Replacing Legacy Database Reduces Licensing Costs & Improves Batch Performance for State Agency

The client is the Social Services Agency for a US state government. 

The Social Services Agency needed to web-enable its Title IV-D Child Support program. To help accomplish this project, the client needed to eliminate the IMS database and associated licensing costs while maintaining the batch performance for this high visibility system. A more flexible, high availability database was desired, with all COBOL and Telon programs using IMS to be converted to Db2.

We completed an assessment, designed a new Db2 database schema and developed a migration plan to replace IMS navigation with SmartSQL™.  The 1,500 programs were updated and fully tested. This approach minimized risks and increased batch performance by 34%. The conversion project was completed on time and on budget and afterwards the project sponsor described the process as:

• IMS database and licensing eliminated
• Batch performance increased by 34%
• Project completed on budget in 20 months

• Redesign of IMS data schema to a Db2 relational model
• Converted 800 COBOL IMS database programs, and 700 COBOL/IMS/Telon programs to use new Db2 relational database
• IMS database and IMS navigation replaced with SmartSQL™ and Db2