Job Scheduling Magic Quadrant Reflects New Challenges

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1 Markets, M. Govekar Research Note 23 January 2003 Job Scheduling Magic Quadrant Reflects New Challenges In 2003, job scheduling systems should be starting to address new platforms and environments. Some vendors have risen to the challenge, but others have failed to invest in new functionality. Core Topic Enterprise Management: Application Management Key Issue Which product and service vendors will become leaders in the application management? Job scheduling has been a necessary tool since computing began. Despite predictions that batch processing would disappear, the market has thrived and more than 50 vendors now offer job-scheduling tools. Every new platform or application requires job scheduling. For example, most Web-based, online transactions run at least 10 batch job processes in the background. Use of job schedulers has changed: They are used in business process automation particularly in straight-through processing projects and as batch application integration tools in total business integration. Vendors in the Job Scheduling Magic Quadrant Gartner includes 10 vendors in the Magic Quadrant and several other niche vendors (see Figure 1 and Note 1). Vendors that are not in the Magic Quadrant are not positioned separately because they may have a very small revenue stream from job-scheduling tools, very local geographic focus, a small range of platform support, a small installed base or insufficient interest from Gartner clients. Positioning is based on vendors' completeness of vision (see "Evaluating Vision in the Job Scheduling Market") and their ability to execute (see "Evaluating Ability to Execute in the Job Scheduling Market"). Gartner Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 Note 1 Other Vendors in the Niche Players Advanced Systems Concept, Beta Systems Software, Camellia Software, Corporate Practical Solutions, Fujitsu, Help/Systems, Hitachi, LXI, OnLine ToolWorks, Opalis Software, Open Systems Management, Platform Computing, Software and Management Associates, Sims Computing, TOSC, Vexus Consulting Group Figure 1 Job Scheduling Magic Quadrant Challengers IBM/Tivoli Leaders BMC Software Ability to execute Computer Associates Cybermation Orsyp UC4 Software Allen Systems Redwood Software Group Tidal AppWorx Others Niche Players As of January 2003 Visonaries Completeness of Vision Source: Gartner Research Magic Quadrants should not be the only tool used by enterprises to choose the vendors on their short lists. Enterprises may find their needs are best met by a vendor outside the Leaders quadrant. Leaders BMC Software (Control-M) remains a leader, as in It has addressed traditional cross-platform, job-scheduling requirements and has worked closely with many packaged application vendors, such as SAP and Siebel, to offer an integrated job-scheduling solution. BMC was the only vendor to work with SAP on the release of its new XBP interface, which allows jobs to be scheduled within a SAP application using an external job-scheduling tool. We reduced BMC's score for vision in 2003 because it has not fully addressed the challenges of the new Java 2, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and.net application server platforms, grid computing environments and Web services. Revenue from job scheduling declined during 2002, but BMC maintained its margins. It dramatically reduced prices recently, enabling it to compete effectively with some of the smaller vendors. Recently, some customer support problems have been reported to Gartner regarding Control-M. Some enterprises consider BMC's tool to be too complex for a purely distributed, open, 23 January

