Mainframe Migration Project

Executive Summary

The Information Technology Department for North Dakota state government has made considerable investments in mainframe computer software programs that carry-out the key business functions for many agencies. To be economical and deliver more value per dollar, we have initiated this project to move legacy applications to more prevailing computer platforms. It is the intent for all of the agency's software application systems to be migrated from the mainframe into a Linux/Windows environment.

There are no standards or best practices in the industry by which to perform a mainframe migration onto other systems. Accordingly, we have obtained the services from a vendor in the industry who has strategically positioned their product line to live on current and prevailing computer systems.

The initial phase of the project includes complete technical analysis of the current mainframe environment. This information will include:

• An assessment review
• Recommendations for the process and scope of the project as we proceed

Updates on this site will include:

• Recommendations to proceed
• Project plan status

In the long run, users of computer applications do not usually care where the application data is processed. We do know however, as the Web has clearly shown, is that applications do need to be tightly integrated with Web technologies and delivery.

This project is characterized by two significant points:

1. User demand for Web usage
2. Newer prevailing computing platforms have truly reduced cost of operations