement to long term storage
• Compatibility with Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) 2.6

IBM Telecom Analytics V1.0.7, part of IBM Telecom Analytics Solutions V1.0.9, is a prerequisite for IBM Analytics Accelerator Framework. IBM Telecom Analytics V1.0.7 includes a version of Predictive Customer Intelligence updated to V1.1.2. Big Insights is removed in V1.0.7 and it is no longer available through Telecom Analytics.

Overview

Customer and Network Analytics for Communication Service Providers V9.5 is a component of the Now Factory Analytics V9.5 solutions suite and features updates to the client experience management suite to help CSPs:

• Reduce operating costs by reducing time to identify and fix problems
• Optimize network investments
• Drive new revenue streams

The Customer and Network Analytics for Communication Service Providers V9.5 component offers significant enhancements in its analytic capabilities with enhancements to long-term storage, and compatibility with Hortonworks HDP 2.6.

In conjunction with Customer and Network Analytics for Communication Service Providers, Telecom Analytics Solutions V1.0.9 brings feature improvements to its Analytics Accelerator Framework V3.5 component. The Analytics Accelerator Framework encompasses the analytics platform upon which Now Factory Customer and Network Analytics for Communication Service Providers V9.5 and other IBM Now Factory and IBM Telecom Analytics offerings are deployed.

Analytics Accelerator Framework V3.5 includes Subscriber Intelligence Mediation Engine (with IBM Streams as base technology framework) for mediation functions to deliver:

• Solution capable of processing millions of data records every minute
• Enrichment of this data with rich CRM, device and network user friendly labels and attributes
• Scalability to enable the solution to grow as clients add new customers and traffic volumes and services increase
• Rich multilevel and multidimensional telecom data sets that provide insight into every client's network experience.

Telecom Analytics V1.0.7 includes the IBM software technology licenses required by the offering. This includes: Predictive Customer Intelligence (PCI) V1.1.2 and IBM Streams V4.1.1. These are licensed on a restricted licensed basis for use with the relevant Telecom Analytics Solution offering. This is not a license for broader general enterprise requirements.

The analytics platform uses Hadoop 2.0 as the core data store technology for a consistent technology within enterprise data systems.

Deprecations

Big Insights is removed from Telecom Analytics Solutions V1.0.7.

Key prerequisites

• Internet connection
• Supported browser
• Telecom Analytics Solutions
• IBM Analytics Accelerator Framework component of Telecom Analytics Solutions
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux™

See the Technical information section for more details.

Planned availability date

October 6, 2017

217-108

IBM UrbanCode Deploy on Cloud V2 helps your business rapidly benefit from the speed and quality associated with application deployment automation

PDF

At a glance

IBM UrbanCode Deploy on Cloud V2 delivers a fully managed UrbanCode Deploy instance that helps your business deliver products and services to market quickly as part of your DevOps toolchain. With Version 2, you can quickly get started deploying applications with automation to cloud environments or to your own data center without the burden of setting up and maintaining an IT infrastructure for UrbanCode Deploy itself.

UrbanCode Deploy on Cloud V2 offers:

• A subscription-based consumption and delivery model for UrbanCode Deploy
• A single tenant, dedicated UrbanCode Deploy environment for application deployment
• An enterprise-class, IBM public cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) that utilizes the IBM Cloud security strategies
• Monitoring for 24x7 availability
• Full product support for UrbanCode Deploy

Overview

UrbanCode Deploy on Cloud V2 is specifically designed to get you started automating application deployments quickly with a ready-to-use, cloud-based environment that is hosted in IBM cloud data centers with services to monitor and manage UrbanCode Deploy.

Ready when you are, UrbanCode Deploy on Cloud V2 delivers an environment that is both highly scalable and protected by IBM cloud security strategies to enable you to deploy applications with automation. Cloud-based solutions help eliminate typical inhibitors that stall new projects (such as capital expenditures (CAPEX) and hardware availability) and deep IT skills for setting up and managing systems. There is no hardware, perpetual software licenses, or installation to perform.

UrbanCode Deploy on Cloud V2 offers:

• Subscription-based pricing. Lets you get started quickly without the need for investment in software licenses or hardware.
• Private instance of UrbanCode Deploy cloud environment.
• Services to monitor and maintain UrbanCode.
• 99.9% service-level objective (SLO) availability and scalability to support thousands of users, which is hosted by IBM within a secure, SoftLayer® data center.
• Full problem management support.

Learn more about at the UrbanCode Deploy website.

Key prerequisites

An internet connection is required.

Planned availability date

October 3, 2017

217-262

IBM Telecom Analytics Customer Care Insights V1.1 component of IBM Telecom Analytics Solutions delivers new visibility into the user experience for first line care agents

PDF

Overview

IBM Telecom Analytics Customer Care Insights V1.1 component of IBM Telecom Analytics Solutions includes a fast, scalable, RESTful API that provides process-enriched, user centric data. The data is a combination of service performance data (for example, number of calls, SMS, data consumption, call success rate, session success rate, error codes, location), customer relationship management (CRM) data (for example, plan, corporate account, allowance) and user experience scoring (web circuit emulation service, video circuit emulation service, mobile operating system).

Capabilities of Telecom Analytics Customer Care Insights:

• Helps create the rich customer experience data stored on the IBM Analytics Accelerator Framework component of Telecom Analytics Solutions that is available for integration primarily into customer care and customer support tools.
• Is intended for integration with external systems and represents a versatile solution that can be integrated into several applications within the Communication Service Provider environment.
• Is easy to integrate, built for performance and scalable to serve up to a very high number of agents and applications.
• Is adding five minute fine-grained data on top of hourly and daily data to minimize the delay between event occurrence and the event's specific data availability.
• Delivers new visibility into the user experience, which can help generate potential time savings at the first line care agent level.

Key prerequisites

• Internet connection
• Supported browser
• Telecom Analytics Solutions
• Analytics Accelerator Framework component of Telecom Analytics Solutions

See the Technical information section for more details.

