We are pleased to announce the general availability of the latest version of IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM) v8.11, also available with IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation 21.0.3, as well as IBM ODM for z/OS, v8.11.
Note that ODM 8.11, ODM for z/OS, v8.11 and Cloud Pak for Business Automation 21.0.3 are delivered as long-term support releases (LTSR). Organizations receive product defects fixes and security updates for a minimum of two years from general availability date.
ODM 8.11 is the continuation of the previous ODM 8.10.5 release, with high compatibility and a straightforward upgrade. The new version number - 8.11 - reflects updates to the supported environments and removals of a few deprecated features. ODM 8.11 includes a variety of updates for business users, developers and architects, and IT administrators that you will want to take advantage of.
Updates for business users:
New view in Business Console for business vocabulary and associated business object models
Rule authors can now see the business terms available in each rule project of a decision service without opening a rule editor. Advanced users can also check the business object model entries associated with a decision service.
Custom operators in decision table editor
Developers can use advanced customization to define operators that can be selected by rule authors from a drop-down menu in decision tables.
Updates for developers and architects:
Updated software requirements:
- Rule Designer is based on Eclipse IDE 4.16, part of Eclipse 2020-06. Eclipse IDE 4.16 supports recent operating system versions and extensions, while retaining support for Java 8.
- Rule Execution Server adds Java 11 toleration for decision execution, which enables users to deploy Rule Execution Server in environments where Java 11 is required.
- ODM 8.11 adds support for new platforms and removes it for some prior versions of prerequisite software. For current ODM software requirements, see IBM Operational Decision Manager detailed system requirement
Deprecated features removal:
ODM 8.11 also delivers a streamlined user experience with the removal of some deprecated features: classic rule project, Decision Center Enterprise Console, Decision Server Insights, as well as the generation of a COBOL code representation of a rule application in ODM for z/OS.
Updates for IT administrators:
ODM 8.11 adds new features to facilitate Decision Center configuration:
- New support for System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM), in addition to LDAP, to retrieve users and groups,
- Additional Decision Center diagnostics for checking database scheme, with the ability to retrieve SQL script for missing model additions.
For organizations that are deploying ODM on OpenShift and other certified Kubernetes, ODM 8.11 provides more configuration settings for Decision Server and Decision Center. And there is additional documentation to help IT move ODM from on premises to certified Kubernetes.
Next Steps
You can upgrade with confidence to ODM 8.11 or prepare a plan to do so later on. And do not hesitate to leverage this community if you have any questions or if you’d like to share your experience.
For additional information and reference:
Many thanks to @Lori Brown for her contribution to this blog.
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