The SumTotal Phoenix and Preference team is dedicated to providing comprehensive and quality support to all our customers as we enter the busy holiday season. Contract renewals, upgrades, and code expirations often take place at the end of the year.  When these occur in the ‘Thanksgiving to New Year’ window, things can get busy! Here are some ways to help us help you:

1. Plan ahead. Determine your needs and make sure you have plenty of time for contract negotiations, upgrade implementations, disaster recovery testing and code procurement. Also, determine what internal resources will be available in the late November to early January time period.
   
   
2. Communicate with SumTotal. Contact SumTotal Mainframe Account Manager, Christie Davis by e-mail or phone (614-781-7270) regarding contracts, upgrades, and authorization codes, so she is aware of your upcoming needs. And don’t hesitate to contact contactsupport@sumtotalsystems.com should you need technical assistance.
   
   
3. Start early. Don’t wait until the last minute to carry out your projects! Looking ahead to 2010 planning? Contact Christie Davis today to discuss.

Questions? Contact your SumTotal Mainframe Account Manager, Christie Davis at 614-781-7270. As always, we welcome your feedback and appreciate your ongoing support.

In November of 2008, SumTotal Systems released version 8.0 of Phoenix and Preference. This release offered a number of popular product enhancements such as new maintenance tools for removing inactive users from the system. Important platform upgrades were also implemented to make release 8.0 fully compatible with the most recent versions of IBM z/OS and CICS.

Additionally, Phoenix and Preference 8.0 was the first release to be offered via Web download, eliminating the need for physical tape cartridge tracking and administration.

After a year, we are proud to report that the reviews are in, and Release 8.0 has been well-received with a large number of our customers electing to upgrade to 8.0 and downloading the new Phoenix and Preference release from our FTP site. We appreciate your continued use and support of Phoenix and Preference as we strive to provide unparalleled mainframe CBT and EPSS (Help Screen) performance.

Two important support notes:

• First, if you are a Phoenix and Preference customer and are still running version 7.8 (or previous), you are on a ‘limited support’ version. Limited support means that customers in good standing are required to upgrade to a fully supported version should a product fix be necessary to address a technical support issue. Click here to see the SumTotal statement of product support.
  
  
• Second, note the following 8.0 product fixes are now available online:

s800001 System 13E ABEND on system shutdown
s800002 Preference Rules Print session terminated
z800001 Preference reader F1 pages to previous help screen

Still considering your 8.0 upgrade? Contact your SumTotal Account Manager, Christie Davis today at 614-781-7270 to learn more!

Mark your calendar for Wednesday December 9, 2009, and join us for a complimentary 60-minute webinar, presented by your SumTotal Mainframe Team!

At this interactive user event you’ll explore:

• Big picture summary of rules processing
• How to isolate problems
• How to use the Preference Rules Trace tool for troubleshooting  
• Online trouble-shooting resources
• Managing change proactively to avoid problems

Deep Dive Event Detail:

Topic: Preference Rules Trouble-shooting
Date:  Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Time: 11:00-12:00pm PT ( 2:00 – 3:00pm ET)
Presenter: Hank Hoeffgen, Lead Software Engineer, SumTotal
Skill Level: This event is designed for beginning to advanced Preference rules writers.

A new technical tip has recently been added to the mainframe Web site, and we wanted to be sure to share it with our readers.
Once a new Expiration Code is received for Phoenix or Preference, it must be applied. Usually this task is carried out by the system programmer responsible for the Phoenix/Preference system. Here are some guidelines that can expedite the upgrading of a Phoenix or Preference Expiration Code:

How do I apply new Expiration Codes (aka Product Codes, License Keys, Authorization Codes, etc.)?

1. Inspect the started Phoenix/Preference task JCL DD statement GSPCNTL to find the DATASET NAME to be updated.
2. Inspect the started Phoenix?Preference task JCL EXEC statement PARM= parameter to find the member name to look for in the GSPCNTL DATASET.
3. While in edit mode in the GSPCNTL DATASET member, search for the EXPID= parameters.
4. If the EXPID= parameter(s) is/are found, update them with the new Expiration Code(s).
5. If the EXPID= parameter(s) is/are NOT FOUND, then search for the MEMBER= parameter. This parameter identifies additional GSPCNTL DATASET member(s) to be searched for the EXPID= parameter(s). Start with step 3 above on the next member name to search for the EXPID= parameter(s).
6. After updating the code(s) and recycling the system to pick up the new code(s), then you are done.

This technical tip, and more, can be viewed online at the SumTotal Mainframe Website.

Did you hear the exciting news? On July 21, 2009 SumTotal stockholders overwhelmingly approved a merger with Vista Equities Partners. Together, the two companies have created the industry's preeminent software and services provider.

As a Phoenix or Preference customer, you are probably wondering how this acquisition may affect you. We assure you that our plans to develop and support the Phoenix and Preference products remain unchanged.

It's business as usual for the mainframe support staff here at SumTotal, with no foreseeable or immediate changes pertaining to product development or support. This acquisition has provided us with the resources to best support all our users.

Access to Mainframe technical support and account maintenance remain the same. We encourage you to proceed through your normal channels — and remember, your satisfaction and long-term success are a priority for us here at SumTotal.

Questions? Don't hesitate to contact your SumTotal Mainframe Account Manager, Christie Davis, at 614-781-7270. As always, we welcome your feedback and appreciate your ongoing support.