WebSphere Migration Assist Program - Information on participation

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Have you ever wanted to know about WebSphere Application Server (WAS) migration Best Practices and have a technical lead guide you through the process? It’s here.

IBM Support is pleased to offer our clients Migration Assist (MA). MA is provided by the WAS Level 2 Support team to clients planning a migration to WAS to 8.5 or 9.0. The Level 2 MA Lead will provide migration guidance, best practices, lessons learned, and answer your migration questions.

1. What is IBM Migration Assist (MA)?

The Migration Assist activity is an extension of your current IBM Software Subscription and Support (S&S) / Passport Advantage (PPA) at no additional cost. Compared with IBM reactive support, MA provides proactive assistance to help IBM clients achieve business objectives, minimize risks and maximize return on investment. IBM Level 2 Support will:

• Draw on the experience gained from supporting previous client migrations.
• Provide recommendations, share knowledge and experiences.
• Identify potential risks.
• Provide advice on best practices and known issues.
• Point to the technical documentation on migration planning and implementation.
• Field client questions that arise as you work through the WAS migration.
• Alert the Support teams of the critical period when you perform the cut over.

2. The Scope of IBM Migration Assist

MA is available for the following environment:

• WebSphere Application Server (WAS) for UNIX and Windows platforms only.
• MA activity will focus on one client environment.
• MA content and discussions are currently offered in English.
• MA does not currently cover migrations where WAS is embedded in a stack product (the stack product support team would be your first stop for assistance).

MA is an extension of IBM Product Support. It is important to clarify that MA:

• Does utilize the standard Support PMR (Problem Record) / SR (Service Request) processes to troubleshoot problems.
• Does not replace existing programs such as Services or Accelerated Value Program.
• Does not assist with application or architecture design, business logic, client data, environment setup, performance tuning, or system health check to complete the migration. (Note: These items are more suitable for a services engagement.)
• Maximum length of MA activity is 60 days.

IBM WebSphere Application Server support recognizes that there might be unique situations where a Client is not able to migrate to a supported product version prior to an End of Support date. Application Server support may, at its discretion, extend customer technical support and defect support for a withdrawn release. Extended support for a product will be considered and provided on an individual Client basis. Information on how to pursue requesting and purchasing a Support Extension can be found in the IBM WebSphere Application Server Support Extension technote.

3. Migration Assist Client Engagement Process

The following are the steps of the MA Activity:
 

Step 1: Client requests the Migration Assist

To find out if MA can help your organization’s migration send an email to ma@us.ibm.com. Please include your company name, IBM Customer Number (ICN), migration time frame, current WAS release, and a phone number we may use to reach you.

Step 2: MA Coordinator will contact Client

The MA Coordinator will contact you to discuss your migration plans, answer your questions about MA, and determine if MA is suitable for your organization’s needs. Once you agree that MA is a good fit for your organization then the Coordinator will work with you to open a MA Reference PMR and assign a MA Technical Lead. The Reference PMR may be used to exchange information about the MA activity and for you to ask questions about the migration documentation and processes. The Reference PMR shall be closed by the MA Lead after 2 months.

Step 3: Client submits a completed migration questionnaire for each environment

The MA Lead will provide you a questionnaire to collect migration information, including projected schedules, product information, and environment. The client should complete the questionnaire for the environment and return it using the Reference PMR.

Step 4: IBM provides migration documentation overview

After collecting the related migration questionnaire information, the MA Lead will draw on IBM Level 2’s experience and provide you with information covering recommendations, experiences, risks, advice on best practices, and known issues. A call will be scheduled to discuss the migration overview.

If you have question(s) about any of the migration documentation or processes, you may update the Reference PMR for the MA Lead’s attention. This allows you to ask multiple questions to the analyst who has the background of your migration.

Step 5: IBM issues a Client Alert to IBM Support for timeframe of actual migration

As you approach the time to move the migrated environment to production, the MA Lead will create an IBM internal Customer Alert for this period. If you experience an issue during the critical cut over timeframe and open a PMR, the alert will provide the support analyst a notification that an urgent resolution of the PMR is needed.

Step 6: Client provides MA feedback through a post-migration survey

Within the 60 days, the MA Lead will provide you a survey to receive your input about the MA Activity. We will utilize your response to evaluate the effectiveness and continuance of Migration Assist.

4. How to Contact IBM to request Migration Assist

IBM Clients may request Migration Assist by emailing ma@us.ibm.com. Please include your IBM Customer Number (ICN), migration time frame, current WAS release, and a phone number we may use to reach you. The MA coordinator will contact you to answer questions about the MA activity or other migration resources that IBM provides.

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