JAMS Reviews

We use Fortra's JAMS as our orchestration and scheduling platform to manage workloads executed on various timelines, from daily to every few minutes. Additionally, we incorporate ad hoc workloads, manually scheduled by individuals as needed.

JAMS support has been among the most helpful and knowledgeable we've ever worked with. They're always eager to assist and quickly find solutions. While a few minor issues required escalation, we've been able to resolve them all within the current version of JAMS. 

After initial misuse, we have optimized the use of several agents deployed in our environment. This improvement was made possible through collaboration with internal stakeholders and guidance on JAMS best practices. While agents might appear to directly solve user problems due to their ability to perform custom tasks on machines, in our cases, they operate behind the scenes, unseen by users.

JAMS handles exceptions well, especially when calling PowerShell scripts, successfully bubbling up errors.

It centralized our job and orchestration management functionalities into a single control plane, providing visibility into previously siloed work. This consolidation streamlined operations and enhanced oversight through a unified dashboard. Additionally, JAMS empowered us to build advanced processes by effectively managing retries, workflows, and sequences. Without JAMS, replicating this functionality would have been manual and inefficient, lacking the comprehensive visibility and control JAMS provides.

Data Slack refers to delays in data pipelines caused by disparate and siloed processes. Using JAMS, while powerful for scheduling and orchestration, can exacerbate this issue if teams break down processes into isolated tasks within different tools. This fragmentation leads to data sitting in queues and folders, awaiting processing. To improve efficiency and timeliness, it's recommended to consolidate these fragmented processes entirely under JAMS. This allows JAMS to execute the entire workflow from start to finish within a single execution, eliminating data slack and ensuring timely data delivery.

JAMS has helped save IT staff time by automating tasks previously performed with scripts, and its scheduling feature has been particularly useful.

We primarily use JAMS to coordinate jobs between our JD Edwards environment and SSIS packages that we had built to process packages through our SQL server. 

JAMS enables us to organize all these jobs. We have so many jobs that need to run in a specific order, and it's nice to have one place to put them instead of having to look in 18 different places. I still have jobs that aren't in JAMS, so we must go to each machine to find which jobs are running.

Before we had JAMS, we had a set of jobs running in JD Edwards' scheduling system and SQL jobs in its scheduling system. Those two sets of jobs were constantly interrupting each other. If the SQL jobs stopped running, the JD Edwards jobs would stop, so we had to troubleshoot and restart them. It was the same for JD Edwards jobs. JAMS allows us to coordinate the timing between them so the JD Edward jobs finish before the SSIS package runs or vice versa. 

JAMS has improved our productivity immensely because everything flows. I don't think we could operate at our current staffing levels without it. While we haven't eliminated monitoring tools, JAMS has freed up staff who were previously responsible for monitoring the systems. It's hard to estimate how much staff time has been saved, but we've been running JAMS for so long that we've probably saved years.  

The solution eliminated data slack because we can rerun some of these jobs as soon as they are completed, making the data more flexible and available to the end user. 

JAMS can save time when troubleshooting jobs. It depends on the case. Usually, it's an issue in the database, where someone entered an incorrect value. JAMS can't fix that because it's a human problem, but it brings the issue to our attention much faster because we get a failure report. It helps us solve the problem quicker once we notice something is broken. 

We use Fortra's JAMS primarily for SFTP file transfer.

The agents are essential because they are the core of the job scheduler process. The scheduler server only schedules the time to run the job, but the agents are the ones that execute it. We only connect to Windows systems, but it can connect to Linux systems and SQL databases. The agents have many features, including remote execution. There is so much possibility with the agents.

Running tasks help our users focus on their business processes more. Before I started using JAMS, I wasn't monitoring the server side, and I had no idea that so many file transfers go on. It's not just file transfers. So many services are running, and they need to be scheduled. There is no way a human can execute scripts, file transfers, or any process on time if we don't have a scheduler. So, the scheduler is like the company's backbone, taking care of all the processes and file transfers that need to run per the scheduled time and date.

The agents help us bridge the gap between structured batch automation and processes that occur on desktops and web browsers. I'm using it not for desktops as it is generally used; it is all about server-to-server. So, the files are created on some server and must be transferred to another server. And outside of our network using SFTP, both in and out. So, again, it's possible to execute any job locally or remotely. It can be a script. So, sitting locally or remotely, we can schedule it to run on demand, assuming it is trigger-based, like when it sees a file, it transfers by itself. Or if I email on demand, I want to run a specific job, I can email it, and then it executes that job. Or it can be time-based, like running this job every Monday at ten a.m. There are so many excellent options.

JAMS handles exceptions easily, and most configurations are straightforward. Over the past three to four years of using the tool to meet company requirements, I've always been able to find answers to my questions. I typically find a solution within the tool if I encounter an issue. The support team is also excellent; they provide clear and helpful responses, often including screenshots to guide me through the process.

