Control-M from BMC is a platform for integrating, automating, and orchestrating application and data workflows in production across complex hybrid technology ecosystems. It provides deep operational capabilities, delivering speed, scale, security, and governance.
$29,000
per year
JAMS
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
JAMS is a centralized workload automation and job scheduling solution that runs, monitors, and manages jobs and workflows. Reliably orchestrate the critical IT processes that run your business from a single pane of glass.
We chose JAMS because it was the best solution for our business needs, a major factor being the licensing model and the simplicity of the app. We needed to migrate things fast too and this was simply plug and play without too much headache
Handling automation backend jobs helped avoid team and customer escalations. One hundred jobs are running behind the server, for which manual monitoring is ineffective. Therefore, automated scripts are used, which are run via Control-M Jobs. There is no restriction on job scheduling. I can schedule N number of jobs as per convenience and business needs.
It's currently one of the best of the lower entry cost options out there, as it currently is a set license cost, not based on the number of jobs executed. In the hands of a good script writer and users with workflow experience, it's a powerful tool to accomplish just about any process that you have a need to complete.
The Activity Monitor clearly shows the Running Jobs, and Jobs that are to run soon. Successful Jobs can be viewed as well. The Refresh of this monitor is completely customizable to your liking.
Job Definitions are very well organized by use of Folders. This simplifies the structure of how to best Implement JAMS Jobs, including the ability to provide specific properties on each folder - whereby Jobs will inherit these properties.
Connectivity to servers is well thought out by having Shortcuts to include Credentials and Connection Store for server information.
JAMS Jobs can be controlled via System Resources. This is very powerful and is a very useful configuration found in JAMS.
I haven't come across too many spots where I'm not happy with the product. Most of the shortfalls were in my knowledge of the product as opposed to the actual product. Currently we're having a little bit of an issue with the deployment of the software to the servers, but it's more of an "us" problem than a product problem. I can't really give any good examples of shortfalls of the product that I've found so far.
It is one of the best solutions on the market, in terms of innovation, reliability and stability. Control-M provides security when used by the largest companies in Mexico such as banks, department stores and logistics. It has proven to be able to integrate with new technologies on the market and provide almost 100% availability, thanks to its automatic FailOver scheme.
JAMS is a critical resource free up people to do other things and ensuring that processes and tasks are run consistently. We are also confident that procedures are run consistently and on time or as soon as the necessary data is available. With automated job failure notification, we are not required to check that jobs are running correctly.
It has an excellent graphical user interface and robust functionalities, which any scheduling tool currently has in the current market. Strengthening security measures, such as role-based access control and encryption, is essential to protect sensitive data. Providing tools to optimize resource utilization and reduce costs would be valuable. Limited options for customizing the user interface can hinder productivity. Allowing users to tailor the interface to their needs would enhance the experience.
JAMS is very user friendly; you hardly need to do coding. The only thing that I would say a challenge is setting it up, but that's because you barely know the product yet and, in every processing, setting up is the difficult part. But once you've set it up and you are going to use it, you will really feel that it is worth to invest in this kind of software solution, it really does it job very well.
Secondary Instances: Control-M supports the installation of a secondary instance of the entire Control-M environment, Control-M/EM, or Control-M/Server.Automatic & Manual Failover: In case of a failure on the primary host, Control-M can automatically failover to the secondary host if using Oracle or MSSQL databases. Manual failover is also an option, enabling a controlled switch during planned maintenance.Fallback: After resolving the issue on the primary host, you can easily fall back to it, or even designate the secondary host as the new primary. Database Replication: For high availability, Control-M leverages database replication from the primary site to a disaster recovery site. While replication is essential, its implementation and maintenance are the user's responsibility.
We didnt really encounter any downtime, no issues encountered during 2 years of use of JAMs also our client barely raise an issue with JAMS, mostly the issues is on the batch jobs that jams executes. So I would gave it a perfect 10, very reliable hardly encounters any error and bug
good page load times, efficient report completion, and minimal impact on integrated systems. Specifically, the well-designed GUI contributes to a positive user experience, and the platform's ability to automate various stages of the workflow, including Big Data processes, is highlighted as a key strength. Fast Page Loads: Control-M is reported to have a responsive user interface with fast page load times, allowing users to quickly navigate and manage their workflows
JAMS performance is very great, there are no issues raised with the performance, it just like nothing happens on the job after integration it gives you this monitoring capability, no reports and bugs raised on the performance, we didnt do integration with other software only database and with use of JAMS agent to different servers
Support is generally excellent. Getting lower priority ones resolved can take a while, but it's rare for something to have to be dumped in the "unfixable" bin. If you end up speaking to Houston or Tel Aviv, then you know you've got a "live one".