Planned availability date

October 5, 2017

217-514

IBM i 7.2 TR7 offers enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs

PDF

At a glance

IBM i 7.2 TR7 includes the following new features:

• IBM Db2® for i adds new and enhanced SQL capabilities for database application developers, system administrators, and security auditors. With these enhancements, Db2 for i can be used to become more productive and effective at solving important business requirements.
• Installation of IBM i can now be done with a simple download, copy to USB flash drive, and D-mode IPL on managed systems.
• The IBM i Save System (SAVSYS) operation now includes the LAN console configuration data, eliminating a couple of complex steps that were previously needed to re-install an IBM i partition from a backup onto a new load source.
• IBM i will now support the 4767 Cryptographic Co-processor. The 4767 is the follow-on to the 4765 Cryptographic Co-processor.
• IBM i can support up to 127 devices on both virtual and physical Fibre Channel ports.
• IBM i Integrated Web Services adds advanced features to help administrators and programmers leverage APIs in a safe, secure manner.
• IBM continues to expand the suite of functions available in the open source licensed program offering with benefits for many application scenarios. This includes new integration with the operating system, familiar IBM i Access tools, and IBM Bluemix®.
• Access Client Solutions continues to be enhanced to meet the needs of the IBM i user community.
• The RPG ILE Compiler in Rational® Development Studio has been updated with new modernization capabilities.
• Rational Developer for i, V9.6 delivers an updated version of the Eclipse workbench, in addition to features designed to enhance programmer productivity.
• IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i, V1.2 includes new encryption techniques, adding to the security of data movement.
• Db2 Web Query for i has a new release, version 2.2.1, with many new advanced visualization, usability, and security features.
• Db2 Web Query DataMigrator now includes simplified functions, regular expression support, and improved scheduling.

Overview

Following the tradition of delivering new functions and business value to the IBM i operating system and related products through Technology Refreshes, IBM is announcing IBM i 7.2 TR7. This Technology Refresh provides usability enhancements, new security capabilities, and significant new functions in many of the operating system components and licensed programs. A few of the business benefits that can be realized are described here.

With IBM i 7.2 TR7, Db2 for i continues to focus on new and advanced SQL capabilities and the ability to use SQL to access IBM i operating system details. Further, Db2 for i delivers new features for the creation of data-centric JSON solutions. Finally, Db2 for i delivers new capabilities to allow IBM i history logs and security audit details to be consumable by a security information and event management (SIEM) solution.

IBM i is introducing a new installation method that uses USB Removable Mass Storage technology, making the IBM i installation easier and more convenient. While there are many potential uses, the one that most clients will explore is the ability to download IBM i images from the Entitled Systems Support (ESS) website, copy them to a USB flash drive, do a D-mode IPL on a managed system, and then install LIC, XPF, and any LPP images that fit onto the media.

IBM i integrated web services, both the server and client, have been enhanced to give programmers and administrators more flexibility when leveraging web services on IBM i in a safe and secure manner. The server has been updated to support a multitier solution, and the client code now supports SSL when connecting to a web service.

Open source enhancements have been delivered in several areas, including open source projects, the IBM i open source solutions program offering, the operating system, and system access tools. These new open source functions enhance functionality for application developers, system administrators, and users. It is easier to deploy secure web solutions, use open source languages, port applications, and much more.

Rational Development Studio has updates for the application developer to improve the RPG language as well as invoke code coverage directly from the command line.

Access Client Solutions, the strategic interface for users, system managers, and database engineers looking to access IBM i, continues to be improved to address additional functions as well as updates requested by the ACS user community.

IBM i has been enhanced to work better with IBM PowerVC for cloud capabilities. For IBM i PowerVC clients who are using CloudInit, it will be enabled automatically on deployment.

For clients who do not have an HMC, the actions to install an IBM i partition from a backup onto a new load source have been simplified. In particular, the LAN console configuration is now saved as part of a SAVSYS operation and is later accessed during the D-mode IPL, eliminating the time-consuming steps of pulling together the information and configuring the LAN console separately using operator panel functions during the installation process.

Db2 Web Query for i has a new release, version 2.2.1, with numerous new features. Report authoring and advanced data analysis just got easier with additional visualizations that provide more powerful analytics. Report and dashboard navigation is made simpler for users with the introduction of report auto-link, auto-drill down, and dynamic parameterization. Service providers can also leverage the new capability to set the number of user licenses by logical partition.

Db2 Web Query DataMigrator is also refreshed in version 2.2.1. New features include simplified functions for building straightforward but powerful transformations, data flow comments on the developer palette, regular expression support for filtering, and improved scheduling.

The IBM i Technology Updates wiki in developerWorks® contains details of i operating system enhancements. To view technical details for the topics found in this announcement letter, see the IBM i 7.2 TR7 enhancements website.

Key prerequisites

IBM i 7.2 TR7 is supported on selected IBM Power Systems™ servers:

• Power Systems servers with IBM POWER8® technology-based processors
• Power Systems servers and blades and IBM Flex systems with IBM POWER7® or IBM POWER7 + processors
• Power Systems servers and blades with IBM POWER6® or IBM POWER6 + processors
• IBM System i® servers with POWER6 processors

See the Technical Information section for specific hardware and software prerequisites.

Planned availability date

• October 27, 2017, for IBM i 7.2 TR7 (5770-SS1) and IBM i 7.2 (5770-SS1) USB Licensed Machine Code, feature 5972
• December 8, 2017, for Db2 Web Query for i, V2.2.1 (5733-WQX), features 5808, 5818, and 5828

217-515

IBM i 7.3 TR3 offers enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs

PDF

At a glance

IBM i 7.3 TR3 includes the following new features:

• IBM Db2® for i adds new and enhanced SQL capabilities for database application developers, system administrators, and security auditors. With these enhancements, Db2 for i can be used to become more productive and effective at solving important business requirements.
• Installation of IBM i can now be done with a simple download, copy to USB flash drive, and D-mode IPL on managed systems.
• The IBM i Save System (SAVSYS) operation now includes the LAN console configuration data, eliminating a couple of complex steps that were previously needed to re-install an IBM i partition from a backup onto a new load source.
• IBM i supports the 4767 Cryptographic Co-processor. The 4767 is the follow-on to the 4765 Cryptographic Co-processor.
• IBM i supports an increase in the size of an external storage disk.
• IBM i can support up to 127 devices on both virtual and physical Fibre Channel ports.
• IBM i Integrated Web Services adds advanced features to help administrators and programmers leverage APIs in a safe, secure manner.
• IBM continues to expand the suite of functions available in the open source licensed program offering with benefits for many application scenarios. This includes new integration with the operating system, familiar IBM i Access tools, and IBM Bluemix.
• Access Client Solutions continues to be enhanced to meet the needs of the IBM i user community.
• The RPG ILE Compiler in Rational Development Studio has been updated with new modernization capabilities.
• Rational Developer for i, V9.6 delivers an updated version of the Eclipse workbench, in addition to features designed to enhance programmer productivity.
• IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i, V1.2 includes new encryption techniques, adding to the security of data movement.
• Db2 Web Query for i has a new release, version 2.2.1, with many new advanced visualization, usability, and security features.
• Db2 Web Query DataMigrator now includes simplified functions, regular expression support, and improved scheduling.

