Unisys ClearPath Libra Reviews

I worked at a higher educational institution and we deployed our student information system on Unisys ClearPath Libra. Additionally, prior to 2021, we used Unisys ClearPath Libra for our finance and HR payroll applications. However, those have been voided out into a different environment. At the present time, Unisys ClearPath Libra is only being used for the student information system that is written in what Unisys has a proprietary development tool called Enterprise Application developer, it's a 4GL language.

We use Dell EMC servers for storage.

The most valuable feature of Unisys ClearPath Libra is the power of the system. There can be hundreds, maybe even thousands of users using the system at the same time, as well as batch jobs. 

The ability to look at file structures on the Unisys ClearPath Libra, as if it were a Microsoft Windows file share, has been easy to use for our users and the people in the technology department. 

The database structure was proprietary software that runs on the Unisys ClearPath Libra on the mainframe. We were able to look at the database and the data within it as if it was a SQL database, and we were able to pull data away with the latest, greatest tools on the Microsoft Windows platform.

In a future release, it would be helpful to have a monitor for runaway programs. For example, if you have a runaway program and it's utilizing all of your capacity, a monitor to alert you that there's something that's haywire and not working as what is typical.

I have been using the Burroughs or Unisys products since 1985.  I have been using Unisys ClearPath Libra for approximately 10 years.

The solution is stable, we have a 99.9 percent uptime.

I rate the stability of Unisys ClearPath Libra a ten out of ten.

We have approximately 500 students and employees on campus that use the solution. However, we have thousands of students that use it from the student portal we developed. They can register for classes and do other tasks. The users that were accessing the solution this was was approximately 10,000 annually. The system can be used 24 hours a seven days a week.

Depending on COVID our number could go up or down.

I rate the scalability of Unisys ClearPath Libra an eight out of ten.

We did not have maintenance employees for the solution. When you purchase Unisys ClearPath Libra you receive what they call hardware and software surety or software agreements, and you have support contracts. If you have hardware problems or software problems, you report it to Unisys ClearPath Libra support. As far as the local staff at the college, we were only responsible for developing the applications and being knowledgeable of all of the different utilities available to us to operate the system. We worked with  Unisys ClearPath Libra support if we had any problems to get resolved.

We have not had to use the support substantially. We have not had our systems down for a lengthy period of time. The support is always friendly and able to assist us when needed.

I rate the support from Unisys ClearPath Libra a ten out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup of Unisys ClearPath Libra requires you to have the Unisys ClearPath Libra team with you during the setup. If the company is not knowledgeable of the Unisys ClearPath Libra platform, and especially the underlying operating system of the A series or MCP environment. You need to understand all of this and all of the different tools that go along with it, such as the development software. You need to have knowledge of the platform and the development tools that you could use for the deployment of an application in the environment.

The difficulty is that we use a mainframe. It's not similar to a Microsoft Windows environment where it's easy to use user interface. Unisys ClearPath Libra has developed tools that allow you to manage the system using a graphical user interface, but you have to know what you're doing and take classes on how to manage the environment.

We recently went to a new platform in 2019. We refreshed the hardware every five years to keep it current. Unisys ClearPath Libra sent some experts to set up the system. You have a rack, with all of the different servers that go within the rack and they have to set up all of the communication,  parameters, and IP addresses. There are a lot of different things that need to be set up within the disk storage. The team was on campus for approximately one week, to get everything set up. As far as deployment and moving the data from our old environment over to the new environment and getting it ready to go live, that was a matter of just two days.

We used help from the Unisys ClearPath Libra team for the implementation of the solution.

The cost of Unisys ClearPath Libra is extremely high. If you're going to be looking at the Unisys ClearPath Libra platform, the hardware itself is not proprietary, and it's relatively cheap. The area that makes it the most expensive is the operating system, which is the A series MCP environment. It can be very pricey depending on the number of users and other factors. However, it's over five years and you can make it even longer than the five-year period. When you look at the price over a five-year period it's approximately $240,000 a year for the software. If you are using a metered system you will be paying for the horsepower usage.

There are not any hidden fees. If you want them to develop something for you or you need them to monitor your system for you. Those are above and beyond the standard purchase and usage of the Unisys ClearPath Libra. These are the only additional cost that there would be for development or monitoring services.

We have been using this solution for a very long time and have not strayed away from it. We were going to move into the cloud but it did not initially work out. We quickly reverted back to Unisys ClearPath Libra.

We are in the process of moving to another ERP, not because Unisys ClearPath Libra is not a good solution or because we are not satisfied. There are a lot of different changes through the federal government for financial aid and it's just easier for a higher education institution not to be on its own and to move to a new ERP. This would be the only reason that we're moving away from the Unisys ClearPath Libra platform because of the knowledge base and the future progression.

My advice to others that would use Unisys ClearPath Libra for the first time would be to take as much technical training as possible. Do the classes and understand the system to get the full benefit out of it.

I gave a nine rating because Unisys ClearPath Libra has helped the college develop a student information system that is very robust and we are able to use it well. The development tools that we have are beneficial, such as tools that allow us to keep our systems up to date, deploy to the web, or we can have a green screen. We still have people that use old mainframe screens where you use the tab button and everything to get from field to field. We have an experienced team that prefers the old ways to do operations.

I rate Unisys ClearPath Libra a nine out of ten.