New Paper – IBM Db2 12 for z/OS Function Level Activation and Management

Authored by Gareth Copplestone-Jones, the new technical paper, IBM Db2 12 for z/OS Function Level Activation and Management, is the result of a recent survey commissioned to gain an insight into current Db2 12 for z/OS practices.

The paper provides an in-depth view of the issues around Function Level Advancement and an understanding of the management of Db2 12.

When Db2 12 for z/OS became available in October 2016, it changed the way new features and functions are delivered, Continuous Delivery.

Continuous Delivery delivers new features and functions in the maintenance stream throughout the lifecycle of a Db2 release and provides users with the capability to control the activation of new features at the system and application levels. It also allows IBM to deliver new functionality more quickly and allows their customers to exploit that new functionality in a controlled way.

In April 2021, the IBM Gold Consultants launched the survey to try to understand how widespread the adoption of new function levels is among the Db2 user community to get a clearer picture of the following:

• What function levels have been activated
• What the plans for future function level activation are
• What the user community perceives as being the biggest challenges when devising a function level activation strategy

It became clear that continuous delivery in Db2 12 for z/OS and the mechanisms for delivering it raised several questions and concerns for decision-makers. The survey uncovered a number of reasons why some businesses are reluctant to advance function levels, the main ones being:

• Planning and scheduling change
• Restricting the impact of continuous delivery on the system and the application,
• Budgetary constraints

In this in-depth article, Gareth Copplestone-Jones* examines and addresses these key issues.

If you are a decision-maker who is responsible for project approval and funding or have management responsibility for the delivery of the production service then download Gareth’s in-depth article.

*Although the paper was mostly written by Gareth Copplestone-Jones, it could not have been completed without the following contributors:

• Julian Stuhler of Triton Consulting
• Adrian Collett of Expertise4IT S.r.l.
• Dave Beulke of Dave Beulke and Associates
• Frank Filmore of The Filmore Group

Gareth would also like to thank the other IBM Gold Consultants who participated in additional reviews and discussions.

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