SCRT V25 Now Required
For anyone that is involved in submitting Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool (SCRT) reports to IBM, it should be old news that, effective from November 1, IBM will only accept SCRT reports that were generated using SCRT V25 and Java. To be fair to IBM, they have been telling people for the last year to migrate to the Java version of SCRT, and that the old Classic version is going away.
If you are already using the Java version of SCRT, as we have been recommending for over a year, the migration should be nearly transparent. But, you DO need to download and install Version 25.1 of SCRT, and that will only be available starting on October 10th. If you are running on a release of z/OS that is older than 2.3, you will be able to download the new version from https://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/resources/swprice/subcap/scrt/download.html. If you are on z/OS 2.3, the PTF for APAR OA53957 delivers SCRT 25.1.
If you are still using the “Classic” (non-Java) SCRT version, the migration to the new version will require more time and effort. We believe that you will find that the results are worth the effort, but it is does require some time on your behalf.
The most important point is that, starting 3 weeks from now, IBM will only accept SCRT reports that are created by V25, and V25 does not provide the Classic version. For those sites that tend to shy away from the bleeding edge, the thought of using a version that has only been available for three weeks might be something of an eye-opener. However, IBM has been doing extensive testing of SCRT since they announced that SCRT will be an official z/OS component starting with z/OS 2.3, so you won’t quite be on the bleeding edge. And whether you like it or not, the fact is that you have no choice in this, so dive into the deep end and savor the thrill :).
For more news about SCRT, refer to the SCRT home page at https://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/resources/swprice/subcap/scrt/.
IBM Announces Software Price Increases
In line with IBM’s policy of announcing yearly software price changes, increased prices will come into effect with the January 1, 2018 billing (November 2, 2017 run dates and SCRT reports). There are two announcements that came out in August:
a. #318-005 – z/OS MLC products will see about a 4% increase overall – https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype=CA&h
tmlfid=318-005NAEN&appname=USN.
b. #318-013 (August 18, 2017) – Passport Advantage products will see a 3% increase worldwide (5% for Norway, Sweden, and UK) – https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype=CA&h
tmlfid=318-013EN&appname=lenovous&language=en.
We’ve confirmed that the prices are currently posted on IBM’s pricing website. Make sure that you factor the price changes into your budget planning for 2018.