Overview

Following the tradition of delivering new functions and business value to the IBM i operating system and related products through Technology Refreshes, IBM is announcing IBM i 7.3 TR3. This Technology Refresh provides usability enhancements, new security capabilities, and significant new functions in many of the operating system components and licensed programs. A few of the business benefits that can be realized are described here.

With IBM i 7.3 TR3, Db2 for i continues to focus on new and advanced SQL capabilities and the ability to use SQL to access IBM i operating system details. Further, Db2 for i delivers new features for the creation of data-centric JSON solutions. Finally, Db2 for i delivers new capabilities to allow IBM i history logs and security audit details to be consumable by a security information and event management (SIEM) solution.

IBM i is introducing a new installation method that uses USB Removable Mass Storage technology, making the IBM i installation easier and more convenient. While there are many potential uses, the one that most clients will explore is the ability to download IBM i images from the Entitled Systems Support (ESS) website, copy them to a USB flash drive, do a D-mode IPL on a managed system, and then install LIC, XPF, and any LPP images that fit onto the media.

IBM i integrated web services, both the server and client, have been enhanced to give programmers and administrators more flexibility when leveraging web services on IBM i in a safe and secure manner. The server has been updated to support a multitier solution, and the client code now supports SSL when connecting to a web service.

Open source enhancements have been delivered in several areas, including open source projects, the IBM i open source solutions program offering, the operating system, and system access tools. These new open source functions enhance functionality for application developers, system administrators, and users. It is easier to deploy secure web solutions, use open source languages, port applications, and much more.

Rational Development Studio has updates for the application developer to improve the RPG language as well as invoke code coverage directly from the command line.

Access Client Solutions, the strategic interface for users, system managers, and database engineers looking to access IBM i, continues to be improved to address additional functions as well as updates requested by the ACS user community.

IBM i has been enhanced to work better with IBM PowerVC for cloud capabilities. You can now store an image using a small LUN size, and then later deploy it with a larger size that fits the storage needs. You can also increase the LUN size after it's been deployed to get additional storage capacity. For IBM i PowerVC clients who are using CloudInit, it will be enabled automatically on deployment.

For clients who do not have an HMC, the actions to install an IBM i partition from a backup onto a new load source have been simplified. In particular, the LAN console configuration is now saved as part of a SAVSYS operation and is later accessed during the D-mode IPL, eliminating the time-consuming steps of pulling together the information and configuring the LAN console separately using operator panel functions during the installation process.

Db2 Web Query for i has a new release, version 2.2.1, with numerous new features. Report authoring and advanced data analysis just got easier with additional visualizations that provide more powerful analytics. Report and dashboard navigation is made simpler for users with the introduction of report auto-link, auto-drill down, and dynamic parameterization. Service providers can also leverage the new capability to set the number of user licenses by logical partition.

Db2 Web Query DataMigrator is also refreshed in version 2.2.1. New features include simplified functions for building straightforward but powerful transformations, data flow comments on the developer palette, regular expression support for filtering, and improved scheduling.

The IBM i Technology Updates wiki in developerWorks contains details of i operating system enhancements. To view technical details for the topics found in this announcement letter, see the IBM i 7.3 TR3 enhancements website.

Key prerequisites

IBM i 7.3 TR3 is supported on selected IBM Power Systems and IBM PurePower Systems servers with IBM POWER7, IBM POWER7 +, or IBM POWER8 technology-based processors.

Clients using blades or PureFlex® systems, and those using servers with IBM POWER6 or IBM POWER6 + or earlier processors, need to move to newer systems to take advantage of the new features in i 7.3 TR3.

For up-to-date information on all types of code levels needed for support of a particular feature, see the IBM Prerequisite website.

See the Technical Information section for specific hardware and software prerequisites.

Planned availability date

• October 27, 2017, for IBM i 7.3 TR3 (5770-SS1) and IBM i 7.3 (5770-SS1) USB Licensed Machine Code, feature 5973
• December 8, 2017, for Db2 Web Query for i, V2.2.1 (5733-WQX), features 5808, 5818, and 5828

217-398

IBM Information Management System Version 15 helps you build trust into every transaction

PDF

At a glance

Today's digital economy is based on trust. The expansive integration capabilities of IMS™, coupled with its legendary qualities of service, make it easy for you to build trust into every transaction for your clients. IMS delivers the availability, scalability, and performance required for enterprise and integrated on-premises and cloud environments. IMS is open and connected, so you can extend, connect, and innovate with trusted IMS applications, transactions, and data. That same data can help you gain the most valuable insights and take action on them more efficiently than ever.

IBM IMS V15 delivers capabilities that help you:

• Confidently manage risk
  • Pervasive encryption is the new standard; anything less is a compromise. IMS V15, together with theIBM z14, can help to simplify compliance certifications by allowing IBM z/OS data set encryption of IMS data with minimal CPU overhead and no application changes.
  • IMS V15 also helps you better manage security and compliance, from providing support for building greater security into your mobile solutions to helping you to track and report on mobile workloads. IMS V15 also provides support for leveraging RACF password enforcement and other RACF features critical for end-to-end security in a connected mainframe environment.
• Amplify your business efficiency
  • Java™ development on IBM Z and from distributed platforms into IBM Z demands a simplified user experience. IMS V15 delivers dynamic configuration of Java environment variables and options, providing better security, flexibility, and control.
  • You can also gain insights from new support for tracking of JVM usage statistics, including elapsed run time, heap memory used, number of threads processed, and more.
  • Performance and tuning enhancements put you in control of business efficiency. In IMS V15, the IMS logger leverages DFSMS Media Manager, which enables the use of hardware features that maximize performance. New efficiencies in External Subsystem Attach Facility (ESAF) connection thread management help reduce overhead on IMS connections to the external subsystem. IMS V15 also offers broader support for dynamic change and increased potential for growth with scalability and high-availability improvements.
• Simplify system administration
  • IMS thrives on transformation to help you simplify. Simplified system management capabilities reduce reliance on the IMS system definition process, simplify dynamic resource definition, and help you keep IMS trouble free.

Selected features that can help you achieve these objectives are summarized in this announcement. See the Description section for more detail on these and additional features.

IBM IMS Transaction Manager Value Unit Edition (VUE) V15 and IBM IMS Database Value Unit Edition V15 are also included in this announcement. These offer the base IMS product and optional for-charge features at a one-time-charge (OTC) price metric solely for eligible workloads. Eligible workloads are defined as net new applications or workloads that are deployed in qualified z Systems® New Application License Charge (zNALC) logical partitions (LPARs). See your IBM representative for more information and additional terms.