I've never had to wait more than a day for a response to any email queries submitted. We had a very positive experience using support hours during out migration process from v6 to v7. We've also recently had a weeklong group training course where all attendees were positive about the learning outcomes, a shoutout to Jose who did both the migration and the weeklong course!
Very knowledgeable instructors provide a hands-on, collaborative learning experience and can interact directly with instructors to develop our Control-M skills. This format allows for immediate feedback, in-depth discussions, and tailored guidance, leading to a deeper understanding of Control-M concepts and practical application. Face-to-face interaction fosters higher engagement and a more dynamic learning environment.
People that were involved in the POC found the training a lot easier to follow. I think most people would have preferred to just get the training material and run through themselves.
Simple and easy to use web based, well paced. Available any time. All online courses are simple and easy to access and use. Very practical everyday use scenarios and solutions. Incorporates software simulations, learning games, and built-in assessments to enhance comprehension and engagement. Online subscriptions are regularly updated with the latest product information, ensuring users have access to the most current knowledge.
As HA we have depend on the external DB, why don't we have HA feasibility with embedded DB. As with external DB, there are performance issues and fine tuning the DB. As if its embedded DB, Control-M it self take care of the functionality.
I Was not part of the original Implementation, and the persons did that are no longer with the Organization. But I was part of the recent Upgrade process a year ago and I am the JAMS admin and was very pleased
Redwood RunMyJobs seemed impressive as well since it was also cross-platform, flexible, and versatile. However, we went with Control-M because it was less expensive and we were already using it on our mainframe environment. The distributed version of Control-M was much more user-friendly due to the GUI instead of the command-line interface used on the mainframe.
I had evaluated 2 others in 2010/2011, but I do not remember their names. This was the easier one to work with and had a better looking, sometimes more professional looking UI than what I was evaluating. JAMS was more scaleable and had the ability to make custom interfaces to more systems through Execution Methods that could be tailored.
While Control-M offers flexibility with usage-based and subscription-based pricing, some users might prefer more predictable, upfront costs, especially for large-scale deployments. A potential area for improvement could be offering more options for fixed-term contracts with predictable pricing based on factors like the number of agents or jobs, providing a clearer budget for long-term planning
awesome product.Control-M delivers advanced operational capabilities easily consumed by Dev, Ops, data teams, and lines of business.Control-M Workflow InsightsApplication and data workflow observability: Increased confidence that SLAs are being met for Control-M users and IT leadersComprehensive control and management capabilities: Enhanced dashboards and reporting with constant telemetry and intelligent analysis on executing workflowsSelf-service visibility: In-depth reporting to help teams work autonomously
The product is quite flexible. There are a number of features and functions that we use on a daily basis, and there are many features that are available that we have not yet needed or explored (like setting up jobs with the ability to do FTP or Sftp file transfers).
Strengths: The vendor provided strong post-sales support, timely issue resolution, and effective onboarding. Their technical team was knowledgeable and responsive, ensuring smooth integration and minimal disruption. Training resources and documentation were comprehensive. Areas for Improvement: While overall service was excellent, occasional delays in advanced customization or escalations slightly impacted timelines. More proactive optimization suggestions could further enhance value.
Control-M has improved service delivery times, reliability and quality of batch processing.
It has simplified the management of the operation and the use of the alert system has made it possible to act in a coordinated and efficient manner to solve problems.
The implementation of policies has made it possible to make greater use of Control-M and thus reduce development costs that are generated unnecessarily when the potential of the system is not considered.
Using JAMS when working from home (initially COVID, and now permanent) gives me tremendous visibility into the running operations of our business without any loss in productivity for not being in the office.
With JAMS I can more tightly schedule evening batch jobs by running one job after the successful completion of predecessor, as opposed to the CRON like guessing at safe start times.
Central control on a monitored server in a datacenter for all job scheduling tasks has given us 99.9% uptime reliability, instead of herding cats on multiple machines.
