Transforming enterprise observability: How the IBM Sterling OMS migration to Instana helps drive measurable success

When milliseconds matter and downtime can cost millions, IBM Sterling® Order Management System (OMS) has achieved a successful transformation in enterprise observability. 

By migrating from a leading observability competitor to IBM Instana®, its flagship observability solution, OMS has enhanced monitoring capabilities. With Instana, OMS has accelerated root cause analysis and reduced mean time to resolution for critical platform issues.

The stakes couldn't have been higher for this migration. IBM Sterling OMS processes billions of transactions annually for leading retailers worldwide, with a demanding 99.9% SLA requirement, especially during high demand holiday periods. This wasn't just a technical migration; it was a strategic imperative to help enhance the backbone of modern retail operations.

The migration to Instana demonstrated the power of modern enterprise observability within IBM, leveraging Instana's intuitive setup and automated instrumentation, engineered for a seamless transition that simplified monitoring in the platform. The migration helped OMS overcome the following complex engineering challenges:

• Massive scale operations: Successfully transitioning monitoring for 500,000+ containers and 100+ microservices while preserving performance.
• Zero-disruption implementation: Executing seamless migration activities in advance of peak retail periods, helping to support business continuity for global operations.
• Technical innovation: Engineering breakthrough solutions for Prometheus sensor stability in high-throughput production environments, including advanced algorithmic optimizations and robust error-handling mechanisms.

Delivering transformative business impact

The successful migration represents more than technical achievement. Rather, it can act as a possible blueprint for enterprise transformation.

• Operational excellence: Helped enhance visibility across complex architectures, from Kubernetes clusters to DB2 databases.
• Risk mitigation: Demonstrated reliable application uptime during peak holiday season demands.
• Improved feedback loop: Fostered better alignment between OMS and Instana through product synergy, helping to support more streamlined monitoring and insights.

• Probable root cause cetection: Positioning for next-generation observability with Instana's AI-powered root cause analysis and gen AI-powered, automated remediation capabilities.
• Innovation acceleration: Streamlining monitoring to help enable improved feature and time-to-market.
• Digital experience management: Providing real-time insights to help drive proactive issue resolution before customer impact.

The IBM Sterling OMS migration success story demonstrates what is possible in enterprise observability. Leveraging Instana's cutting-edge capabilities, the platform offers:

• Automated full-stack monitoring across diverse technology landscapes.
• Near real-time, contextualized insights for visibility into complex, distributed systems.
• AI-driven insights for proactive performance optimization.

This transformation marks just the beginning. The partnership between IBM Sterling OMS and Instana continues to push boundaries. As IBM Sterling OMS evolves its observability strategy, it is well-positioned to leverage Instana's expanding capabilities including:

- Native OpenTelemetry (OTel) support, which can enable seamless data collection and enhanced interoperability.

- Enhanced automation, which drives operational efficiency.

- Kubecost integration, which can enhance visibility into Kubernetes spend for future cost optimization—a critical capability as container deployments scale.

The Sterling OMS migration exemplifies how strategic technology decisions can contribute to both immediate returns and long-term value. As businesses increasingly depend on digital infrastructure, this success story helps provide a roadmap for enterprises seeking to transform their observability practices while delivering measurable business impact.

For technology leaders navigating similar modernization transformations, the message is clear: with the right partnership, technology and execution strategy, it's possible to achieve both technical excellence and significant business value. The IBM Sterling OMS migration to Instana reinforces IBM's commitment to innovation and operational excellence in service of its global customer base.

Read the latest case study about the realized success between OMS and Instana