Project Delivery as a Service (PDaaS)
Our client, a major global Bank, deploys IBM Mainframe servers to support their core personal and business applications, including critical banking services.
With continuous growth in customer demand, the workload on the existing mainframe servers has increased significantly.
To maintain security, performance, and manufacturer support, the customer identified the need to upgrade their mainframe infrastructure. The z14 Replacement Project aimed to address these requirements and leverage the benefits of the next-generation z16 Mainframe servers.
My thanks to the Agenor Team from a Release train perspective, keeping the motivation and momentum. They gave clear, timely updates, delivered great stakeholder engagement, and displayed a lot of evidence of collaborative working.
A successful delivery by all involved, overcoming numerous challenges but effectively delivering to a high standard with desired outcomes.
Head of Service Delivery
The existing mainframe infrastructure was reaching its limits due to the growing customer demand and workload. Security and performance patches needed to be proactively applied, and break/fix services had to be readily available.
The z14 Replacement Project aimed to address these challenges by upgrading to the z16 Mainframe servers, which offered improved processing capability, enhanced security features, and increased memory capacity.
The goal of the z14 Replacement Project was to upgrade the existing mainframe infrastructure to the z16 Mainframe servers. The project aimed to ensure scalability, meet the demands of digital and mobile services, enhance real-time profiling and analytics capabilities, and protect against potential security threats.
Additionally, the project sought to achieve cost savings through reduced software costs and data center management warranties.
The z14 Replacement Project faced several challenges throughout its implementation. The early part of the project was dealing with ESP (Early Support Program), which was supported by the vendor to acquire a pre-production model to help with product development and testing as well as allowing the client to fully understand the technology being adopted. This allowed detailed planning to complete between the first ESP machine and the subsequent four machines, which were delivered at the start of 2023.
Agenor played a pivotal role in orchestrating and meticulously monitoring various facets of the project. Raising Purchase orders, tracking deliveries, hosting weekly updates, tracking meetings and many other logistical roles. This required the project team to work very closely together and with multiple vendors, subcontractors and many internal teams such as Data Centre Management, broader mainframe teams and application support teams.
During the project, there was a notable challenge when an interdependent yet unrelated event deviated from the original plan. Swift action was required to revise the installation sequence at the eleventh hour. The project team had to rally together and pull forward a lot of planning and configuration work to ensure the project delivery remained on track and on budget. This took a lot of effort from all involved but ended with a seamless installation and cutover event thanks to everybody involved in overcoming this challenge.
Despite the challenges faced, the z14 Replacement Project successfully upgraded the existing mainframe infrastructure to the z16 Mainframe processors, delivering the following business benefits:
The project team demonstrated effective collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and meticulous planning to ensure the successful delivery of the project. Lessons learned from previous stages were incorporated into subsequent phases, avoiding the repetition of planning errors. The close coordination with multiple vendors, internal teams, and stakeholders ensured seamless procurement, delivery, installation, configuration, and decommissioning of the old processors.
Overall, the z14 Replacement Project achieved its goals and delivered the desired outcomes within the designated time frame. The Agenor project delivery team displayed dedication, motivation, and excellent stakeholder engagement. Their collaborative working approach and commitment to overcoming challenges contributed to the project's success. The z16 Mainframe upgrade now positions our client to meet the evolving demands of its customers and stay at the forefront of technological advancements in the banking industry
Large-scale technology changes can be complex, risky and costly. Since 2006, Agenor Technology has built a strong reputation as trusted IT delivery partners, with a track record for planning and implementing major digital transformation programmes in some of the world’s largest organisations. As specialists in Programme Delivery, Test Design & Execution, Digital Engineering and IT Service Management, and with a forensic attention to detail, Agenor mobilise the right team rapidly to ensure the delivery of “best fit” technology solutions implemented quickly, safely and at a competitive price. Whether you are ready to start scoping your project or just want to discover more about Agenor, our experts are at hand to help.