3 systems computing environment. Although BMC seems to be addressing the support issues, it must prevent customer support problems from affecting its wider customer base. Control-M is certified for use with SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle and Baan. Control-M also supports applications such as Retek, Alnova Technologies and i2 Technologies. Challengers IBM/Tivoli (Tivoli Workload Scheduler; TWS, formerly known as Maestro), has improved its ability to execute during It increased its revenue, primarily because it successfully bundled TWS for z/os with other mainframe products, allowing customers to consolidate network and systems management software. IBM has improved integration between its mainframe scheduler, TWS for z/os, and its distributed scheduler, allowing them to share common agents and a common, Java-based console. However, IBM's efforts to introduce a relational database back end for TWS have been delayed and this will only be available in 3Q03. Despite its position within the IBM group, IBM/Tivoli does not lead the market in job-scheduling solutions for J2EE-based application servers, WebSphere, Web services or IBM's grid computing environments, nor is it the leading product for Windows 2000 or Windows NT. IBM/Tivoli is, however, improving its focus on SAP and Siebel Systems job-scheduling integration. TWS is certified to work with SAP and PeopleSoft and can also integrate with Oracle's e-business suite. Computer Associates' (CA-Jobtrac, CA-Scheduler, CA-7 and others) ability to execute has declined, even though it has one of the largest installed bases, especially in mainframes. Its jobscheduling revenue has declined significantly because of changed accounting practices, challenges from rival jobscheduler vendors and lower pricing. To avoid losing an account to a competitor, CA will cut its licensing and maintenance prices, forcing enterprises to consider the costs and risks of migration. CA's vision since 2001 has not changed significantly. It wants to integrate the technology used in scheduling tools for different environments, allowing enterprises with platform-specific jobscheduling tools to integrate them using Web services and the J2EE and.net platforms. CA's sales force very rarely sells its Unicenter job scheduler for distributed systems environment. Support for its distributed 23 January

4 scheduling product, Autosys, has declined steadily and its installed base has been whittled away by competitors. Despite this, CA has reported a 15 percent increase in the number of Autosys licenses during 2H02. CA's considerable marketing expertise, its global presence, mainframe installed base and skillful sales force ensure that CA is considered for job scheduling in most large enterprises. Autosys and Unicenter are certified to integrate with SAP and PeopleSoft. They also support Oracle, Baan and Legato Systems applications. Cybermation (ESP Workload Manager and ESP Espresso) is moving from being a mainframe-based job-scheduling company to being a heterogeneous, cross-platform job-scheduling company. Its ability to execute has improved. As well as winning contracts in mainframe-based, heterogeneous environments, it has increased its sales in distributed systems, especially in Unix environments. Cybermation is preparing for the spread of grid computing. Cybermation's ESP Espresso master scheduler now has a Javabased architecture, allowing it to support J2EE application servers and Web services. Cybermation schedules jobs using a object-oriented approach that needs just one calendar and one scheduling definition. Cybermation has also developed good tools and methods for migration from other job schedulers, especially on mainframes. Cybermation's first priority must be to find more application software partners and improve its ability to win deals in a purely distributed computing environment, without a mainframe. This will involve a shake-up of its sales force and new channel partners. Cybermation must improve its presence outside North America. Its job schedulers are certified to work with SAP. They also integrate with applications from PeopleSoft and Oracle. Niche Players Orsyp (Dollar Universe) has improved its visibility in North America since 2H01, and has recently signed up Hewlett- Packard as a worldwide distributor of its job-scheduling product. Orsyp's Dollar Universe can schedule jobs across a wide range of platforms. It uses a peer-to-peer architecture for distributed systems platforms and an agent for the z/os mainframe platform, allowing the product to integrate with most z/os job schedulers. 23 January

5 Orsyp must improve its vision, particularly with regard to the z/os platform, J2EE application server platforms and Web services. It must also expand its channel strategy to extend its installed base outside Europe. Dollar Universe integrates with packaged applications such as Oracle's e-business suite, and with applications from PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards' One World, Siebel and Lawson Software. It is certifiedtointegratewithsap. UC4 Software (UC4) was formerly known as SBB Software. It has increased the visibility and market share of UC4 across and outside Europe. The UC4 product is a good cross-platform job scheduler that can schedule jobs across a wide range of platforms from the mainframe (z/os, MVS, OS/390, Linux for z/series) to Windows NT/2000. However, enterprises that require high scalability (more than 170,000 jobs per day) will need the new UC4:global product, due for general release in 1Q03. This will have improved scalability and event-based scheduling capabilities. UC4 Software's challenges are to: Develop a global channel strategy to enable it to execute well outside Europe Improve its ability to form effective partnerships with, and gain certification from, packaged application vendors such as PeopleSoft and Oracle Address the emerging batch environment based on J2EE and.net application server platforms Manage migration of its existing customers from UC4 to UC4:global UC4 is certified to integrate with SAP and is able to integrate with Oracle, PeopleSoft and IBM's WebSphere MQ. Redwood Software (Cronacle) is new to Gartner's Magic Quadrant. It is a European job-scheduling company with some presence in North America. Cronacle is focused on the distributed computing environment (Unix, Windows NT/2000/XP, OpenVMS, BEA WebLogic and IBM WebSphere), particularly packaged applications. Redwood is the only job-scheduling vendor in the Magic Quadrant that supports J2EE application server platforms. It can take advantage of Java-based scheduling and emerging technologies such as Web services. 23 January