It significantly reduces troubleshooting time for stalled jobs, benefiting teams like SAP and payroll that frequently transfer files internally or externally. For instance, payroll's bi-weekly file transfers to and from banks would previously consume hours when handled manually via email or other methods. Now, JAMS automates this process by retrieving files from the payroll application and delivering them to external banks. Similarly, incoming bank files are automatically fetched from their servers at specified times, eliminating manual intervention.

JAMS streamlines file transfers, saving countless hours for teams like SAP and payroll. Traditionally, tasks like sending bi-weekly payroll files to banks involved manual methods like email, consuming significant IT staff time. JAMS automates these transfers, freeing up staff and eliminating manual processes like email, ServiceNow copying, or using Box.net. JAMS recognizes a file and automatically sends or receives it whenever a file is created, saving countless hours for various departments daily.

JAMS streamlines our programming job scheduling. It handles both C# projects and PowerShell scripts, allowing us to categorize and schedule critical and non-critical tasks. JAMS also alerts us via email of any job failures. While JAMS boasts features for complex, load-balanced environments, our setup is simple. Everything runs on a single production server with a backup, eliminating the need for a client-server structure.

JAMS effectively alerts us to potential job disruptions, enabling us to address issues proactively. We rely on it for timely problem notifications and monitor it daily. The Runaway feature is invaluable for identifying jobs that take too long to complete, preventing backlogs. We can effectively manage and resolve these issues by configuring the runaway limit, ensuring smooth job execution.

JAMS is highly versatile in handling exceptions. We can easily prevent a job from running on specific dates by creating exceptions within the scheduler. For instance, we can configure an exception if we don't want a job to run next Wednesday, July 4th. Additionally, JAMS allows us to skip specific dates and times or even run jobs hourly if needed, providing the flexibility to accommodate various scheduling scenarios.

JAMS centralizes job management across all our platforms and applications. We can install the JAMS client on any machine to manage it directly, and some programmers, including myself, have done so. I have the client installed on my laptop and can access all features from there. Alternatively, users can connect to the JAMS server and run the client remotely, limited to one or two people at a time. I prefer having the client installed for convenient and unrestricted access.

JAMS significantly reduces troubleshooting time for stalled jobs by providing a centralized monitor. Instead of manually checking the status of numerous jobs, we can quickly assess their progress on a single screen. While it's difficult to quantify the exact time savings, it's evident that monitoring hundreds of jobs individually would be far more time-consuming than glancing at a single monitor for a few minutes daily.

JAMS has replaced our previous homegrown program scheduler, which was used to monitor job success. Considering this legacy system, we adopted JAMS as our new monitoring and scheduling tool, eliminating the need to develop and maintain the outdated program further.

JAMS is a scheduler, so setting up a new job is easy. Once we configure it, it doesn't take much time. We create jobs all the time. We have over 200 jobs running. So, if we need a new job, creating it in a few minutes is easy, saving us time. We don't have much time to set up a new job. It's swift to do, saving us time for other projects.

I've used the solution across three employers. I've used it in the context of government, tech services and health care. Everything is IT-related, so everything from ordering supplies to finance applications, everything gets filtered through JAMS. It helps with automation. 

At my previous employer, we were working on a project with the tax controller of our state. And the company I worked for was providing a tax solution for them. Part of that was us being able to provide a solution, but they also had to have their own users be able to interact with the software solution that we provided them. That required them to have their own user accounts and privileges and all that for JAMS, and it was all tied into an SQL database. Instead, if someone joined the controller office or they changed positions or roles, typically, someone would have to go to that SQL database and manually update those records. What I did was I created a series of JAMS jobs that would allow someone just to run a job. It would ask for the basic stuff: their name, their role, and their privilege, and it would update that for them. It made something that was really complicated and annoying super easy.

We use JAMS for managed file transfer and job scheduling with Fortra's diverse enterprise application. The managed file transfer is both internal and with external third-party vendors.

JAMS has streamlined our job management across all platforms and applications by offering a centralized, single-pane control. This allows us to easily view, test, and manage all job connections, reruns, and schedules in one place. Instead of relying on older, manual scripting methods, JAMS provides a clear visual interface that shows exactly which jobs are running and when.

The centralized control and visual clarity have greatly improved our workflow. When troubleshooting stalled jobs, the error-handling feature helps pinpoint failures quickly, allowing us to retrieve delayed information or identify processing issues. As a result, we've reduced troubleshooting time by 10 to 25 percent.

We use Fortra's JAMS to schedule jobs.

JAMS agents are instrumental in supporting our growth and scalability.

We have been using JAMS for eight years, and the majority of its benefits were realized early on. However, it remains a valuable scheduling software that consolidates our over 500 jobs into a single platform. JAMS allows us to clearly organize our tasks for the data warehouse, web, and other applications. While we could run these jobs independently, JAMS provides a structured approach that simplifies management and reduces manual overhead.

JAMS helps centralize job management on all of our platforms and applications. This is crucial, and it is the reason we still use JAMS.

JAMS has enabled the IT team to allocate more time to other tasks. Without JAMS, job automation would consume significantly more of our resources.

JAMS has also helped us free up a moderate amount of time by making it easier to troubleshoot stalled jobs.