Rocket Zena Reviews

Name: Rocket Zena
Brand: Rocket Software
Rating: 4.3 (8 reviews)

4.3 out of 5

8 reviews
100% willing to recommend

What is Rocket Zena?

Rocket Zena automates and schedules tasks across mainframe, Linux, and Windows environments, reducing human errors and managing dependencies.

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Rocket Zena is the #13 ranked solution in top Workload Automation solutions. PeerSpot users give Rocket Zena an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 8 most recent Rocket Zena reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 7.3. Rocket Zena is most commonly compared to Control-M: Rocket Zena vs Control-M. Rocket Zena is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 83% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 29% of all views.

Helped 816,406 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

JuanGonzalez6

IT Solutions Manager at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

The visual whiteboard for design and execution included with the solution is very crucial to those who are new to Rocket Zena, especially so that the learning curve is minimized and they can focus on accomplishing the task. We process our system's payroll through Rocket Zena. The fact that it's a multi-process, multi-layered application, means that we can rely on the solution for kicking off processes, notifying user vendors of the steps, completions, error logging, and historic events from the previous run times. Rocket Zena's ability to automate jobs on the mainframe as a distribution workload automation solution is good. The solution continuously improves over time. We're eager to start the latest upgrade this coming year that'll put us on the cloud. Hopefully, this will improve the product even more. We can run things natively without the scheduler if needed. The solution working properly and up to date without the need for a mainframe scheduler is crucial. We use the solution to manage a few complex operational workflows end-to-end across multiple technology stacks. Rocket Zena does a great job of simplifying our cross-platform processes through automation. The solution helps speed operations up and keeps them automated allowing us to focus on other priorities. The solution helps increase our completion rates by working overnight to meet our SLAs. Rocket Zena completes 30 percent of our workload outside of our standard work hours. Rocket Zena's cross-platform job scheduling helped us save around 40 percent of programming time by automating repetitive tasks. We use the solution to transfer our current files and keep up with our infrastructure on a few automated jobs, such as refreshing our database which happens overnight. The solution helped free up around 15 percent of our engineer's time to focus on more value-added work.

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Gus Calero

Sr. IT Product Manager at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

There is a limit of 6,000 components in a particular process. The processes that we've developed have a lot of components, but there's a limit, which is fine, but it would be great if it just didn't have that limitation. I understand the system limitation and so forth, but it would be great to not have this limitation. Another one that is probably a little bit bigger for me is that when there is an issue or there's an error, it writes on a different screen. I have to find the actual process name and go to a different screen to view the alert that got generated. On that screen, everyone's processes, not just the processes of the folks in my department, are thrown. It takes me a while to find the actual error so that I could go in there and look at the alert. It could be because of the way it was set up, but at least for me, it isn't too intuitive. For processes, Rocket Zena has four bubbles. It's green if a process is running and nothing has failed. It's yellow if something inside a process has failed, but the rest of the process is running. It's red if a process has failed, and it's blue if a process is complete. If there's something yellow, you can dig into a process and eventually find the error. For alerts, there's another screen, and this alert screen has everyone's alerts. Generally, I only have a view of the components that are owned by my department, but when I go to the alerts screen, the alerts from everyone in the company are there. Because I am not on the admin side, I don't know if this is something that wasn't set up properly on the admin side or if it is something that could have been improved in the tool. They can improve the UI loading time, at least in dev. It takes a long time. It could be because it has got so many components. It literally takes two or three minutes before it loads and you start using it. They can make some updates to get it up and running faster.

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Bridgette Friedman

System administrator at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees

In the latest upgrade, Zena added a web-based client. The more I use it, the more I like it. It's an excellent interface. They do a good job of steadily improving the solution to make it more useful. The whiteboard is handy when setting up processes and scheduling tasks, especially large ones. It helps you visualize the processes you're building so you can see what you're doing a lot easier than if you were just using a text-based system. It's a critical feature when you're building or troubleshooting jobs. You can see what you're doing and take out or add steps as needed.

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Rocket Zena mindshare

As of November 2024, the mindshare of Rocket Zena in the Workload Automation category stands at 3.3%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Workload Automation

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Nov 21, 2024

Valuable Features

Scheduling features and cross-platform job visualization are highly valued. Users appreciate the intuitive user interface, diagram view, and control over operational workflows. Containerized deployment with Docker simplifies processes and saves time. The web-based client and whiteboard assist in task management. FTP file transfer, ease of use, prompt notifications, and comprehensive help options are noted as beneficial. Licensing is straightforward, and users benefit from good technical support and cost-effectiveness. Rocket Zena enhances accuracy and consolidates processes across platforms.

"Its FTP feature is very good, as is scheduling any process or task with the Zena client. I have found it to be very helpful. If a task fails, it gives you a prompt."
"I like the whole product, but specifically, I like the license part. It's very easy to acquire a license for this product."
"From a Linux configuration point of view, Rocket Zena is straightforward. It's fairly easy to set up the server and agents once you know how to do it."

