General Page
IBM Business Automation Workflow is the product that replaced IBM Business Process Manager (BPM). This is the upgrade target for current IBM BPM customers. Business Automation Workflow started as a combination of features from IBM BPM and IBM Case Manager (ICM). The upgrade process is an in-place upgrade similar to any other upgrades you performed for IBM BPM 8.5 and 8.6 versions.
Product Lifecycle Strategy
IBM Business Automation Workflow Software Support Lifecycle Policy contains the lifecycle strategy for Business Automation Workflow and links to the upgrade pages for each version. When upgrading IBM BPM, try to find the latest version of Business Automation Workflow and make that your upgrade target. The lifecycle page can be good to bookmark as it is regularly updated as new versions come out.
As stated on the Software Lifecycle page, IBM BPM 8.5.x reached End of Support(EOS) on 2019-09-30 and IBM BPM 8.6.x reached EOS on 2020-09-30.
Product Upgrade Instructions
Upgrading to IBM Business Automation Workflow also contains links to the upgrade instructions for each target Business Automation Workflow version. When you find the set of upgrade instructions for the Business Automation Workflow version you want to upgrade to, go to the "Installing the cumulative fix" tab. This tab will walk you through the upgrade process and link to the other tabs at the appropriate points like the 8.6 or 8.5.x profile upgrade steps. You can also use the "Fix list" and "What's new" tabs to see what changed since the previous version. Although if you are upgrading through many versions, review the information for each version in between to see all of the major changes and defect fixes.
If you are still using the eclipse-based IBM Process Designer, think about your plan for moving off of it, which can be a large effort but is separate from the upgrade. For more information, see Converting from desktop Process Designer to web-based Process Designer.
What should I do if I want my upgrade to combine an IBM BPM and an ICM system into the same Business Automation Workflow system?
- First, upgrade IBM BPM to Business Automation Workflow following the previously mentioned instructions. Do not enable the case features during this upgrade.
- Then, follow the upgrade steps for ICM. Use the upgraded Business Automation Workflow environment with these instructions
Licensing Concerns
IBM BPM customers who have current Support & Subscription(S&S) licenses have automatically been upgraded to Business Automation Workflow. For more information, see IBM Business Automation Workflow replaces IBM Business Process Manager and IBM Business Process Manager Express.
We hope that licensing concerns don't delay you in upgrading your system. Here are some points that might alleviate some concerns:
- For IBM BPM 8.6 customers, it is a no-cost tradeup and 1:1 for PVUs.
- Even if on long-term contracts unable to switch to Business Automation Workflow licenses, IBM BPM customers can already apply the Business Automation Workflow CFs and still run Case, although they are bound by the Content Platform Engine (CPE) limitations specified in the IBM BPM 8.6 license.
- For auditing (ILMT) purposes, there are some additional steps to continue using IBM BPM licenses while running Business Automation Workflow code. See the following steps for switching between Business Automation Workflow and IBM BPM licenses.
Note: You will not have access to Business Automation Workflow base images in Passport Advantage until you have the Business Automation Workflow entitlement setup. Although you don't need these entitlements to upgrade an IBM BPM system.
Switching between Business Automation Workflow and IBM BPM licenses
Follow these steps each time that a new Business Automation Workflow version is applied to remain compliant with your IBM BPM license in place.
- After applying any Business Automation Workflow upgrade, you must download the JR60964 interm fix. Choose the interim fix matching the appropriate Business Automation Workflow version and license type.
- Apply the interim fix to each IBM BPM and Business Automation Workflow installation by using Installation Manager to ensure the IBM BPM license is used.
When you no longer need the IBM BPM license, you can remove the interim fix to go back to the Business Automation Workflow license.
Support Processes
Opening Support Cases
- After upgrading to Business Automation Workflow, you can open support cases against the Business Automation Workflow product.
Patch releases
- After upgrading to Business Automation Workflow, you can find fixes by searching on the IBM Business Automation Workflow product in Fix Central.
Case Management
After you upgrade to Business Automation Workflow and enabled case management, you have access to the case management features. For more information, see the Case management overview and the Case management section of the documentation.
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Document Information
Modified date:
14 September 2022
UID
ibm10880951