Overview

IBM IMS continues to deliver on the IMS value proposition. IMS V15 delivers new capabilities.

Confidently manage risk

Support for z/OS data set encryption

System administrators can now protect data in full-function VSAM databases, on the IMS log, and in selected other data sets according to the enterprise encryption policy that is in place.

Expanded support for mobile solutions

• Propagation of user identity from distributed environments to IMS. IMS V15 provides enhanced auditability and callout security in enterprise environments by providing support for propagating the original user identity from distributed environments to IMS.
• Workload reporting for mobile transactions. IMS is enhanced to work with the z/OS Workload Manager to track and report on mobile transactions and the amount of processing that they use.

Improved security and auditability features that are critical to a connected mainframe

• New IMS Connect option for RACF statistics gathering for IMS Database clients. A new parameter enables you to turn RACF statistics gathering on, which allows RACF password enforcements to be used.
• Support for additional RACF special characters in passwords. When support for special characters is enabled in RACF, IMS and IMS Connect can exploit this support.

Amplify your business efficiency

More expansive and dynamic Java development experience

• Java Virtual Machine (JVM) 64-bit support in Java -dependent regions. More efficient memory management is provided for native Java applications through support for 64-bit JVMs, allowing for use of 64-bit storage.
• Tracking of JVM usage statistics. System programmers and administrators can now enable IMS to capture the usage statistics for JVMs that run in IMS -dependent regions at specified time intervals and then view the statistics in System Management Facility (SMF).
• Dynamic configuration of Java environment variables and options. A new DD statement (//STDENV DD) in the dependent region startup JCL provides IMS system programmers with better security, flexibility, and control over environment settings for the JVM.

Increased performance and tuning capabilities

• Use of DFSMS Media Manager by the IMS logger. In IMS V15, the IMS logger uses DFSMS Media Manager to write data to the write-ahead log data set (WADS), which, in turn, allows the use of hardware features that maximize performance.
• Additional storage architecture changes in IMS Connect for better performance and CPU utilization. In IMS V13, some storage in the IMS Connect receive communication module was changed to use CPOOL instead of STORAGE OBTAIN for better performance. As a continuation of this effort in IMS V15, the remaining storage that was still allocated using STORAGE OBTAIN is changed to be allocated using CPOOL.
• New parameter for the number of concurrent active threads. The new MINTHRDS parameter enables you to tune the minimum number of concurrent active threads for an individual data store for improved performance.
• Improved ESAF connection thread management. New efficiencies in connection thread management help reduce overhead on IMS connections to external subsystems.

Broader support for dynamic change

• DEDB Alter support for dynamically adding a new field to existing free space in a DEDB segment provides higher availability.
• DEDB Alter support for IMS -managed application control blocks (ACBs) allows higher DEDB availability in an IMS catalog environment.
• Enhancements to DDL automation options. The capability to issue CREATE DDL statements for Fast Path DEDB databases, Full Function databases, and program views allows greater self-service capabilities for rapid deployment.
• IMSRSC repository enhancements, including:
  • Support for Multiple Systems Coupling (MSC) resources allows IMS to automatically retrieve dynamically defined MSC resources from the repository at cold start.
  • Additional cleanup enhancements for the IMS RSC repository provide additional checks for an IMS leaving an IMSPlex and allow optional deletion of associated information.

Increased potential for growth with scalability and high-availability improvements

• The following enhancements have been made in IMS Connect:
  • The maximum number of ports is increased from 50 to 200.
  • Support is added for specifying a timeout for idle connections.
  • An option is added to generate a new unique client ID when a duplicate is detected.
• Conversion of the DFSAOUE0 AOI Exit Interface to use storage above the line helps improve availability by avoiding storage-related abends.
• Support for IMS programmers to specify that IMS should calculate the total number of Fast Path buffers (CNBA) to allocate for a CCTL region connecting to IMS.
• New Common Queue Server automatic structure checkpoint, which helps improve overall IMS availability.
• Improved availability when using OTMA flood control.
• Support for growing client workloads that require more than 9999 queue manager buffers, while protecting the system from out-of-storage conditions.

Simplify system administration

• Reduced need for IMS system definition enhancements. IMS V15 delivers further streamlining of the IMS system definition process and the resulting required system generation (SYSGEN).
• Consolidation of IMS logger parameters. All parameters that control the operation of the IMS logger are consolidated into a single location for more streamlined system administration and management.
• Simplified dynamic resource definition. IMS V15 introduces a new type of user exit, PGMCREAT, to allow program and database resources to be created dynamically for BMP and JBP regions when a program is scheduled. This exit allows resources to be defined at the time they are needed, without requiring the resources to be predefined through system definition or a user command.
• z/OSMF workflows. Two new z/OSMF workflows for IMS help you streamline traditional tasks and automate others.
• New QUERY TRACE and UPDATE TRACE commands enhance the usability of IMS type-2 traces.
• A new CQS unique return code for z/OS logger write errors helps speed analysis and problem determination in shared queues.

IMS V15 is offered under a new delivery and support model in which both functional enhancements and product maintenance are delivered to market when ready rather than on a version boundary. This new delivery approach makes it easier for you to stay as current as possible and adopt new function as your business needs require. For more information, see the Terms and Conditions section.

IMS V15 is using the Quality Partnership Program (QPP) process. On March 3, 2017, IBM shipped the product to customers participating in QPP. Validation activities with these customers have confirmed readiness of the product. For more information regarding the IMS V15 QPP, see Software Announcement 216-514, dated December 6, 2016.

Key prerequisites

IMS V15 interoperates with:

• IBM z® /OS
• IBM Z processor
• Java
• IRLM
• IBM DB2
• IBM CICS®
• IBM WebSphere MQ
• IBM WebSphere Application Server
• COBOL

See the Technical information section for details.

Planned availability date

October 27, 2017

217-517

IBM Db2 Event Store delivers transactions, hyper ingest, and real-time analytics

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At a glance

IBM Db2 Event Store supports:

• Extreme data ingest
• Real-time analytics for all your data
• Event-driven business demands
• Open data format

Overview

Db2 Event Store is an in-memory optimized database for event-driven data processing and analysis. It allows for massive volume ingest of event-driven data while serving real-time business analytics.

Db2 Event Store is built upon the Apache Spark platform and uses the Apache Parquet data format to seamlessly integrate into an open source stack and prevent vendor lock-in.

Key prerequisites

For details, see the Hardware requirements and the Software requirements sections.

