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Issue 3, 2014 |
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Centrally control print processes for greater savings
The flood of printing tasks from various operating systems and applications can consume resources, create waste and increase costs if not efficiently controlled. Learn how Entire Output Management, part of Software AG’s Entire Systems Management (ESM) product family, automates the electronic distribution and processing of print data before it is committed to paper or sent to the recipients.
Flexible output management for multiple platforms
Enterprises that re-host their applications from the mainframe to Linux®, UNIX® or Windows® (LUW) are looking for powerful, secure and cost-saving output management solutions that are comparable to what was used in their mainframe environment. Entire Output Management, from Software AG’s Entire Systems Management product suite, is not only a powerful solution for Adabas-Natural environments on the mainframe but also automates IT processes on LUW. It runs on Linux, UNIX or mainframes, such as z/OS®, and connects Windows platforms remotely.
Entire Output Management provides multiple user exits to make the tool as adaptable to as many environments as possible. And because Entire Output Management is implemented in Natural, existing Natural language skills can be leveraged to program additional user exits.
How it works
Entire Output Management can take over all print management in an enterprise. It automates the distribution of print data and allows online print data to be viewed on screen. This is all done without requiring any changes to programs or applications. Instead of delivering an immediate printout of the data, Entire Output Management controls and processes the data according to predefined rules.
Figure 1: A typical output scenario with Entire Output Management
Print and distribute only what you need
In many cases, users don’t like to print out the complete output data because it likely includes information of little or no interest. To save paper and costs, Entire Output Management allows you to select only the data required and combine that data into a report or bundle for further processing.
Reports are automatically created according to rules defined in the administration section of Entire Output Management. Reports can be transferred in various formats such as Adobe® PDF or XML. Multiple reports from different data sources, like jobs, can be combined into a bundle. Reports and bundles can then be printed or distributed to various recipients.
Reports are easy to search as both character and graphical user interfaces are available, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Searching reports using the graphical user interface.
Control access with distribution lists
Reports and bundles are distributed to end users defined in distribution lists. Users defined in distribution lists can be persons, printers, archives or office systems. Only members of the distribution list who have access to specified reports or bundles are allowed to print it or view it on the screen. A member of a distribution list can authorize other users to access the reports as well. These reports will then appear in the “in basket” of these users.
Organize and archive with folders
Reports and bundles can be organized into folders or archived for revision purposes. If all users have access to the reports, the folder is defined as public. Folders with limited access rights are defined as private.
Archiving is automated by simply defining a date when a report should be sent to the archive. Reports in an archive can be revived at any time.
Centralize printing
Centralize whole printouts from Windows® to a faster print system like the mainframe and make the installation of local printers obsolete with the add-on Output Option (OPO). Printouts from all Windows workstations can be grouped by sort criteria, like ZIP Code, and sent to the central system for further processing (i.e., printing or archiving).
Entire Output Management completely centralizes and automates the electronic distribution and processing of print data before it is committed to paper or sent to the recipients. Incoming data, processed by OPO, can accommodate multiple formats, such as PDF, XML or just print data.
Summary
Entire Output Management with the OPO provides all the necessary facilities to manage and control the complete output operations of a data center. Through user exits, it can easily be adapted to any environment and print processes available today.
By making the complete printing process of an enterprise more efficient and flexible, Entire Output Management saves you real money by reducing costs for postage, paper and administration. When combined with complementary solutions of the ESM suite, like Entire Operations, you can reliably handle large volumes of IT processes and events in 24/7 production, automate IT processes across mainframe and LUW platforms, and gain a single point of control and visibility across all IT processes.