Room for Improvement

Rocket Zena's scheduling mapping is disjointed, lacking a unified approach for component creation. There's a 6,000-component limit per process. Error alerts are difficult to locate. The UI is unintuitive and slow to load. Documentation is hard to navigate. The graphical interface is complicated, and users desire a web interface. Rocket Zena is limited to on-premises deployment. Communication between servers and the agent part needs improvement, including better log reading and server status notifications.

"One area where it could be improved is communication between the different servers. Sometimes there are processes that have already been completed but we get a status notification that they're still active."
"Rocket Zena is a mainframe-based job scheduler. I would like it to be more open so that we can use it on a distributed platform."
"The UI is not intuitive, and it would be nice if there was a web interface."

ROI

Users reported significant efficiency gains and cost reductions with Rocket Zena, citing improved workflow and substantial savings on operational expenses. ROI was realized quickly through enhanced productivity and streamlined processes. Increased automation capabilities led to less manual intervention, fostering better resource allocation. Many noted that Rocket Zena paid for itself within months, attributing this to its robust features and time-saving functionalities, which enabled faster project completions and higher profitability margins.

Pricing

Rocket Zena offers flexible pricing tailored for enterprise needs. The vendor provides a competitive standard package with premium add-ons for advanced features. User feedback indicates that the solution delivers strong value for its cost, though some suggest considering the total investment required for full functionality. Budget considerations should account for initial setup, ongoing support, and potential customization. Pricing transparency from vendor assists in making informed decisions.

"The pricing and the licensing are good. It is affordable and can be used to improve and optimize productivity."

Popular Use Cases

Users primarily utilize Rocket Zena for scheduling and automating tasks, including batch jobs, file transfers, SFTP transfers, and the execution of scripts across various platforms like Linux, Windows, and mainframes. They employ it to mitigate human errors, manage ETLs, handle PeopleSoft Process Scheduler tasks, and organize jobs by business areas. Rocket Zena is also used to automate workflows, monitor and restart jobs, and schedule tasks according to business calendars.

Service and Support

Rocket Zena's customer service is generally responsive with quick replies. Technical support quality varies; users report helpful interactions but note delays in reaching knowledgeable staff. When escalations occur, issues are resolved effectively. Users appreciate the proactive communication during production upgrades. Satisfaction levels range from good to excellent.

Deployment

Initial setup was generally found complex. Multiple users faced challenges, especially with creating dummy agents and integrating SAP agents. Some had to manually craft RPM packages. It took about a day to deploy, and the process required understanding the architecture and components. Others found setup straightforward with controllers but faced trial and error. Customization facilitated smoother processes, and support from customer service was appreciated. Typical setup duration was one to two weeks.

Scalability

Rocket Zena is scalable, supporting various platforms and fitting complex IT infrastructures. Users experience both ease and challenges in scaling. It allows the addition of more servers and agents, facilitating automation for hundreds of users. However, some find licensing limitations cumbersome and prefer alternatives for direct control. While its scalability suits medium-scale operations, handling a significantly larger workload may require additional options.

Stability

Rocket Zena is highly stable for many users, rarely experiencing issues. However, a few users report instability after the April 2021 update, requiring emergency patching. Others rate it as a ten out of ten for stability, appreciating its reliability and up-to-date support. Some anticipate future improvements with the new version release. A minority expresses concerns about stability issues related to server policy changes.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Rocket Zena Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

29%

Insurance Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

Government

Non Profit

Retailer

Educational Organization

Energy/Utilities Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Healthcare Company

Construction Company

Logistics Company

University

Training & Coaching Company

Transportation Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Comms Service Provider

Legal Firm

Media Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Compare Rocket Zena with alternative products

Learn more about Rocket Zena

Rocket Zena serves as a powerful tool for scheduling and automating tasks across multiple platforms. Its capabilities extend to managing batch jobs, ETLs, SFTP transfers, database backups, organizing workflows, running scripts, managing payroll tasks, and customizing schedules to avoid manual interventions. Users benefit from a user-friendly interface and efficient containerized deployment with clear process visualization through diagram and whiteboard features. The platform supports file transfers, automates workflows, saves time, and reduces errors, with straightforward licensing and commendable technical support.

What are the most important features?

User-Friendly Interface: Easy to navigate for efficient task management.
Cross-Platform Job Scheduling: Simplifies task automation across different environments.
Containerized Deployment: Ensures efficient resource use and deployment.
Diagram and Whiteboard Features: Visualizes processes clearly for better understanding.
FTP File Transfers: Facilitates seamless file transfer between systems.
Workflow Automation: Saves time and minimizes errors with automated workflows.
Straightforward Licensing: Offers clear and simple licensing options.
Commendable Technical Support: Provides reliable customer support and assistance.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Reduced Human Errors: Automation lowers the chance of mistakes in repetitive tasks.
Time Savings: Efficient scheduling and automation allow for quicker task completion.
Improved Process Management: Enhanced organization and visualization of workflows.
Dependable Support: Access to reliable technical assistance when needed.

Rocket Zena sees implementations in industries requiring robust task scheduling and automation such as finance for managing payroll and database backups, healthcare for handling ETL operations and workflow organization, and IT for running scripts and managing batch jobs. Adaptation to industry-specific needs showcases its versatility, although users seek improvements in scheduling mapping, UI navigation, and desire cloud availability.

Rocket Zena was previously known as ASG-Zena.