The Client

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) oversees the public school system in the State. It provides shared IT services to over 115 K–12 school districts, each of which operates with a high degree of independence.

The Challenge

The department’s IBM i infrastructure had been hosted by a local vendor who decided to stop offering these services. As a result, the department faced a hard deadline to exit the contract if it was to avoid costly contract extensions. At same time, the department was in the process of transitioning its HR and Finance systems from IBM i to cloud-based SaaS platforms. It needed to transition to a flexible hosting solution that could support this phased migration and enable cost reductions as each school district transitioned over to the new systems.

The department saw this transition as an opportunity to modernize its IBM i systems, which had become outdated over the years. There had been just two people managing the environment on an augmented staffing contract, and they could not deliver the scalability, availability, and depth of expertise required to support 24/7 operations.

The department decided to shift to a managed services approach so that it could take advantage of defined service levels and deeper technical capabilities.

The Journey

To address the department’s complex infrastructure and modernization needs, Ensono delivered a tailored, multi-phase solution that balanced legacy system support with forward-looking flexibility:

• Custom network architecture deployment: Ensono engineered and deployed over 115 individual network connections—one for each school district—due to the decentralized nature of the IT environment. This required coordination with multiple third parties, including a state-affiliated network provider, to establish secure and reliable connectivity.
• IBM i modernization: The department’s IBM i environment was running on outdated software versions. Ensono first built a transitional legacy system to support the existing workloads, then upgraded the environment to a more current and supportable version. This approach allowed the department to maintain continuity while modernizing incrementally.
• Dedicated infrastructure with commercial flexibility: Due to technical constraints, the DPI could not immediately move to Ensono’s shared IBM i cloud. Ensono responded by creating a dedicated “pseudo-cloud” environment that delivered the same commercial benefits and service model as its shared platform, while accommodating the DPI’s unique requirements. Ensono’s consumption-based pricing structure allows the DPI to reduce costs as school districts transition to new SaaS platforms. This flexibility aligns with the DPI’s long-term modernization strategy and budgetary goals.
• Phased data migration strategy: The original plan for a full-system migration was blocked by the incumbent vendor’s restrictive policies. Ensono adapted by executing a district-by-district migration using secure FTP transfers — completing over 140 LPARs across the school districts.

The Outcomes Achieved

Ensono’s engagement with the State of North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction delivered measurable improvements in system performance, operational efficiency, and long-term flexibility:

• Successful migration of over 140 LPARs across approximately 115 school districts within a compressed timeline. This minimized the financial impact of extending DPI’s previous hosting contract.
• Access to 24/7 support and a team with deeper technical expertise. This has led to faster incident resolution times and more proactive system management.
• Ensono Flex enables the State to reduce costs as school districts transition off the IBM i platform. This flexibility supports the DPI’s modernization goals while overcoming budget constraints.
• Automated monitoring and backup solutions to replace manual processes and custom scripts. This has improved the agency’s ability to detect and respond to issues in real time, reducing downtime and operational risk.

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