Planned availability date

December 14, 2017

217-434

IBM Resiliency Orchestration delivers a single dashboard that combines automation and analytics for faster, more cost-effective disaster recovery

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At a glance

IBM Resiliency Orchestration provides:

• Business benefits that include:
  • Reduced risk. Orchestration simplifies disaster recovery through pre-packaged patterns and intelligent workflow automation. This significantly improves reliability of the disaster recovery (DR) solution and data Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) Service Level Agreements.
  • Validated DR readiness. Automated, non-intrusive DR testing and validation can reduce testing times and failover and failback.
  • Increased efficiency and reduced costs.
• IT benefits include:
  • Reduction in DR exercise time
  • Reduction in dependency on experts
  • Real-time monitoring by using an integrated dash board view
  • One-click failover and recovery
  • Extensive, enterprise interoperability to support heterogeneous environments
  • Comprehensive disaster recovery audit and compliance reports
  • Lower total cost of ownership and faster return on investment realization

Overview

In 2016, IBM announced the acquisition of Sanovi Technologies, a privately held company that provides hybrid cloud recovery, cloud migration, and business continuity software for enterprise data centers, and cloud infrastructure. By adding these capabilities along with advanced analytics, IBM can better bolster its Software Defined Resiliency strategy and delivery of Business Continuity and DR services for clients who undergo digital and hybrid cloud transformation.

With the Sanovi software, IBM further empowers clients to redefine their DR strategy in the face of unprecedented industry change. The addition of the Sanovi orchestration technology to the existing IBM Resiliency portfolio offers a solution to help:

• Simplify and automate the DR process.
• Manage recovery workflows.
• Reduce recovery time, operating costs, and DR drill testing time.

IBM Resiliency Orchestration, an on-premise IBM software offering, features a management solution for aligning DR infrastructure and capabilities with Recovery Time and Recovery Point objectives. This software offers disaster recovery monitoring, reporting, testing and workflow automation capabilities of complex, hybrid cloud environments in a scalable solution that is built on industry standards. In contrast to IBM Cloud Resiliency Orchestration, which provides ongoing fully-managed services, this new offering allows clients to purchase the on-premise software and optional implementation services. The result is a unified, DR management solution that delivers real-time, DR readiness validation and offers clear business and operational advantages.

The software combines automation and analytics for faster, more cost-effective disaster recovery to help keep daily business operations running and to proactively avoid disruptions that lead to lost revenue, brand damage, and dissatisfied clients. Resiliency Orchestration can simplify disaster recovery automation with real-time readiness validation that can reduce DR test times and disaster recovery failover time. This results in a more cost-effective disaster recovery experience that is smarter, more tailored and more agile than ever before.

Key prerequisites

Resiliency Orchestration requires:

• Workstation with a minimum:
  • Intel Xeon™ processor of 2.27GHz
  • 8 GB of memory
  • Four processor cores
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.3
• MariaDB 10.1.19
• Apache Tomcat 7.0.55

For specific requirements, refer to the Technical information section.

Planned availability date

October 6, 2017

217-501

IBM Rational Developer for i, V9.6 delivers significant enhancements

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Overview

IBM Rational Developer for i provides an integrated development environment (IDE) to create, maintain, and modernize applications on the IBM i platform. It integrates developer tools such as search, edit, build, and analysis, refactoring capabilities, and debuggers with the widely used Eclipse framework for faster, easier application development and modernization. Rational Developer for i integrates with IBM Rational Team Concert™ or independent software vendor (ISV) solutions for better application lifecycle planning and management.

Rational Developer for i, V9.6 delivers significant new capabilities:

• Rational Developer for i, V9.6 is now compatible with Eclipse 4.6, providing new base functionality and better integration with other modern application development tools.
• Error reporting is enhanced to use annotations that highlight the columns within the line that have caused compile errors. This location information is maintained even as lines are added and deleted from the source. As the cursor hovers over an error, the message appears along with a link to second-level help.
• Hovering over variables now shows the containing data structure or external file and record and also any other contributors to the definition of this field and enable you to hyperlink to them.
• The hovers are enhanced to show the associated documentation for the given RPG declaration, encouraging better comments as they are even more useful with greater visibility. Any unused declarations can now optionally be flagged within the source.
• Pressing the enter key within free-form RPG now intelligently splits the line and repositions the cursor.
• The building of i projects can now be invoked with a convenient shortcut. You can conveniently set the IBM i connection and library for all the selected i projects in one action.
• Rational Developer for i, V9.6 ships with the current version of Access Client Solutions and the Java Toolbox.
• RPG and COBOL + Modernization Tools, Java Edition now supports IBM WebSphere Application Server, V9.

Key prerequisites

Rational Developer for i supports IBM i, Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) platforms. For details, see the Hardware requirements and Software requirements sections.

Planned availability date

• November 16, 2017, in Passport Advantage®
• November 21, 2017, in AAS

217-399

IBM Z APM Connect V5.5.0, formerly known as IBM OMEGAMON® for Application Performance Management, improves visibility into IBM z /OS application components with support for transaction tracking, resource monitoring metrics, and events

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Overview

IBM Z Application Performance Management Connect V5.5.0, formerly known as IBM OMEGAMON for Application Performance Management, builds on and enhances monitoring capabilities of the previous OMEGAMON offering, providing improved visibility into critical application components running on IBM z /OS:

• Support for IBM Application Performance Management and AppDynamics Application Performance Management software
• Dedicated agents to collect transaction timing information for key z/OS subsystems such as CICS, MQ, and DB2
• Integration with existing IBM OMEGAMON agents in order to make events and resource monitoring metrics gathered by the IBM OMEGAMON agents visible in the Application Performance Management (APM) software

Key prerequisites

See the Software requirements and Hardware requirements sections.

Planned availability date

December 8, 2017

See the Availability of national languages section for national language availability.

217-438

IBM Process Transformation Manager V8.10.1 delivers a license option to increase flexibility and enables you to deploy a combination of offerings to better manage your digital process automation environment

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Overview

IBM Process Transformation Manager (IBM PTM) V8.10.1 is a software bundle that provides a license option to increase flexibility. Additionally, it enables you to deploy a combination of offerings to better manage your digital process automation environment. Based upon deployment needs, a combination of the following offerings can now be deployed:

• IBM Business Process Manager Server (IBM BPM) V8.6
• IBM Operational Decision Manager Advanced (IBM ODM) V8.9.1

IBM PTM is the IBM solution for reinventing business operations. It infuses every process with operational intelligence while increasing business expertise automation to deliver greater client centricity. This approach drives greater efficiency and optimization in end-to-end processes through software capabilities, such as:

• Operational decision management
• Business process management
• Case management

Key prerequisites

IBM BPM

IBM BPM V8.6 requires:

• Workstation with a supported operating system
• Supported database server
• Supported web browser

For additional details, see the Technical Information section in Software Announcement 217-379, dated August 22, 2017.

