Meta-Update is a Remedy API Data Scripting Tool.

Use this image to see what kind of jobs Meta-Update can automate for you.

With Meta-Update, your ARS Developer, with no API or programming skills needed, can quickly automate complex data operations.

Without modifying any forms or workflow on an ARS server!

Using a language he already speaks and knows, you ARS Developer can script tested, proven, audited, data operations and reports - in minutes.

He can script complex value transformation and lookup rules, validate incoming data, output to dissimilar records and forms.

Imagine processing a CSV where each row's data determines the class to update.

Meta-Update uses a very simple scheme for enhancing the power of the API.

With Meta-Update a script is a single file of data read operations such as File, Query, QuerySql, an output operation like Update or Output and pertinent assignments.

Meta-Update extends the concept of a field reference -
     $ Field $
so that fields from many different, dissimilar tables and files can be referenced -
     $ Record-Tag, Field $

Assignments can adjust values, set variables into strings or records, load other records from ARS, SQL, or CSV's, do regular expression extracts, assigning the fields needing to be set or changed in a record.

Meta-Update simplifies data migrations so that instead of terrifying, they become routine.

Automating any import becomes a simple half-day exercise for one Remedy admin resulting in a single script file - and no server changes at all instead of an expensive and time consuming project for developing staging forms and merge workflow.

Automating validation reports, backup extracts, generating HTML pages, doing difference reporting, in fact, almost any data operation you can imaging, become simple.

Any script may also chose to write output CSV or ASCII files such as XML or HTML.

ASCII files may be record based files like CSVs or a report, or individual files like web pages, or any combination of the above.

CSV files may be adjusted automatically to store date fields in any format, replace embedded lines with any string, double embedded quotes, use any quotation or delimiter.

In addition to migrations from older ITSM versions, Meta-Update can be used to extract and merge foundation or other data across server environments.

Imaging a tested, proven way of altering and adding to an ITSM's Categorizations, People, Support Groups on one server environment, and transferring these alterations to another environment.

Production servers may be read by migration scripts updating target servers either directly or through a two step approach of extract and import.

If desired, BMC Data Management CSV files can be generated from an older server.

transferring data into a dissimilar number of records into dissimilar tables is quick and easy to automate.

Automating value transformation takes minutes.

Loading the CMDB from a legacy system is a snap.

Each row in a CSV can determine what class to load/update and what categorization and other assignments to make.

Data from the CSV can be transformed, looked up, additional data loaded, all to determine the assignments to be made when a class is determined.

All this with incredible development times, no import staging forms or workflow, no import project, no ARS changes at all.

Imagine a complex import automated in a few hours with no ARS changes or development at all.

With Meta-Update, CSVs of any format or content can be interpreted. This includes values containing embedded quotes and line returns that other programs trip up on.

Each row of the CSV may determine difference targets to create or update. Multiple targets can be created depending on data in the CSV or in records queried with CSV row contents.

During the assignments, any value may be "Looked Up" against an internal list, a spreadsheet, an ARS Query, or an SQL Query.

These Look Ups can be used both to validate data and to clean data.

For example, in an ITSM 6 to 7 migration, misspelled street names can be added to an external spreadsheet and the script, when run again, will Look Up the correct street name so that the Site information can be loaded.

In another example, when importing assets from a legacy system, data from the CSV can be looked up an internal LookUp table and the target Class, Categorization, Site, People, and so on, can be determined. Then all this data can be used in the assignments to a CI and other relationship records.