Business Requirement
IBM OpenPages currently displays Activity History timestamps based on each individual user's configured time zone. As a result, the same activity can appear with different date/time values to different users depending on their local time zone settings.
For organisations operating globally, this creates challenges when investigating incidents, reviewing audit trails, performing operational support activities, and conducting compliance reviews. Users in different regions may see different timestamps for the same activity, which can lead to confusion and additional effort when correlating events across teams.
The business requirement is to provide a configurable option that allows all users to view Activity History timestamps in a single, common time zone, preferably the OpenPages server time zone.
Current Behaviour
Activity History timestamps are automatically converted and displayed according to the user's configured time zone.
Testing performed confirmed that changing a user's time zone changes the timestamps shown in the Activity History.
There is currently no supported configuration setting that forces Activity History timestamps to display using the OpenPages server time zone.
The existing registry setting:
/Applications/GRCM/Date Field Time Zone Conversion Enabled
does not provide the ability to force Activity History timestamps to display in server time zone.
Problem Statement
Global organisations often use OpenPages as a central GRC platform across multiple countries and regions. When support teams, auditors, risk managers, and administrators investigate historical events, the activity timestamps displayed vary by user location.
Examples of challenges include:
Difficulty correlating activity history with server logs.
Additional effort during incident investigations and root cause analysis.
Audit teams seeing different timestamps than application administrators.
Confusion when discussing the timing of workflow actions across different geographies.
Inconsistent audit trail presentation across users.
While standardising all users to the same time zone is a possible workaround, it is not practical for large multinational organisations where users require local time zone settings for their normal day-to-day activities.
Requested Enhancement
Provide a configurable product-level option that allows administrators to choose how Activity History timestamps are displayed.
Suggested configuration options:
Display in User Time Zone (Current Behaviour - Default)
Display in Server Time Zone
Display in Configurable Enterprise Time Zone (UTC or administrator-defined time zone)
This configuration should be:
Globally configurable by administrators.
Consistently applied across Activity History screens.
Effective for all users without requiring individual profile changes.
Clearly documented in IBM OpenPages administration documentation.
Expected Benefits
Consistent audit trail visibility across all users.
Improved operational support and troubleshooting.
Easier correlation between OpenPages activity logs and infrastructure/server logs.
Reduced confusion during audits, investigations, and compliance reviews.
Better support for globally distributed organisations operating across multiple time zones.
Business Impact
This enhancement would benefit organisations with global user populations by providing a single authoritative timestamp view for Activity History. It would improve auditability, reduce operational complexity, and strengthen governance processes where precise and consistent event timing is critical.
Thank you for submitting this RFE!
The IBM team is evaluating this RFE. A decision or request for more information will be provided within 90 days of the date that this issue was submitted.