What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Control-M is automating the deployment of ETL jobs which run periodically as batch processes, and also for deploying REST endpoint-based applications while ensuring that all required checks are performed and preventing unauthorized deployment by unauthorized personnel.
We have ETL jobs which run periodically and are fully configurable in our pipelines. These jobs pick up telemetry data available at a specific storage location, which is the telemetry data of Dell servers coming over the network. Since there are many such jobs, each targeting specific Dell offerings and corresponding telemetry data, we no longer need to manually monitor or trigger these jobs.
Control-M has automated the workflow, and we have specified all checks required for successful batch job triggering and for reporting any issues that arise. We find Control-M invaluable for relying on automated processes rather than manual intervention for triggering jobs and ensuring they run successfully with all checks passed according to our authentication requirements.
REST endpoints follow a slightly different flow since they are not deployed regularly. During release, when a feature is completed, REST endpoints are triggered, and this triggering of Control-M jobs is somewhat manual since release intervals are not fixed.
Before using Control-M, we had different environments including development, staging, non-production, and production. All deployments went through these environments with various integration tests, unit tests, and QA testing occurring whenever we moved from one environment to another. Previously, all of this was manual, and although we introduced some automation, it did not help as people still found ways to bypass the automation workflow.
Control-M has provided us with very strict controls that help us avoid failures caused by someone triggering jobs arbitrarily. We now have control, predictable execution and workflow, and we can rely on it to always work according to the checks we specified in the pipeline.
We have our own S3 storage and on-premises databases like PostgreSQL with applications also located on-premises in our Dell cloud or on-premises infrastructure. Since these are all on the same network, this integration does not pose any issues, and Control-M is able to trigger file transfers if required between all these components.
Our AI and ML workloads are in a nascent stage as we are still working on that. We will definitely explore the possibilities of introducing Control-M for our agentic workflow triggers.
How has it helped my organization?
Control-M has provided us with all improvements. First, a significant amount of work has been automated, allowing us to use our workforce for more useful purposes and saving on employee costs to some extent. Efficiency has improved since automation ensures that workflows run reliably. We have reduced time by eliminating the need to wait for someone to be notified to trigger workflows, as they are now automatically triggered. Availability is 24/7 due to Control-M automation, and error reduction has also been achieved.
Previously, we had a team of at least two or three people dedicated to executing workflows and notifying the team about failures. Now, the bandwidth from those three people working eight hours per day has been utilized for business-relevant work.
What is most valuable?
Beyond basic automation, we are implementing a next level of automation using Control-M agents. When we provide proper RBAC to a particular Control-M agent, it takes care of jobs, and they are now fully automated and monitored without any human touch. We have triggered alerts with Teams and Slack for any monitoring messages that may arise, indicating which team needs to know for debugging and fixing issues. Control-M automation combined with the latest Control-M agents feature has enabled us to deploy to our VMs and our Dell private cloud, which we use for deploying jobs and REST endpoints. The new Control-M agents feature is helping us eliminate the manual intervention that existed in earlier Control-M automation.
Every software now provides integration with notification mechanisms, and it is good that Control-M provides those as they are essential. Control-M has done a thorough job with governance and security, as we constantly see that agents could potentially access components they are not supposed to. Control-M agents have provided a mechanism to enforce that only authorized credentials provided for the agent can execute actions, and this is fully configurable and within user control. This is the best part.
Control-M has met our expectations. Our use cases were to trigger workflows without manual juggling, which was possible with manual triggering of Control-M jobs, but now with the AI agent, those are automated. We have not experienced any issues.
Audit trail is something we require for all workflows, and Control-M provides this very well.
What needs improvement?
Control-M is evolving day by day and is currently fulfilling all our needs. In the future, we may have more complicated requirements that I cannot anticipate now. However, Control-M is keeping pace with technology and customer demands. I am satisfied with what Control-M is offering.
Documentation is an area where some of my team members have struggled with following the documentation, and they frequently turn to experienced leads to understand issues that arise when configuring Control-M. While I have found the documentation very clear, I have received feedback from my junior team members suggesting that documentation could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I am involved with Control-M teams as the tech lead for the application development team, the batch processing team, and a few other areas. We work with Control-M all the time, and I am always involved in our workflows.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Control-M has been very stable for us.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We do not have many workloads that require us to scale Control-M itself. Whatever workloads we have, a single instance serves us sufficiently.
How are customer service and support?
I have not encountered any issues that would require customer support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Control-M, we used to deploy our applications, batch processing, or endpoints manually by triggering CI/CD pipelines. This type of automation was not available, which Control-M has now provided us.
What was our ROI?
We definitely achieve ROI. We need fewer employees, and we are saving both time and money.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not consider alternate solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I would give Control-M a rating of nine out of ten. I am not giving ten because there is always room for improvement. Nine is perfect from my perspective.
Control-M stands out because of the numerous benefits we are receiving. Earlier, we struggled significantly with executing workflows in a standardized way with all security controls and ensuring all checks were done so that random people could not trigger workflows, which resulted in wasted time resolving issues later. Now, with Control-M, we are confident when it comes to executing workflows, allowing us to focus more on business requirements and development rather than worrying about who manages timely execution and monitoring. I would have liked to rate it ten, but I believe there is always room for improvement with any technology as new business requirements arise and the world evolves.
If you still do not have any sort of automation in your workflows, especially with agentic automation, Control-M is the solution. If your infrastructure or project management team is struggling with this, you definitely need to use Control-M.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.