IBM Software A government agency standardizes transaction management IBM WebSphere MQ software allows routing of, and visibility into, billions of transactions annually The need: This agency needed a common delivery architecture for collaborating with military branches and efficiently managing massive volumes of transaction traffic. The solution: The agency deployed IBM® WebSphere® MQ software as the standard file transfer interface for all of its external and internal partners worldwide. “IBM WebSphere MQ allows for very robust connectivity to outside partners. It provides a common architecture that allows transactions to move efficiently because everybody is speaking the same language.” —IT specialist, a government agency This government agency in the United States provides supplies to all military services and supports military acquisition of weapon repair parts and other materials worldwide. Historically, each order in the company’s massive volume was administered through FTP and Secure FTP (SFTP)—transfer architectures that provided little transaction transparency. To boost visibility, the agency augmented its protocols with custom-written, programming-intensive file delivery mechanisms developed over two decades. However, the agency still lacked a consolidated, common delivery architecture for collaborating with each branch of the military and efficiently managing massive volumes of transaction traffic. Further, the existing FTP applications architecture failed to provide the degree of visibility necessary to identify bottlenecks in the agency’s fulfillment processes. The agency deployed IBM® WebSphere® MQ software as the standard message transfer interface for a majority of its external and internal partners worldwide, replacing FTP. WebSphere MQ software provides connectivity with outside partners across a wide variety of global platforms and applications, eliminating the pressure on programming resources to manage and monitor individual files. Messages are sent among applications, regardless of whether those applications are running simultaneously, with an automated queue manager holding messages, in order, until requested by the recipient. The new solution eliminates programming-intensive processes for staff by providing a common programming interface for all transactions worldwide. It also increases visibility into transactions across the entire enterprise, strengthening management oversight and control. Finally, the solution speeds transaction processing and tracking. The benefits: Eliminates intensive processes for staff by providing a common programming interface for all transactions worldwide Increases visibility into transactions across the entire enterprise, strengthening management oversight and control Speeds transaction processing and tracking Solution components: IBM WebSphere MQ WSC14320-USEN-00