Download the Workload Automation Buyer's Guide including reviews and more. Updated: July 2022
ASG-Zena is a robust, enterprise-wide workload management solution for distributed operations environments that support “event-based” scheduling as well as traditional time and date-based scheduling methodologies.
ASG-Zena provides non-invasive integration of legacy applications, ERP, and newer, “message aware” environments such as .NET and J2EE that offer advanced IT process automation. From a single console, users can manage workloads and several scheduling points across multiple platforms, including Windows , as well as multiple UNIX and Linux operating environments and on the AS/400. ASG-Zena improves efficiency and reduces costs. It also offers exception-based management, a highly scalable component-based architecture, fault tolerance, role-based security, and graphical drag-and-drop workload definition. (https://www.asg.com/Smart-Catalog/ASG-Zena.aspx)
Fraternidad Muprespa
We use it across mainframe Linux and Windows environments for batch and full workflow dependency. We do a lot of ETLs, so there are a huge number of dependencies, such as, get the flat file from an SFTP or call a script to pull the data out of a data structure. If you don't have the data, then nothing else should run.
It has replaced every single Windows Task Manager or Task Scheduler.
I have found the scheduling feature the most valuable. I can map dependencies by using ASG-Zena. It gives a nice, quick visualization as to where things are.
The scheduling mapping is a little disjointed. There is no wizard-type approach. There are a lot of different things that you have to do in completely different areas.
They could probably add the functionality for creating all components of a mapping or an OPA schedule. The component creation could be done collectively rather than through individual components.
It has been there in our organization for about five years. I have been using it for about a year and a half.
It is very stable and reliable.
Scalability is a bit hard because we're using up more licensing than the agency that originally implemented it. It has an agent licensing model versus a core model, which is another reason why we're in the process of looking at a CA product.
ASG-Zena is controlled through a sub-agency division and is actually managed by a third-party vendor. Anytime we want something changed or updated, we have to actually go through a long chain and so many people, which then impacts the midday running or overnight running of the processes. There's another agency that has just recently implemented a CA product, which only needs to do one schedule. They bought this big package, and all they need to do is one schedule. We're going to take over their product and its implementation. Next year, we're planning on migrating all of our around 300 schedules from ASG-Zena to CA, primarily because we will have direct control.
We currently have five users who are referred to as developer users. They monitor the systems and schedules, pick up on when something fails, and then make corrections to whatever they need to. There are three administrators, and only these administrators can restart a schedule.
I haven't used their technical support.
It is a very stable product, and it has a long-term history of reliability. However, in our organization, we're moving away from mainframes. They just do not fit with where we're going architecturally. My advice would be to not go for mainframe solutions because mainframes are dead.
I would rate ASG-Zena an eight out of ten.
