Case Studies
Mentec/Coillte
Project Overview
Migrating VAX Alpha VMS, PowerHouse 4GL, COBOL and Oracle to Microsoft Web Architecture
A Forestry Management application was a mission-critical application developed by Core, in partnership with an international consulting firm, and redesigned to modernize a mission-critical application to manage the natural resource activities of a government agency. The project objective was to move the old system that was on the legacy minicomputer platform to a secure and web-powered intranet application. The emerging solution was developed under the basis of the up-to-date technologies stack Oracle 9i and database, ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), Microsoft IIS, and ASP. Active Reports were added as the new reporting tool, which is more usable and better performing to replace old reporting tools.
The Challenge
The current Forestry Management system had become hard to maintain. It was expensive and difficult to maintain, and increasingly insecure, built as it was on an ageing infrastructure of minicomputers that were not scalable. The application was hard to access limiting the access of field and administrative users to interact with the data. The data protection solutions could not match the new changes in enterprise security, which led to a threat of losing sensitive forestry records. Reporting was also limited in case of reporting most of the reporting was done using its proprietary tools and users found it extremely hard to perform tailored reports and ad-hoc reports. Moreover, it was increasingly necessary to abandon access models based on desktops and provide the application using the intranet system of the organization to expand service delivery objectives and remote access.
Our Approach
Core began by designing a new technical architecture centered on Oracle 9i as the primary database management system. This new architecture allowed the team to implement robust data security controls such as role-based access and encryption best practices, ensuring that only authorized personnel could view or interact with sensitive information. A secure, intranet-ready application framework was created using a combination of IIS, ASP, and ADO technologies, replacing the outdated minicomputer environment with a scalable and maintainable system.
To preserve critical business logic while updating the system’s interface, Core translated existing screen layouts and batch processes into web-enabled formats. The data access layer was rebuilt in PL/SQL, allowing the team to take full advantage of Oracle 9i’s performance features, including optimized queries and stored procedures. Where needed, custom VB6 COM+ components were developed to replicate complex functions from the legacy system, ensuring business continuity and backward compatibility during the transition.
One of the most significant improvements involved overhauling the reporting functionality. Core replaced more than 1,000 legacy quiz reports with modern Active Reports modules. These new reports supported dynamic filters, multiple export options, and presented a consistent look and feel across the intranet interface. Reports were fully integrated with the new Oracle database schema, allowing for real-time data access and much faster generation times.
Throughout the project, Core followed a structured SDLC approach. Each module and component was rigorously tested through unit, integration, and user acceptance phases. Parallel test environments were used to validate stability and performance before live deployment. Data backups were taken prior to the migration, and the rollout was carefully phased to minimize any risk of downtime. The deployment process included live parallel runs of both systems to confirm consistency and data integrity before full switchover.
Results
By the end of the project, the outdated Forestry Management system had been successfully retired and replaced with a fully web-enabled intranet application. Users across the agency could now access the system through a standard browser, greatly improving access and reducing the technical barriers to everyday use. Security was significantly enhanced, thanks to Oracle 9i’s built-in controls and the layered access structure put in place. Reporting underwent a complete transformation—what had once been a rigid, proprietary process now became a flexible, on-demand experience. Users could easily generate custom reports with filters and export them in various formats, enabling faster decision-making and greater autonomy. The new architecture also set the stage for long-term supportability. Built on an n-tier framework using widely supported technologies like ASP and IIS, the application was now easier to maintain, scale, and enhance without relying on legacy hardware or niche skill sets.
Why It Matters
Modernizing legacy systems isn’t just a matter of upgrading software—it’s about unlocking potential. Before this project, the agency was constrained by an aging platform that limited access, increased risk, and slowed down critical reporting. Core’s approach helped move this essential workload into a secure, scalable environment that aligned with enterprise IT standards and future-proofed the application for years to come. The migration showed how structured planning, thoughtful architecture, and a commitment to preserving business functionality can transform a hard-to-support system into an agile, user-friendly solution.
For any organization considering the transition away from legacy infrastructure, especially in domains like natural resource management, this project demonstrates the power of a well-managed, architecture-led migration. With improved security, lower total cost of ownership, and vastly better reporting capabilities, the value delivered by the modernization extended well beyond the technical upgrade it fundamentally changed how users accessed and used the system every day.