What is our primary use case?
I have been using BMC AMI Ops for one and a half years.
My main use case for BMC AMI Ops is mostly for automation, specifically different kinds of job automation. Depending on the conditions that match, there are scripts that need to be run. With the help of this tool, we run multiple scripts when the conditions are satisfied.
An example of how I use BMC AMI Ops for automation is that my job is not focused on scheduling or creating any job. My job is very limited to rerunning, restarting, and troubleshooting jobs. Although I have never automated any job, I have exposure to automating a small job. For instance, if the conditions are satisfied, we need to run a particular script, and there, we can use BMC AMI Ops.
I don't have anything else to add about my main use case or any other ways BMC AMI Ops helps me in my role because my role is very limited.
Regarding BMC AMI Ops's AI capabilities, I haven't used the AI feature extensively. However, I was impressed by what I saw at a BMC roadshow concerning how the AI works. I don't have much interaction with BMC AI so far, so I can't comment much on that.
Since I don't have much interaction with the AI in my day-to-day work with BMC AMI Ops, I prefer not to comment on its accuracy and reliability of output.
What is most valuable?
In my opinion, the best features BMC AMI Ops offers are all the features, as I like them overall. The most important feature is when there is a job that is waiting for some input or prerequisite. We don't have to dig manually a lot; we can just click an option on the job page to find out why the job is waiting, what it is waiting for, and what the prerequisites are.
I use that feature to check job prerequisites or troubleshoot issues quite often, and it does save me a lot of time compared to manual digging. If that feature is not there, I will have to check the neighbors, the successor job, the predecessor jobs, and then check each job and the entire flow. Instead of all that digging, I can simply click on that particular option to get the exact answer I need, regarding why the job is waiting and what needs to be done.
Another feature I rely on often is the viewpoint feature, where we can apply multiple filters and generate reports about various jobs, such as specific folders, applications, sub-applications, and sub-folders. These filters help us get the exact results we want on our dashboard, allowing us to manage the jobs that require our focus. The viewpoint feature is very important.
BMC AMI Ops has positively impacted my organization in multiple ways, especially in automation, as we do not have to manually run or search for or run scripts. When the conditions match, we can simply schedule the jobs, and it will run that script automatically. Without this feature, we would have to keep human resources available to monitor jobs 24/7, matching conditions and running scripts. This automation has helped us significantly.
What needs improvement?
I can't say how BMC AMI Ops can be improved because my role is very limited, and I have not explored the entire tool in my organization yet, so I can't comment on that.
Regarding needed improvements, by default, when we open a viewpoint, we don't see the jobs in a linear way. If all jobs could be displayed in the correct flow by default, it would be better. For example, Job 1 should run first, then Job 2, and so on. Sometimes, I find Job 1 somewhere down, Job 3 somewhere up, and Job 4 somewhere else. The jobs should be arranged sequentially by default; this could be improved.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
BMC AMI Ops is very stable. Whenever there is maintenance work, the tools admin takes good care of it, so there is not much impact on downtimes. Therefore, I would say it's a very stable tool.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Regarding the scalability of BMC AMI Ops, I can say that it is scalable. My organization is a bank, and at the end of every month, some delays occur in the jobs due to a lack of CPU resources. The company is not ready to increase CPU capacity because only at the end of the month are those resources in high demand. I have not worked on scalability much as I'm only responsible for the jobs, but I see the tools admin doing some work behind the scenes to manage resources when more jobs need to be run.
What was our ROI?
I can't share specific metrics about return on investment, as I'm not the correct person for this query. However, I can say that after deploying this tool, we have saved costs and reduced the need for employees, leading to less manual work.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for others looking into using BMC AMI Ops is to get certified from BMC while using this product. It will really make your life easy and help your organization, especially in the banking and BFSI sectors. Since I am BMC certified, I emphasize the importance of getting good training to effectively use this tool in day-to-day operations. I give this review a rating of 8 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)