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A Publication Featuring The Information
Services Technology of Maine State Government
| Volume VII, Issue 7 | July/August 2004 |
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By Paul Sandlin
The Computer Output to Laser Disk (COLD) system has been in production since June of 1999. The major goal of the system was to decrease the volume of printing and microfiche. In this it has been quite successful. The system currently serves as an electronic report archive for Maine Revenue Services, MFASIS, and for BIS’ own Telco Billing system on the IBM z/OS system. The archive currently holds about 20 million pages of stored reports and is growing by 420,000 pages per month.
Unfortunately the version of software that drives the system, IBM’s OnDemand for OS/390 v2.1, will not be supported beyond April of next year. Upgrading to the latest version of the software requires a major conversion effort and comes with a steep price tag which gives BIS the opportunity to cast a wide net in exploring upgrade/replacement options.
The current archive is physically located on the IBM mainframe, which explains why its customer base is limited to IBM initiates. The administration of stored reports initially required a user with good mainframe CICS skills. Although a thick Graphical User Interface (GUI) client was available to users when COLD was initially implemented, the use of the GUI client was rejected because of desktop support concerns. As a result, the only access method was through CICS and the TN3270 green screen terminal emulators – not the most elegant interface as we enter the 21st century. In 2001 a Web-based client was installed, which made the application much easier to access, but which also caused difficulty with the presentation of some reports.
This spring a group of current users met to develop a list of requirements for a replacement system. The meetings were very productive, and the participants provided much positive and negative feedback about the features of the current software. In looking for a replacement for COLD, users were particularly concerned about how well the application integrates into their desktop environments, and they identified many potential improvements in this area. Users want an archive that functions as a seamless extension of their workspace and does not require individualized training, tweaking, and installation of client software at the desktop.
Migrating to a new application does pose an inconvenience. However it is unavoidable since we must migrate away from the soon-to-be-unsupported release of COLD. The State now has an opportunity to move to a better report archive and distribution system. Technology and the marketplace have come a long way since 1998 when the current system was acquired. There are so many new products that are "bigger, faster, better, and cheaper" that it would be difficult not to realize improvements in functionality, access to data, ease of maintenance, and overall cost.
Input on the prospective changes to the COLD system is very welcome and should be directed to the author by e-mailing Paul.Sandlin@maine.gov .
