Software Change Management Designed For Small IBM i Shops

February 4, 2014 Dan Burger

Through years of experience, small IBM i development shops that need software change management tools for their RPG, RPG ILE, and/or Java development have learned they have two options to consider: slim and none. Make that three options now that Remain Software has introduced an affordable version of its enterprise change management product known as TD/OMS Compact, which adds reliability and productivity to the application development process with an overview of software components and configuration.

Like any software change management system, TD/OMS is designed to improve software development, testing, and deployment efficiencies, streamline processes, reduce software defects, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction. Unlike the expected complexity that comes with a majority of high-priced SCM systems, Remain Software claims TD/OMS Compact is easy to use and affordable.

“TD/OMS Compact is a completely new approach to software change management,” says Marco Kok, managing director at Remain Software. “Until now, SCM vendors have been offering only very complex tools, which seemed overwhelming for smaller teams. At Remain Software, we would like to give these teams a chance for better management of their applications’ lifecycle and show that SCM solutions like ours can be not only affordable, but also easy to use and implement.”

Shops that crank out development without SCM tooling or those that use home-grown SCM applications should notice that TD/OMS Compact comes with incident, configuration, and version management capabilities. It includes a graphical user interface; a repository that stores software configuration and change process definitions; work management capabilities to organize and issues and changes made to applications; and a provision that shows object relations in a comprehensible and coherent display.

In addition to facilitating software development in an IBM i environment, TD/OMS Compact is also at home in Unix, Linux, and Windows development environments. The purchase of a distribution module is required when using TD/OMS Compact on multiple platforms.

As software development environments become more complex, TD/OMS Compact users can enhance this SCM software with more functionality or interfaces. For example, transfer (deployment) to multiple locations or 4GL interfaces would be possible.

Remain Software is eager to emphasize one of the key features to TD/OMS Compact is its ease of implementation compared to the gnarly puzzle that traditional SCM software becomes. Remain credits a pre-defined setup based on customers’ requirements and Remain Software best practices for simplifying this process. This is not a product with a limited amount of features compared to the complete TD/OMS. It is a customization of the features that the shop chooses.

Wim Jongman, CTO and managing director at Remain Software, describes it as allowing shops the functionality they need without loading them with features that won’t be used.

“TD/OMS Compact enables users to define a straight forward development process without wading through irrelevant features that traditionally come with SCM tools of this magnitude,” Jongman says. The benefits are that shops can be “up and running within a day or two at a very reasonable price.”

TD/OMS Compact offers an innovative approach to the pricing model. Instead of traditional up-front license fee, customers have a subscription model option available in one-year or multiple year packages. Subscription-based pricing is user based and begins with a three-user pack. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price based on a one-year subscription is $3,650. The subscription pricing is expected to appeal to companies with an operating expense budget, but no capital expense budget.

The solution became available in January 2014. It is distributed in the United States and Canada by Solutions First.