IBM ODM

ODM V8.9.1 operates with a range of operating environments that include:

• AIX®
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
• Microsoft Windows
• Mac OS

For additional details, see the Technical information section in Software Announcement 217-435, dated October 3, 2017.

Planned availability date

November 10, 2017

See the Availability of national languages section for national language availability.

217-435

IBM Operational Decision Manager V8.9.1 delivers performance and scalability improvements, a new REST API for automation, and enhanced usage metering

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At a glance

New capabilities in IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM) V8.9.1 include:

• Decision Center
  • REST API to build, test, and deploy decision services
  • Many performance and scalability improvements, especially when working with large decision services
  • Improved selection of user groups in the LDAP connection
  • Enhanced Business Console interface for managing decision service snapshots and export-import
  • An updated support for IBM Cloud Product Insights, with improved metering and support for additional application servers
• Decision Server Rules
  • More detailed error messages at compilation and execution
• Decision Server Insights
  • Higher entity scalability, with offloading to databases
  • Reliability improvements, with internal component upgrades

In parallel with the delivery of ODM V8.9.1, public files to facilitate the creation and deployment of ODM images on Docker are available and updated in the GitHub repository.

Overview

IBM Digital Process Automation offers a set of solutions that allows clients to adapt their operations to achieve a better client centricity. ODM, a key offering in the Digital Process Automation portfolio, allows businesses to automate and manage day-to-day operational decisions and get greater visibility and control over how those decisions are made in their organizations. It provides a comprehensive and easy-to-use platform that allows clients to capture, automate, and manage frequently occurring and repeatable business decisions. As a result, clients can:

• Identify opportunities more easily.
• Respond to market demands quickly.
• Minimize risks.
• Operate consistently.

The ODM offerings include Advanced, Standard, and Express editions that address the incremental requirements from basic rules to full decision management:

• ODM Express provides an entry point that is designed for initial business rules projects.
• ODM Standard allows clients to adapt decision logic of applications at the speed of business. Its dedicated, rule authoring and validation environments for business stakeholders gives visibility into control over and automation of point-in-time business decisions.
• ODM Advanced builds on the capabilities of ODM Standard with Decision Server Insights that helps capture events, build context, and apply them to operational decisions in real time. Clients can detect situations as they occur to present risks or opportunities, and to enable the appropriate action.

Additional capabilities that are added to Version 8.9.1 include improvements for Decision Center, Decision Server Rules, and Decision Server Insights. ODM V8.9.1 supports organizations in virtually every industry by:

• Automating and governing operational decision making across business processes and applications to help improve business insight and ensure consistent outcomes
• Helping detect opportunities and risks in real time
• Easily and consistently helping business stakeholders to implement, test, and deploy decision changes to meet new market demands and policy requirements
• Understanding how business decisions that drive operations are made
• Applying decisions consistently across applications

For additional benefits of ODM, see IBM Knowledge Center.

Key prerequisites

ODM operates with a range of operating environments that include:

• AIX
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
• Microsoft Windows
• Mac OS

ODM pattern deployments require one of the following:

• IBM PureApplication® Software V2.2.4, on all underlying PureApplication System appliances
• IBM PureApplication Service on Softlayer V1.0.0

For details, see the Technical Information section.

Planned availability date

• November 10, 2017
  • Electronic distribution
  • US English and national languages
• November 17, 2017
  • Media pack
  • US English and national languages

See the Availability of national languages section for national language availability.

217-441

IBM Operational Decision Manager for z/OS, V8.9.1 delivers performance and scalability improvements, a new REST API for automation, and enhanced usage metering

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At a glance

IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM) Standard for z/OS offers full, transactional decision automation across the enterprise. It is fully compatible with the rule management capabilities of the ODM product family.

New capabilities for Decision Center and Decision Server Standard in the IBM ODM product family, Version 8.9.1 include:

• Decision Center - Business Console:
  • REST API to build, test, and deploy decision services
  • Many performance and scalability improvements, especially when working with large decision services
  • Improved selection of user groups in the LDAP connection
  • Enhanced Business Console interface for managing decision service snapshots and export-import
  • An updated support for IBM Cloud Product Insights, with improved metering and support for additional application servers

• Decision Server Standard:
  • More detailed error messages at compilation and execution

In addition, ODM Standard for z/OS adds capabilities for:

• An enhanced integration with IBM CICS Transaction Server Liberty server deployments
• Enhancements to the new, batched-request API

Overview

IBM Digital Process Automation offers a set of solutions that allows clients to adapt their operations to achieve a better client centricity. ODM, a key offering in the Digital Process Automation portfolio, allows businesses to automate and manage day-to-day operational decisions and get greater visibility and control over how those decisions are made in their organizations. It provides a comprehensive and easy-to-use platform that allows clients to capture, automate, and manage frequently occurring and repeatable business decisions. As a result, clients can:

• Identify opportunities more easily.
• Respond to market demands quickly.
• Minimize risks.
• Operate consistently.

In addition, ODM Standard for z/OS brings the benefits of decision automation and management with minimal resource impact to your production environments and optimal execution performances.

ODM Standard for z/OS offers full transactional decision automation across the enterprise. ODM Standard for z/OS is fully compatible with the rule management capabilities of the ODM product family.

Additional capabilities that are added to Version 8.9.1 include improvements for Decision Server Rules and Decision Center.

ODM for z/OS, V8.9.1 supports organizations in virtually every industry by:

• Automating and governing operational decision making across business processes and applications to help improve business insight and ensure consistent outcomes
• Easily and consistently helping business stakeholders to implement, test, and deploy decision changes to meet new market demands and policy requirements
• Understanding how business decisions that drive operations are made
• Applying decisions consistently across applications

For additional benefits of ODM, see the IBM Knowledge Center.

Key prerequisites

IBM Z server or an equivalent hardware server that is capable of running z/OS V2.1, or later.

For details, see the Technical information section.

Planned availability date

November 24, 2017

See the Availability of national languages section for national language availability.

