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Turning data into smiles: Rehosting saves millions and improves citizen services
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
Applicable Industries
- Cities & Municipalities
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Human Resources
Use Cases
- Process Control & Optimization
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
The Mississippi Department of Human Services faced the challenge of modernizing their systems to optimize services. They needed to invest smartly in IT to save funds for social programs, build on the stability of proven core systems, be equipped to leverage new innovations, and adapt to changing federal regulations. The systems that were in place were built with Adabas & Natural over 25 years ago. While these systems were reliable in processing data for welfare, economic assistance, payments tracking, and other social programs, they were mainframe-based, which meant that case workers couldn’t easily access the latest data or build new innovations.
About The Customer
The Mississippi Department of Human Services serves one in four of the state’s 3 million citizens through public-assistance programs, social services, and support for children, low-income individuals, and families. The agency exists to serve the state’s citizens in their time of need. That could mean providing a family short-term financial help, making sure children get nutrition, helping a person reach self-sufficiency, or assuring an aging person can live with dignity. The people who staff the department are “life changers,” says Executive Director John Davis. The systems that empower them are “life critical,” explained CIO Mark Allen. Those systems process, for example, $360+ million in child support and $1 billion in nutritional aid a year.
The Solution
The solution involved application modernization and system integration led by Cambria Solutions with Software AG Professional Services. The department decided to rehost rather than replace their systems. After 18 months of careful planning and delivery, the department made a record-setting rehosting to Linux—five systems moved in four days with no unplanned downtime. By rehosting, Allen’s team not only reused valuable business logic but they reduced modernization costs drastically. And now on an open system, the department is primed to bolt on new technologies to address future needs. In the second phase of its modernization, the department has worked with Cambria to take advantage of the new open systems environment to harness new technologies.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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