Midrange Stuff, OS/400 Edition

Aldon Computer Group today formally announced eTEAM, its new Web-based incident tracking and problem management system. The eTEAM links users and development staff over the Web to provide an end-to-end system that helps eliminate bugs and other problems encountered during the development of e-business applications in Java, HTML, C++, ASNA Visual RPG, Visual Basic, RPG, COBOL, and even DDS. The software has been successfully deployed at several customer sites, Aldon says.

Meeting any company's requirements for an e-business application is hard enough, but trying to proactively manage the development of that application across a loosely grouped field of users and developers can be a monumental task. Bugs and errors get reported by users, and it's up to a project manager to make sure something is done about them.

Aldon developed eTEAM last year to automate and centralize this process. In a nutshell, the product helps companies to collect incident reports from users, to escalate the error reports through the development staff, to follow up on the situation, and to eventually track the problem to its resolution. The eTEAM is Web-based and integrates with Aldon's change management systems, including Affiniti, for multiplatform development, and Aldon/CMS, for native OS/400 development. Any development issues entered into the eTEAM system are automatically linked to the Aldon change management system, allowing development teams working from different geographical locations in order to efficiently collaborate on a single problem.

In addition to speeding problem resolution by providing a centralized database to track incidents, Aldon says that eTEAM will reduce a company's support costs by enabling user self-service for logging problems and enhancement requests. Users can interact with eTEAM through a Web browser or through e-mail, and a help desk can also provide live, collaborative support to users through instant messaging and wireless tools.

Among the benefits noted by Aldon is improved efficiency on help desks, because eTEAM features a searchable knowledge base that assists users in looking up past issues. The eTEAM also includes reporting and search capabilities that help managers view and analyze workflow, trends, changes, and results. Companies can augment eTEAM with Windows-compatible analysis tools, such as Seagate Software's Crystal Reports.

The eTEAM runs on the Microsoft platform. It requires a Microsoft IIS Web server running on a Windows 2000 or Windows NT operating system, and uses the SQL Server database (Version 7 or 2000). The client side only requires a Web browser that works with JavaScript. Through integration with Microsoft Exchange 5.5 and Microsoft Exchange 2000 Active Directory, eTEAM can pull information from contact databases to foster collaborative development. Aldon says customers should be able to get up and running with eTEAM in less than a day.

Aldon, headquartered in Oakland, California, started rolling out eTEAM to beta sites in 2002, and today the company reports successes that include deployments at Titan America, a concrete company in Virginia, and Scolari's, a grocery store chain based in Nevada. The eTEAM is generally available now. For more information on eTEAM, go to www.aldon.com.