217-468

IBM Financial Crimes Geographic Risk Insight delivers a geographic risk assessment solution

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Overview

IBM Financial Crimes Geographic Risk Insight, a cloud service, provides a geographic risk assessment solution that rates countries according to their risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. Each country is assigned a risk score, a risk rank, and a risk rating of high, medium, or low, based on the cumulative weight of factors indicative of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Organizations can use Financial Crimes Geographic Risk Insight to replace existing internally developed high-risk country lists used in anti-money laundering (AML) rules compliance programs that takes the following in mind:

• Transaction monitoring systems
• Your customer programs
• Anti-money laundering and sanctions risk assessments
• Enterprise-wide risk assessments

Key prerequisites

For details, refer to the Technical information section.

Planned availability date

December 19, 2017

217-404

IBM Data Virtualization Manager for z/OS allows organizations to virtualize z/OS data with other enterprise data in a form that is readily consumable by analytics, digital applications, and users

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At a glance

IBM Data Virtualization Manager for z/OS, V1.1 enhances IBM's premier z/OS data integration solution with new capabilities for creating real-time, virtual views of enterprise data, both mainframe and nonmainframe. With Data Virtualization Manager, data remains securely in place, ready when needed in the right format wherever it resides. It unlocks the value of your mainframe data for real-time customer and business insights across your enterprise, without the cost and complexity associated with moving data.

Industry-standard APIs and interfaces include:

• SQL (JDBC/ODBC, Python DB API)
• API/Web Services (REST, SOAP, HTTP)
• NoSQL (JSON/BSON)
• z/OS resident consumers (Db2, CICS, IMS, TSO, Batch, MQ)

Supported files and databases include:

• Mainframe: Adabas, Db2 for z/OS, IMS DB, IDMS, Sequential files, VSAM
• z/OS system: SMF record types, log streams, virtual tape, zFS
• Hadoop: Big SQL on Hortonworks, Cloudera, BigInsights®
• IBM distributed: Db2 Warehouse, Db2 Warehouse on Cloud, Db2, Informix®
• Nonmainframe data sources via DRDA: Oracle, SQL Server, Derby, and others

Additional capabilities include:

• Metadata repository for sharing and repurposing metadata maps for faster deployment
• In-memory data caching that delivers real-time information retrieval
• Map/Reduce and parallel I/O data architecture that significantly accelerates query performance
• A multithreaded z/OS data virtualization server that diverts up to 99% of its processing to a specialty engine (zIIP) for optimal mainframe capacity management
• Full optimization for current mainframe platforms, including IBM z14

Overview

IBM Data Virtualization Manager for z/OS, V1.1 is the industry's only data virtualization technology that resides directly on the mainframe. It allows organizations to virtualize z/OS data along with data from other sources in real time to provide comprehensive information in a form readily consumable by analytics, digital applications, and users. The product offers:

• The ability to keep data secure and in place with real-time data virtualization on IBM Z
• Support for a broad range of mainframe and nonmainframe data sources, including popular Hadoop distributions
• Breadth of API and interface support for SQL, JSON, SOAP, HTTP, and REST
• z/OS resident optimization for improved performance and TCO
• An abstraction layer to improve productivity and reduce reliance on mainframe skills

Key prerequisites

IBM Data Virtualization Manager for z/OS operates on any z Systems hardware configuration that supports the required software. Refer to the Hardware requirements and Software requirements sections for details.

Planned availability date

November 3, 2017

217-297

IBM Print Transform from AFP to Accessible PDF feature for z/OS, V1.2.1 is a new optional, priced feature to meet accessibility regulations

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At a glance

The IBM Print Transform from AFP to Accessible PDF feature for z/OS delivers new functionality. It builds on the base AFP to PDF Print Transform and is designed to automatically produce PDF documents that comply with the ISO 14289-1 PDF/UA standard and WCAG 2.0 AA. The capabilities of this optional, priced feature include:

• The use of specific and mandatory tagging techniques enhances the navigation of the document. Automating transactional documents using the AFP to PDF transform with the Accessible PDF feature combines business rules to add the necessary tags and descriptions required to convert a PDF to an accessible PDF/UA document.
• They allow readers to skip sections of content that are not of immediate interest and to easily move forward and backward through the document.
• Graphical elements are tagged as "figures" and permit users to enter appropriate descriptions about what each figure depicts.
• The natural language of the document is defined as well as changes to language used within the document. This is important for multilingual documents and permits speak-aloud software to use proper pronunciations appropriate to the language being used as it changes throughout the document.

Overview

Providing documents that are in compliance with the regulations governing the delivery of accessible documents to blind, partially sighted, and cognitively disabled individuals is becoming increasingly important. The new IBM Print Transform from AFP to Accessible PDF feature can automate the creation of accessible documents that comply with the ISO 14289-1 PDF/UA standard and WCAG 2.0 AA. This new optional, priced feature builds on the base IBM Print Transform from AFP to PDF product (5655-TF1).

The base AFP to PDF Print Transform, working together with Infoprint Server for z/OS, an optional feature of IBM z/OS (5650-ZOS), can transform your output transparently, without rewriting any applications. This helps you gain increased flexibility and efficiency for your production operations by utilizing a wider choice of technology, protocols, and formats. Infoprint Server is an operational prerequisite, but is not required to install the transform products.

The Print Transform from AFP products for Infoprint Server for z/OS are designed to be an integral part of your z/OS -based enterprise output management infrastructure and may give you the flexibility and delivery options you need for output management. They allow you to print z/OS Advanced Function Printing (AFP)-based output on network-attached printers that support PCL, PostScript™, or PDF for personal or departmental use, without moving data or resources off of the z/OS system.

Key prerequisites

The Print Transform from AFP products for Infoprint Server for z/OS, V1.2 and 1.2.1 require z/OS V2.1 (5650-ZOS), or later, with the z/OS Infoprint Server feature for operation.

The IBM Print Transform from AFP to Accessible PDF feature requires Print Transform from AFP to PDF for Infoprint Server for z/OS, V1.2.1.

For specific requirements, see the Technical information section.

