SRO Data Utility
SRO’s Data Utility tool is proven to eliminate Maximo EAMS outages and provide a pragmatic, downtime-free upgrade and migration process that permits your business to keep running, even while the software is being updated.
The SDU is an ETL toolkit that helps IBM Maximo customers to reduce downtime during the Maximo upgrade and data migration processes. The SDU’s unique change capture capabilities allow you to synchronise changed data from one environment to another. Each environment may be on a different version, patch or internal change release level.
The SDU can also be used to move data from production to non-production environments. The SDU captures and synchronises the data so that environments can be kept in sync with a seamless cutover.
Implementations
SRO Data Utility is often referred to "Zero Downtime Upgrades" and can be applied to any Maximo upgrade process, especially when downtime is an issue.
Maximo Migrations & Upgrades
SRO’s Data Utility tool is proven to eliminate downtime and provide a pragmatic upgrade and migration process that permits your business to keep running, even while software is being updated.
Upgrade
The SDU upgrade enables an organisation to reduce the overall downtime of a major Maximo upgrade. It involves upgrading from one major Maximo version to another. Some examples include Maximo Industry Solutions and add-ons such as Maximo Mobile and Maximo Scheduler.
Examples of completed upgrades:
• Maximo 6.2.6 - Maximo 7.6.0.5
• Maximo 7.1.1.5 - Maximo 7.6.0.2
• Maximo 7.5.0.8 - Maximo 7.6.0.5
• Maximo 4.0.1 - Maximo 7.6.0.4
The SDU will migrate data changes from current production into the future production system which has been upgraded through the various levels
required.
Data Migration
The SDU migration functionality allows an organisation to reduce downtime when migrating data from legacy systems or from existing Maximo configurations to another - it may also include an upgrade to a later version. It is similar to the upgrade scenario. However, no official IBM Maximo upgrade is performed as the organisation may want to move away from the existing configuration or version into a separately configured Maximo environment.
The SDU will first migrate all the non-configuration data and continue to synchronise delta data changes from current production into the target production system.
Typical migration scenarios include:
• De-Customization
• New Corporate Configuration Rules
• Re-Implementation
• Large Business Process Changes
Production Outages
The SDU Production Outages facility allows significant downtime reduction or elimination for typical production outages. This scenario requires a temporary or permanent duplicate of the existing production system to function.
The SDU will migrate data changes from current production into the target production system which has been re-configured with a new release or patched to a later minor level.
Typical outages scenarios may include:
• Maximo Table adjustments
• New tables/columns
• Extending fields
• Dropping tables/columns
• Workflow re-configuration
• Screen changes
• Integration adjustments
• New interfaces
• Modification of existing interfaces
• Rebuilding interface tables
• Applying a FixPack or HotFix
Merge Environments
The SDU Merge functionality allows an organisation to merge multiple instances of Maximo while reducing downtime impact – an upgrade may also be involved. In this scenario, the target database may have data written from various sources or may already have live users within the system.
Examples:
• Merging environments
• Consolidating separated instances of Maximo to a corporate level configuration
• Combining vendor instances of Maximo
SDU FAQ
The SDU Frequently Asked Questions will help you to understand how SRO Data Utility can assist you. Please contact us for any further details.
The SDU takes very minimal performance away from your existing production system. Some additional database objects are put in place to assist in the SDU migration; however, there has been no visible impact to user’s performance in Maximo on any project to date. This includes some of the biggest actional Maximo databases implemented within the U.S.
Reach out to us for a demonstration of how the SDU works.
Yes.
The SDU has completed multiple projects where similar conversions have been required. It has been designed to allow migration from and to any of the IBM Maximo supported database platforms. We have various projects that we can discuss the success the SDU had in assisting clients that require a database platform change.
The SDU is installed on-premise within your network and environments to ensure the fastest speeds possible when moving your data. While it is possible to place the SDU into a cloud-based architecture if required, the performance of transferring data is not optimal – unless of course your infrastructure for Maximo is also held within the same cloud environment.
If you have a requirement that could require a hybrid solution, then contact us to discuss options available to you.
The SDU never stores your data – no copies are taken anywhere; it simply acts as a vessel for Extracting, Transforming and Loading your data to your target Maximo environment.
Therefore, the SDU only requires a small footprint on storage – typically around 5GB for the initial installation with almost no growth on the SDU server and minimal growth on your current Maximo database.
More detail can be provided on request, contact us
Yes.
The Transformation layer built into the SDU allows for customising the default IBM Maximo Upgrade path of your data. Reach out to us for examples we have completed on other projects or to discuss any requirement you have. Contact us
Yes.
Your custom tables and columns are automatically recognised by the SDU and then added into the migration rules as required. Want to convert your custom data to out of the box fields? Contact us to discuss.
Yes.
For any add-on or industry vertical that has been added to your Maximo installation and the data is stored and managed by Maximo then the SDU can assist with this data also. Many projects have already completed with various additional pieces to the core Maximo product.
If you have any question about a specific industry solution or add-on you have in place, then please contact us to discuss.
Yes.
The SDU has been utilised on numerous projects where the existing Maximo configuration no longer suited the client and a re-implementation was required. The SDU is configured to move the data to the new format to allow the upgrade process to be bypassed if needed.
If you have a re-implementation concern, please contact us to discuss how the SDU could help.
Yes.
Merging environments can be a costly and challenging process, especially when needing to align business processes with different data sets. The SDU can be utilised to merge multiple Maximo instances and remove the untimely outage that this may have otherwise caused.
We will love to hear from you if you have a challenge where the SDU could help. Contact us to arrange a call.
No.
While it is possible to bypass the IBM Upgrade process if a re-implementation project is required using the SDU. The standard procedure for an SDU project is to work alongside the IBM Upgrade process ensuring all your configurations and data remain compliant to the new version of Maximo.
Please contact us to discuss in more detail.
Yes.
The SDU can be utilised across any of the IBM Maximo core shelves of products.
The SRO Data Utility is a toolkit that can be rented monthly based on your project timeline or purchased based on a perpetual licence agreement. Both options ensure the kit is provisioned with the most up to date mapping templates from your version of Maximo.
Along with the toolkit, there will also be an element of SRO Solutions SDU services. These days can vary and will be dependant on the data migrations requirements you have at the time. For our clients using the toolkit long time, we would expect to minimise the SRO input for future releases.
"The SDU tool allowed us to test things out in real-time while still running production - so it’s much less stress, and there is no downtime."
Bill Quinlan, Manager Plant Floor Systems at American Axel Manufacturing
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