2017-10-26 JTC ETS Mainframe Update Joint Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Committee (JTC) Honorable Curt Meier Honorable John Eklund History During the past 20 years, a number of State systems have migrated off the mainframe environment leaving four agencies using the majority of the mainframe infrastructure:
Over the past several years, the State’s IT leadership has explored the possibility of migrating the remaining systems to other platforms in order to retire the State's mainframe. However, agency concerns regarding costs and risks always seem to deter forward momentum. In spring 2012, with the creation of the Department Enterprise Technology Services (ETS), began another attempt as IT resources were consolidating and the State’s IT infrastructure was evolving. ETS leadership started to explore the possibility of migration with the goal of retiring the State’s mainframe environment by the end of 2017. Several important reasons supported this goal and they are still valid today:
Current Status:
The Next Twelve Months: Maintenance and support for the Direct-Access Storage Device (DASD) and parts of the Automated Tape Library (ATL) hardware components of the Mainframe will expire this December. The remaining ATL hardware components will expire next August. ETS plans to purchase new hardware components to replace the expired ones. During the process, ETS will also evaluate downgrading the size of the Mainframe CPU to reduce purchase and operating costs. An ad hoc exploratory committee consisting of representatives from State agencies is being formed to advise regarding investment in Mainframe services and to examine new migration paths that will support agency needs. |