Planned availability date

October 27, 2017

217-467

IBM Financial Transaction Manager for ACH Services for z/OS, V3.0.4

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At a glance

Capabilities of IBM Financial Transaction Manager for ACH Services for z/OS, V3.0.4:

• Brings robust NACHA and immediate payments processing capabilities to the IBM z /OS platform
• Includes ability to send and receive immediate payments designed to comply with The Clearing House (TCH) Real-time Payments initiative
• Provides an ISO 20022-based platform that can be extended to help support the Zelle ^SM payments network, pan-European instant payments, and other immediate payments schemes
• Has the ability to provide the required payments or receipt acknowledgement within the TCH Real-time Payments system mandates
• Includes workflows and maps to support immediate payment requirements
• Leverages the Financial Transaction Manager user interface to view immediate payment transactions and provide exception resolution
• Delivers benchmark reports to support throughput and latency requirements for immediate payments
• Offers benefits provided by IBM Z hardware and the z/OS operating system including fast, predictable response time, seamless scalability, continuous availability, and highest levels of security
• Supports the option of IBM Payments Pricing Solution for z/OS to add per-payment pricing for Financial Transaction Manager payments workloads on z/OS environments

Overview

Financial Transaction Manager for ACH Services for z/OS, V3.0.4 brings the ACH processing capabilities of Financial Transaction Manager to the z/OS platform. This includes the ability to process outbound and inbound immediate payments within the modern, robust IBM Financial Transaction Manager suite, as well as support for the clearing and settlement of NACHA transactions. It delivers a payments solution that complies with The Clearing House (TCH) Real-time Payments initiative. It features an extendable platform that can be easily extended to help support the pan-European instant payments solution, the Zelle payments network, and other new regional or in-country schemes worldwide. The solution is able to process high volumes of financial messages reliably and is designed to meet the throughput and latency mandates for TCH Real-time Payments and other schemes with similar performance requirements.

Financial Transaction Manager for ACH Services for z/OS offers an established solution that helps support financial institutions in the development or transformation of their financial transaction management systems. Financial Transaction Manager for ACH Services for z/OS, V3.0.4 adds additional immediate payments capabilities to existing support for the UK Faster Payments formats and the payment processing requirements for Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) in Singapore.

Immediate payments processing capabilities:

• Provides a new payment rail that supports immediate payments as a new payments alternative
• Delivers a payments solution designed to comply with TCH Real-time Payments system's inbound and outbound use cases 1, 2, and 3
• Offers the capability to be extended to help support the Zelle payments network, pan-European instant payments, and other country-specific or regional immediate payment schemes
• Provides APIs to support many legacy payment applications and services for other payment types through the Financial Transaction Manager Internal Standard Format (ISF)
• Delivers ability to integrate with anti-fraud capabilities
• Supports ISO 20022 payment message APIs for adding messages to the immediate payments message stream and receiving corresponding notification of transaction results
• Offers the ability to participate in pilot phases for existing and new payment schemes as these new schemes are rolled out
• Delivers the ability to achieve business insights into the message warehouse data by using IBM Cognos® Business Intelligence
• Includes both an administration and operations GUI through Financial Transaction Manager

NACHA transaction processing capabilities:

• Supports receiving and sending files in accordance with the NACHA 2014 operating rules (includes all SEC codes)
• Delivers reference implementations for NACHA file origination and receipt
• Has transaction routing and delivery rules for ACH processors, including direct sends from one financial institution to another
• Includes administration capabilities for partner on-boarding and maintenance
• Delivers process management for operational control and system monitoring
• Helps with ACH payment receipt capabilities, including control total matching, authorization, NACHA rules compliance validation, and Notification of Change (NOC) and Death Notification Entry (DNE) management
• Contains ACH payment processing capabilities, including risk services, customer billing for products and services, generation of accounting entries, inbound and outbound returns, and accounts receivable check conversion services
• Handles exception management of files, batches, and transactions
• Can manage warehousing of future dated work
• Contains reporting and extracts for financial institutions and their customers
• Includes data retention of processed transactions
• Includes documentation for the ACH implementation

The ability to run on ACH and Immediate Payments workloads on IBM Z hardware and the z/OS operating system can help provide the following additional client benefits:

• Fast, predictable response time
• Seamless scalability to accommodate unpredictable spikes in demand
• Continuous availability
• Highest levels of security

In addition, Financial Transaction Manager Enterprise clients can now take advantage of the new Payments Pricing Solution for z/OS. This pricing solution provides pricing flexibility with a per-payment pricing option for payments workloads on z/OS environments. Payments Pricing Solution for z/OS enables operational cost to be tied directly to business value by basing the price of the solution on the number of production payments that are processed, rather than capacity that is used to process them.

Key prerequisites

IBM Financial Transaction Manager for z/OS, V3.0 is a prerequisite for Financial Transaction Manager for ACH Services for z/OS, V3.0.4.

For additional information about system requirements, see the Technical information section.

Planned availability date

October 6, 2017: Physical media

217-495

IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i, V1.2.0 offers compression and encryption enhancements

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At a glance

IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i is a Licensed Program Product that enables IBM i clients to store data to a public or private cloud for purposes such as archiving, backup recovery, and file sharing.

Overview

IT organizations are increasingly using public and private cloud services to share files, back up data, and archive data. The first release of Cloud Storage Solutions for i, V1.1.0, provided an API that integrated with IBM Backup, Recovery, and Media Services (BRMS). Version 1.2.0 introduces a new optional feature that provides compression and encryption.

Key prerequisites

IBM i 7.2, or later

Planned availability date

October 27, 2017

Services Announcements

617-016

IBM Resiliency Orchestration and Implementation Services

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Overview

IBM Resiliency Orchestration aligns disaster recovery (DR) infrastructure with recovery time and recovery point objectives for faster, more cost-effective disaster recovery. It provides disaster recovery monitoring, reporting, testing, and workflow automation of complex hybrid environments in a scalable, easier-to-use solution built on industry standards.

This offering combines automation and analytics along with DR response communications capabilities to keep daily business operations running and proactively avoid disruptions that lead to lost revenue, brand damage, and dissatisfied customers. The Implementation Services combine technical expertise with state-of-the-art software, into a scalable, easy-to-use solution built on industry standards.

For more information about IBM Resiliency Orchestration, see Software Announcement 217-434, dated October 03, 2017.

For more information about IBM Orchestration Software Integration with IT and Application Discovery, see Services Announcement 617-004, dated October 03, 2017.

Planned availability date

October 6, 2017

Withdrawal Announcements

917-162

Service withdrawal: Selected IBM Security Services

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Overview

Effective October 3, 2017, IBM will withdraw the following service products from marketing.

In addition, support for these products will be withdrawn effective January 5, 2018.

Note: These offerings may not be available in your area.

Withdrawn products

Replacement products

The withdrawn products have been replaced by:

• IBM X-Force Red Offensive Security Services (Managed) -X-Force Red security testing services (6948-52T)
• IBM X-Force Red Offensive Security Services - application security testing services (6948-55X)
• IBM X-Force Red Offensive Security Services - network security testing services (6948-55Y)
• IBM X-Force Red Offensive Security Services - hardware/device security testing services (6948-55Z)
• IBM X-Force Red Offensive Security Services - human security testing services (6948-56A)