6 Redwood must: Improve its worldwide support and visibility, including Europe and particularly North America Accommodate legacy platforms such as z/os Improve its coverage of packaged application such as Siebel and PeopleSoft Cronacle is certified to work with packaged applications from SAP and Oracle and will integrate with PeopleSoft, Baan, Manugistics and i2. Tidal Software (Tidal Enterprise Scheduler; TES) has moved from the Visionaries to the Niche Players quadrant. TES is a good product, primarily for the distributed computing environment, and has been particularly successful in a Microsoft environment. Its master scheduler is now written in Java and has been migrated to Unix, in addition to Windows NT/2000. This positions Tidal well to take advantage of the J2EE and Web services environments. TES is one of the easiest job-scheduling tool to use, setting a benchmark for others. Although TES has been deployed at department level, it is now expanding into enterprise job scheduling. Some of TES' older versions and packaged application adapters have had problems with code stability. Tidal's CEO recently left the company and, therefore, will have little impact on its product development strategy. However, he did affect Tidal's channel vision and its services and support vision. Tidal's distribution partnerships with Allen Systems Group (ASG) and CeDimension have been terminated and it must now expand its international reach and visibility. Tidal's challenges are to maintain and improve its vision and to improve its ability to execute. TES is certified to integrate with packaged application vendors such as SAP, PeopleSoft and Oracle. Tidal has also developed adapters for Baan, Siebel, J.D. Edwards and other packaged applications. Allen Systems Group (ASG-Zeke) has not moved much within the Magic Quadrant since ASG-Zeke is a competitive product for the mainframe environment. However, ASG has depended on Tidal to address distributed systems for over a year. When Tidal developed an agent for the mainframe, there was possible channel conflict. Meanwhile, ASG has not addressed the area itself and its growth in mainframes has been slow. 23 January

7 ASG and Tidal have terminated their partnership and ASG has formed a new development and distribution partnership with AppWorx (see "Allen Systems Group Needs Substance From Link With AppWorx"). However, forming and announcing partnerships is not enough. ASG must invest in joint channel development, support and marketing and develop and execute a consistent strategy to address job-scheduling requirements in heterogeneous computing environments. Visionaries AppWorx (AppWorx Enterprise Scheduler) has remained in the Visionaries quadrant but its vision and ability to execute have suffered during AppWorx continues to provide good eventbased scheduling, business process automation and batch application integration solutions. Its ability to partner and provide scheduling solutions to a diverse range of applications remains a key differentiator. However, it has not fully addressed the new computing environments based on J2EE application server platforms and grid computing. Its main challenges are to address a truly heterogeneous computing environment, including mainframe, improve its presence in the traditional scheduling area, and gain PeopleSoft and other packaged application certification. AppWorx will also need to improve its channel strategy and international presence. AppWorx is certified to integrate with SAP and Oracle, and also integrates with Retek, SCT Banner, Siebel, J.D. Edwards, Lawson Software, JDA Software and PeopleSoft. Acronym Key J2EE Java 2, Enterprise Edition TES Tidal Enterprise Scheduler TWS Tivoli Workload Scheduler XBP External Interface for Job Background Scheduling Bottom Line: With more than 50 vendors in the job scheduling market, the Magic Quadrant is a useful tool to help analyze vendors in the current market. However, enterprises must apply their own requirements to select a vendor. Enterprises that have traditional calendar-based job-scheduling requirements should have a different short list of vendors from enterprises that have batch application integration requirements or use Java 2 Enterprise Edition application server platforms. 23 January