Scalable Architecture for Financial Reporting

IBM's Scalable Architecture for Financial Reporting (SAFR) is an enterprise reporting system that relies on an IBM mainframe as its core, high performance engine. It is a data warehousing ETL tool with either a CICS-based traditional 3270 or Web graphical user interface.

SAFR can access multiple types of mainframe-based data, including DB2. For example, it can read sequential files based on the input format specified, then look up certain fields in a VSAM file or in another sequential file. SAFR can produce output in yet another format with some additional calculations, as required. The entire process is called a VIEW, and any number of VIEWs can be defined. SAFR also commonly processes data from other platforms that are fed into its engine.

IBM markets and sells SAFR through its IBM Global Services division, typically with customer-specific services. The product solves business intelligence problems for large operational databases, especially in insurance and financial industries. It traces its roots to a technology called GenevaERS, created by PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting as part of their practice. (IBM acquired PwC Consulting in 2002.) SAFR is also popular among SAP users, including manufacturing companies, with large databases and significant reporting needs. (Despite its name, SAFR is not confined to financial industry roles.)

SAFR uses a "single pass" I/O approach and takes advantage of the IBM mainframe's parallelism to create multiple reports concurrently. The software is CPU-efficient, with an internal capability to execute report queries using generated, high performance System z assembler code. Most SAFR users run reports daily, overnight, during a batch window, but jobs can run at any time, including concurrently and without disruption to online workloads. SAFR is able to exploit zIIPs.

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