Leading Utility Provider’s Modernization Needs Met With Origina Tech Debt Management
CASE STUDIES
4 min read
4 min read
One of the largest utility companies in the United States, serving millions of natural gas customers and 100s of thousands of electric customers across several states. The company has more than 8,000 employees.
Utilities
Large
U.S.
As one of the largest utilities companies in the U.S., the customer are heavily reliant on an array of IBM legacy tools such as DataStage, Cognos Analytics, Netcool, Tivoli, WebSphere, and ZOS mainframe for their day-to-day business. However, stagnant OEM vendor software support meant they were consistently pushing against the current in their attempts to innovate and grow their business.
Stability issues, outdated support licenses and potential security risks were consistent fires that needed putting out in their environment. Under OEM vendor support, much of the ‘support’ being offered to address these issues was little more than pushing expensive, and needless, upgrades. Not only would these upgrades be a huge drain on resources, money and time but also introduced their own risks that needed addressing as well.
Essentially, the OEM vendor’s solution to the utility company’s issues was actually one of the main contributors slowing down their ability to innovate and grow. In order to take the next step in their digital growth journey, they needed a partner that could maintain their momentum with proactive software support.
The customer’s journey to maximize their potential eventually, and inevitably, led them to Origina. Origina’s expertise in optimizing existing software environments to free up business to invest in innovation and growth immediately stood out as the perfect fit for their needs.
Firstly, the leading utility company had been experiencing recurring failures with IBM Infosphere DataStage, beginning in September 2024. These failures exposed deep-rooted stability issues. Although initially hesitant to connect current problems with past incidents, Origina engaged multiple experts and cross-functional teams—including DBA, VMware, and infrastructure—to thoroughly investigate. Origina actively addressed open tickets and collaborated to stabilize the platform and prevent future disruptions.
They also faced challenges with their existing Netcool infrastructure, particularly with outdated versions of Netcool Omnibus and Netcool Impact. The primary issue involved migrating from the AIX platform to a more modern and supported Linux platform, specifically RHEL 9.4. Concerns about compatibility and support for the latest Netcool versions on this Linux version were prevalent.
Lastly, although a Consulting Services company is leading the ZOS mainframe upgrade from version 2.3 to 2.5, Origina provided value-added support through expert sessions. Origina guided the consulting company through best upgrade practices and risk areas to ensure a smooth transition. This was just another example of Origina going above and beyond in their approach to customer-led software maintenance and support.
To further support the customer’s modernization goals, Origina also proposed several targeted initiatives. These included a Netcool/Tivoli ITM migration and modernization plan, a mainframe upgrade roadmap, and a cloud migration workshop for Cognos and DataStage. While the Consulting Services company currently leads these efforts, Origna’s expertise has been consistently demonstrated through incident resolution and service requests. Furthermore, Origina has continued to engage through IBM’s ELA deconstruction to support the utility company’s more strategically across their IBM product landscape.
The market-leading utility company have been delighted so far with Origina’s expert support in deconstructing their IBM ELA and the support they have been provided so far. In order to truly grow, they needed a partner who shared their view that modernization through optimization was the future of software support- they found it in Origina.
By partnering with Origina, the customer has managed to:
With Origina’s guidance, they were able to maintain their modernization momentum through expert software optimization.
Get in touch with Origina today to start your journey.
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