Achieving Archive Conversion in 2–3 Hours
Archive Conversion Has Never Been Easier
Businesses must update their output management systems continuously in order to take full advantage of powerful new information technologies. Some organizations stay with older, less efficient products because of the sheer volume of archived reports in the legacy product and the lack of a seamless conversion method. The migration of archived reports from an old product to a new one is a common obstacle companies encounter during output product conversions. CONTROL-D® Archive Interface is a new product from the BMC Software INCONTROL™ for Output Management product family that tackles this very obstacle.
Studies reveal that less than 1% of archived data is accessed by organizations. Hence, in most migration cases it is unnecessary to convert all documents that reside on an older output repository. Converting entire databases into a standard format is a cumbersome, time-consuming and overwhelmingly expensive process. Conventional conversions of archived reports can take several months and require a significant amount of manpower and system resources. CONTROL-D Archive Interface reduces the process of file migration considerably.
CONTROL-D Archive Interface is designed to automate the CONTROL-D conversion process by allowing the conversion of individual documents on demand without converting and re-indexing an entire database. CONTROL-D manages all facets of output including document breakdown, ownership, assignment and distribution, as well as user access and exception processing.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions dominate today's business environment. A key challenge facing companies is the inability to access internal, indexed information that originates in different or uncommon formats. The process of converting entire databases into a standard format is time-consuming and overwhelmingly expensive. CONTROL-D Archive Interface allows businesses to convert individual documents on demand, without the need to convert and re-index entire databases. The product drastically reduces file migration time from several weeks to only a few hours.
Microfiche on the Web
Applying an effective content management strategy is a major factor in reaching a higher service level for employees (B2E), business partners (B2B) and consumers (B2C). Over time a great deal of customer and business partner documents and reports are accumulated. The availability of such data is critical since users expect and demand that data be readily available for both viewing and processing via the Web.
CONTROL-D Archive Interface, unlike microfiche, enables online viewing of any type of document and report stored on third-party systems. It performs online retrieval and conversion, while the CONTROL-D environment allows users to view and access archived reports over the Internet, intranet and extranet.
The interface incorporates the archived data within the CONTROL-D scope of management, making the data available for access and distribution. Allowing request-based access to legacy reports without converting the archived data from the original media dramatically reduces the complexity of the conversion process.
How it is Done Technically
CONTROL-D Archive Interface enables fast and easy archive conversion and migration to CONTROL-D by initially translating and storing only the meta-data (for example, document name, size, origin and expiry date) of legacy output. The converted meta-data is then deposited into the CONTROL-D history database and can be accessed easily from a CONTROL-D report list.
CONTROL-D Archive Interface automates the process of converting archived reports into a format that CONTROL-D can read. The process is initiated by any request to view individual reports. Each is then prepared automatically for end-user access within the CONTROL-D environment. The interface allows CONTROL-D to access any number of documents that have been processed and archived by other products, such as CA-View, CA-Dispatch and Mobius INFOPAC.
The conversion process is driven by four components:
- Standard reporting tools that produce an inventory of the documents currently archived under legacy output management systems
- Product-specific functions that convert archive inventory reports into CONTROL-D
- A transparent component that determines which retrieved documents require conversion, independent of end-user intervention
- An ad hoc conversion process for requested archived documents
The interface accesses reports that have been processed and archived in products without ever having to unload the data from the original archive tapes.
The Ahold Story
During benchmark testing at Ahold in 1999, 1,000,000 documents from CA-Dispatch and 700,000 documents from CA-View were loaded into a new CONTROL-D history database. These documents were made available to CONTROL-D and the company's prospective end users. Conventional conversion of these archived documents would have taken several months, requiring significant manpower and system resources. CONTROL-D Archive Interface completed this process in less than a day.