A Workforce Services State Agency’s Modernization Journey

Overview

A statewide employment services agency is dedicated to enhancing economic growth and individual prosperity by providing comprehensive workforce development services. The agency oversees a wide range of federal and state programs, and operates five separate divisions, addressing employment & training, adult education, skills development, rehabilitation, and services for the blind.

The agency is committed to innovation and accessibility, offering a wide range of services including job search assistance, career readiness certification, and training opportunities. They equip individuals with the skills needed to succeed in today's dynamic labor market. By fostering strong partnerships with businesses and community organizations, the agency also plays a pivotal role in building a skilled and competitive workforce, contributing significantly to the state's economic vitality.

To achieve greater cost efficiency and accelerate innovation, agency leaders launched a strategic initiative to migrate their legacy IBM mainframe systems to a cloud-based AWS environment. Astadia helped the organization in achieving a successful transition, paving the way for AI-driven innovation, automation, predictive analytics, and data-driven decisions.

The Challenge

For years, the agency relied on an aging IBM z/OS mainframe to run its mission critical operations. The system supported a myriad of interdependent COBOL applications, complex JCL workflows, and legacy databases, all in support of the state’s essential services for employment, training, and workforce development programs.

As mainframe expertise became harder to find and operational costs continued to rise, maintaining the legacy environment grew increasingly unsustainable. At the same time, the rigidity of the infrastructure limited the agency’s ability to scale its services, integrate emerging technologies, and address the evolving needs of job seekers and employers.

Leaders at the agency recognized that without modernization, they risked falling behind in delivering the kinds of innovative, responsive services that are essential to business and workforce success in today’s competitive global economy. They committed to a comprehensive modernization strategy, including migration of their mission critical applications to the AWS cloud.

The Solution

To ensure a smooth transition, the agency turned to Astadia, a recognized leader in mainframe modernization. Using its proprietary AI-enhanced automation tools, Astadia began with a detailed assessment in which they inventoried the agency’s applications, mapped dependencies, and documented business workflows.

Based on that assessment, Astadia developed a mainframe-to-cloud strategy to replatform the agency’s systems to AWS, migrate the data from Db2 to SQL, and convert its existing COBOL to C#. The agency required that its target system be functionally equivalent to its legacy IBM system. Using its Migration Factory toolset, Astadia automated the conversion of hundreds of COBOL programs and associated components to C#, while migrating the agency’s mainframe database to modern, cloud-ready relational database. They reengineered batch processing workflows using script-based automation designed to run in the cloud.

Naturally, testing was a critical consideration throughout the project. Astadia's automated tools accelerated the process and allowed for exhaustive testing, ensuring that application functionality, data integrity, and system performance were fully preserved.

Additionally, Astadia delivered comprehensive training and documentation to prepare developers, database administrators, and operations teams to manage the new cloud-based environment effectively.

The Results

With Astadia’s help, the agency was able to preserve its investment in the critical applications that support its mission. Having transitioned to the AWS cloud, they have established a strong foundation for AI-driven innovations, including automation, predictive analytics, and intelligent decision-making solutions.

With the shift to the AWS cloud, the system’s users enjoy full functional equivalency across all core business processes, without the need for retraining, and without the need to alter existing workflows. This has ensured that services for job seekers, employers, and educational partners continue without disruption.

The agency’s migration to the AWS cloud significantly reduces costs, saving money for the state’s taxpayers. With systems running on modern databases and written using modern programming languages, leaders at the agency are better positioned to hire and retain technical staff. The organization can more easily integrate advanced digital tools, improve service delivery, and unlock new opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

Thanks to a carefully planned and expertly executed modernization effort with Astadia, the agency is now positioned for long-term resilience, agility, and technology-driven growth, empowering opportunity for citizens, businesses, and communities alike.