Who are they?
IMS Advocates are folks
that work at the IMS lab.
IMS Developers
IMS Testers
IMS Level 2 support
IMS Product managers
What do they do?
An IMS Advocates job
is to help IMS clients.
1
They are there to get you what you need to be successful with IMS.
2
A good IMS advocate is a lobbyist for their IMS clients.
3
IMS advocates ensure to have regular calls with their clients.
4
IMS advocates are NOT salespeople, they don't earn commission.
Examples of advocacy
A client made their Db2 DBA in charge of
IMS.
Advocacy action
The IMS team set up educational webinars for Db2 DBA's.A client requested to have a DEDB greater than 2K AREAs.
Advocacy action
Enhancement released to increase DEDBs storage to 9,999 AREAs.A client opened a case for an issue regarding a PoC.
Advocacy action
Made sure to escalate the matter to get attention to the case and to get it resolved sooner."An IBM advocate is a must-have. Our present issues are handled with the utmost priority and thoughtful planning is dedicated to our future goals."
Mainframe system administrator at a Global Technology Services company
"We've enjoyed and benefited from our advocate relationship. Not only does our advocate keep us aware of product direction in a way we might not be able to accomplish on our own, but they are also participate in developing a deeper understanding of our issues and how they impact our business so we can prioritize solutions in a way that the case severity rating on the IBM support site really doesn't capture and communicate."
Mainframe system administrator lead at a Global Technology Services company
"An IMS advocate is an essential tool in your product arsenal providing awareness, escalation and education about all things IMS. It provides you a seat at the table to help guide the product direction to fulfill business needs and eliminate pain points."
Vice President - System Operations & Administration at a Global Technology Services company