Upgrade Your Workload Automation Tool for a Smoother Experience

Users of Fiserv DNA and Fiserv XP2 can experience an easier way to run core processing

Do you have a scheduler, or do you have a workload automation tool integrated with your Fiserv DNA or Fiserv XP2 environment? The principal difference is that a scheduler in 2021 is mostly limited to only running the specific batch jobs for the core processing of ACH files, and overnight processing. So, if you only have a scheduler, something like ISE or AJS, you definitely need a workload automation tool.

You may have something like the AppWorx scheduler, which is referred to as a workload automation tool in marketing materials, but it’s missing most of the features that would identify it as a modern solution, such as event-driven workflows and integrations with modern 3rd party applications and more current Fiserv offerings. AppWorx is also unsupported and will not have any new feature development.

When you’re looking for workload automation for Fiserv, it’s important to consider more than just your Fiserv core processing. Fiserv has a lot of other product offerings, and you also have Windows, IBM i, and other OS and applications running in your IT environment. Why just automate the core processing when you could automate IT processes for all of your systems? That’s what a modern workload automation platform brings to the table, along with features like self-service automation and advanced orchestration capabilities.

Why should I migrate to a new automation tool for my Fiserv XP2 or Fiserv DNA environment?

To save time and money and improve the quality of life for your team. This is what happens when you automate repetitive manual processes and replace them with automated workflows that scale as your business grows.

“All our manual processing is pretty much gone. I’ve already freed up almost an entire person, and we’re not done automating yet. Because we’ve taken out that human/typing component from so many jobs, our accuracy has gone through the roof.” – 1st United Credit Union

There’s a lot of stress involved with processing for any financial industry company, and IT teams can ill afford to make costly mistakes. But a big reason to seek a new tool for your Fiserv environment is that manual processes simply hold back your IT team’s ability to scale as the organization grows. This creates even more pressure on them to perform an increasing number of tasks, and the result is that the only thing that’s scaling up is the risk of making serious errors.

Not being able to configure dependencies is also a big negative of older scheduling tools. It means if any job has an error, someone has to be there to fix it or the schedule stops running. It’s not just time consuming, it’s annoying for those operators who have to work 2nd and 3rd shift because the scheduler can’t manage a simple task like rerunning a failed job without manual intervention.

“We didn’t have any dependencies configured because we didn’t know how to set them up and we couldn’t get any guidance on that from the software provider.” – 1st United Credit Union

When you move your IT and other business processes into event-driven, automated workflows, you don’t have to worry about them anymore. You can shave hours off of manual task processing and babysitting antiquated schedulers and repurpose your people to work on meaningful initiatives that drive innovation in your business.

“With technology, you’ll always need people, but with OpCon, our people will be able to do so much more.” – 1st United Credit Union

How difficult is it to migrate Fiserv XP2 and Fiserv DNA processes from an older scheduler?

You’re kind of in luck here. The older schedulers, like Appworx, are so simplistic and limited that most IT shops aren’t running a significant number of jobs on them. The jobs in a scheduling tool like ISE for example, are so trivial to move into a modern platform that automation consultants don’t even view it as a migration.

For Fiserv XP2 users, the command line inputs translate well into the script-agnostic interface of a platform like OpCon. It’s just a matter of mapping out the processes your team uses to initiate and execute ACH and nightly processing, optimizing them, and converting them into workflows.

For Fiserv DNA teams, we have a custom tool that can pull templates directly from DNA while keeping all the parameters, ensuring that all information is copied over without any errors. The way you have tasks grouped in DNA stays in the same groups when you move them to OpCon, providing a continuity of experience for operators and significantly reducing training time.

Talent + technology accelerates your IT initiatives

SMA Technologies has significant experience and technical expertise when it comes to servicing Fiserv XP2 and Fiserv DNA clients. If you’d like to find out how you can orchestrate your Fiserv and IT processes to decrease errors and time spent on manual tasks, our automation experts would love to have a conversation with you to talk more about your goals.