Modernizing IBM i Green Screen Application Unlocks Cost Savings and Growth Opportunities
About The Client
Founded in 1926, the client is a consulting firm specializing in mass appraisals for ad-valorem taxes, catering to the large industrial, mineral, real estate, and utility sectors. They are also a leading provider of Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) and tax collection software, GIS, hardware, and websites. In Texas, they are a trusted partner of over 100 appraisal districts and taxing entities. Additionally, they serve reputable clients in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Virginia.
- Industry: Technology
- Headquartered: Fort Worth, Texas
- Platforms: IBM i
- Team Size: 6 (3 Java developers, 2 frontend developers, and 1 technical architect)
The Challenge
The client’s application was based on an old IBM i green screen interface, which lacked visual appeal and intuitive design. This made it difficult to use, especially for new employees unfamiliar with such legacy solutions, resulting in inefficiencies and a steep learning curve.
The application could only be accessed through the IBM Access Client Solutions (ACS) console, disabling users to access it through the web and mobile platforms. This significantly limited flexibility, preventing remote usage and hindering modern work practices.
Introducing new features or enhancements to the legacy application was cumbersome and time-consuming. Due to the outdated architecture and tightly coupled code, some enhancements had been pending for years, slowing down business innovation.
Many of the employees, who had deep knowledge of the green screen application, were nearing retirement. With few talents having experience in legacy technology, there was an increasing risk of losing critical IT knowledge and business continuity.
Maintaining the legacy application incurred high costs due to its outdated technology stack and limited availability of skilled resources. Its rigid architecture made upgrades more expensive compared to modern alternatives.
Report generation on the application required extensive programming effort. The lack of dynamic capabilities of modern reporting tools further complicated the overall process, making it inflexible and time-consuming.
To address these complications, the client wanted to modernize the application to a web-based solution. However, the existing legacy application had to remain operational during the process to ensure flawless business continuity.
Several screens of the legacy application were required to be merged into single, more efficient views using the expanded space available in web browsers. Additionally, the screen flow had to be restructured as per business requirements.
The current application was heavily keyboard centric. Therefore, the modern web-based solution had to replicate crucial keyboard shortcuts in the graphically intuitive interface to prevent inefficiency and disruption.
Reports generated in the new solution were needed to mirror the format and data of legacy reports but with an improved layout and added enhancements. Ensuring accuracy and backward compatibility further complicated matters.
Our Solution
A strategic solution was implemented to deliver the desired results.
Proof of Concept (POC) Delivery
The Programmers.io team selected a small, independent module from the existing IBM i application and modernized it into a web-based solution to demonstrate the feasibility of the overall modernization effort.
Business and Application Analysis
After the POC, the team focused on gaining a high-level overview of the IBM i application's functionality. They studied its modules, their interaction, and their purposes to create a modernization blueprint.
Modernization Estimate Creation
Based on the overview, they created an estimation for modernizing the application. This estimation comprised timeframes, resources, and complexity for each module to ensure a structured modernization approach.
Phased Approach Adoption
The team followed a phased strategy to manage the modernization process in low-risk segments. Each phase was aimed at modernizing a single module for minimal disruption and continuous progress. This approach would also allow users to gradually adapt to the new web-based solution.
Reverse Engineering
For each module, the team documented the RPG codebase, business logic, and application flow into simplified pseudo code for easy understanding of the core functionality. This document also served as a blueprint for re-development.
Forward Engineering
Using the documentation, the Java developers translated the logic into APIs and web services. In parallel, the designers created user-friendly mockups, which the frontend developers turned to interfaces and integrated with the backend on approval.
Technologies Used
Our software architects and engineers are experts in using the latest technologies.
- ACS Console
- Adobe XD
- Angular
- BIRT Reporting Engine
- Bitbucket
- CSS
- DB2i
- DBeaver
- Eclipse BIRT
- EhCache
- Git
- HTML
- IntelliJ
- Java 8
- JavaScript
- Jira
- JUnit
- JWT
- Liquibase
- Maven
- Postman
- Spring Boot
- Spring Cache
- Spring Data JPA
- Spring REST
- Spring Security
- Spring Tool Suite
- SQL
- Swagger
- Typescript
- Visual Studio Code
Business Impact
Our solution added value with surprising results because we were able to deliver a high-quality product on time.
70% Feature Integration Time Reduction
50% Faster Report Development and Generation
50% - 90% Employee Training Time Minimization
50% - 80% Report Enhancement Time
Here’s how we did it
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Reduced learning curve and training time
by creating a modern interface that allowed employees to use the application without extensive programming knowledge.
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Enhanced accessibility and usability
by modernizing the IBM i application into an intuitive, cross-platform compatible web solution.
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Enabled access to a broader talent pool
by removing the dependency on legacy expertise.
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Lowered maintenance and infrastructure costs
by ensuring the web application can be deployed on cloud, Linux, and Windows servers as per business requirements.
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Upgraded reporting capability
by enabling business users to generate and modify reports in CSV, Excel, PDF, and other formats.
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Improved decision-making
by enabling business users to access relevant data on a single screen.
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Maximized scalability
by making the application support both horizontal and vertical scaling.
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I wanted to take a moment to highlight and commemorate the efforts from our dedicated PIO team. To preface, the projects we work on here are complex, with rigid objectives, budgets, and timelines. Expectations are always high and are ever-changing. From the start of our relationship, the IO team was able to exceed expectations and make our business wishes a reality.
Over the past year I have worked with them, they have worked very hard to understand our highly customized system and troubleshoot things with little or no documentation while managing to keep the business up and running normally. Without the hard work and dedication they have shown, I know we would have had some issues causing downtime or lost production. I am looking forward to continuing working them in the next year as well.
I have been working with Programmers IO for more than 5 years now and I have been pleased with all projects and developers that I have worked with. We have had a few issues here and there but they have always fixed and made it right. They have been an excellent addition to our business.
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