Modernizing Criminal Justice Mainframe Systems on Microsoft Azure
A state criminal justice agency migrates mission-critical applications to Microsoft Azure, enabling ERP integration and reducing legacy operating costs.
When a state agency responsible for overseeing the largest population of criminal offenders in the United States needed to migrate from its legacy mainframe system, it engaged Amdocs to help lay the foundation for a large-scale ERP modernization.
Overview
The agency manages prisons, jails and private correctional facilities, and oversees offenders released on parole or mandatory supervision. Its mainframe applications support critical functions, including offender release dates, inmate healthcare, real-time warrant checks and day-to-day prison operations.
The agency planned to deploy a modern, cloud-based ERP system from Microsoft, but incompatibilities with its existing mainframe technology created a substantial barrier. Working with Microsoft and Amdocs, the agency replatformed its z/OS applications to Microsoft Azure, modernized its database technology and streamlined its applications. The migration enabled access to cloud-native services and laid the groundwork for improved efficiency and lower operating costs.
Challenge
The agency selected Microsoft Dynamics as its new ERP system. The system would require extensive integration with existing applications, but the agency’s mainframe technology was poorly suited to rapid, flexible integration.
Its z/OS systems used the EBCDIC character set, while limitations in its existing mainframe database further complicated integration with modern cloud-based systems. To support the ERP rollout, the agency decided to replatform its mainframe applications to Microsoft Azure.
These applications support mission-critical functions with direct implications for public safety. Prison officials rely on them to manage incarceration and parole supervision, while state and local police depend on accurate information when checking for warrants during routine traffic stops. Preserving functional accuracy and service reliability throughout the transition was therefore essential.
Solution
"Our goal is to deliver functional equivalence. We also expect the new system to run as fast or faster than the legacy system, so exhaustive testing is a critical part of every project."
The agency engaged Microsoft to support the transition. Drawing on previous successful mainframe-to-cloud migrations with Amdocs, Microsoft selected Amdocs to lead the mainframe modernization effort.
The project involved moving the agency’s COBOL applications from IBM Z to Microsoft Azure and migrating its Db2 database to Microsoft SQL Server. Much of the code had been written years earlier, often by developers who were no longer employed by the state. Coding practices did not consistently follow industry standards, and the quality and completeness of documentation varied considerably.
Amdocs modernized and standardized the agency’s COBOL code, aligned it with accepted industry practices and improved the supporting documentation.
Results
Together, Amdocs and Microsoft successfully migrated the agency’s applications to a flexible, scalable cloud environment. Stakeholders across the agency, law enforcement and state government continued to receive the level of service reliability expected from the legacy systems.
The migration also laid the foundation for the agency’s new ERP system by enabling faster, easier integration between its existing applications and newer technology investments. These capabilities are expected to help its IT teams deliver results faster and reduce costs as the state advances its broader modernization program.
The agency is also expected to save millions of dollars in operating costs over the coming years, delivering better value for taxpayers.
About the client
- COMPANY: A state department of criminal justice
- INDUSTRY: State and Local Government
- USE CASES: Refactoring, Replatforming, Azure migration, COBOL modernization, Db2 to Microsoft SQL
- RESULTS: Opened the way for technology innovation; reduced expenses.
Automated mainframe modernization
Unlock agility, innovation and all the cloud benefits while eliminating mainframe-related risks with an end-to-end, AI-driven transformation solution.
