Case Studies
ESDC Technical Modernization Assessment
Project Overview
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) relied on five legacy business applications built on PowerBuilder 12.5 / Sybase and Oracle technologies. These systems supported critical functions such as labor relations, injury compensation, dispute resolution, and regulatory compliance. However, the aging platforms posed risks, lacked integration with modern enterprise systems, and were increasingly costly to support.
To address this, ESDC engaged Core Software to assess and modernize the applications using automated design-preservation and code-transformation techniques, migrating them to a Microsoft .NET and SQL Server–based architecture (with Oracle retained for specific applications).
The Challenge
The legacy applications created several issues for ESDC:
– Obsolete technology: PowerBuilder/Sybase were no longer strategic standards and nearing end of vendor support.
– Resource scarcity: Skilled PowerBuilder developers were becoming difficult and costly to retain.
– Integration limitations: The systems could not easily integrate with Microsoft .NET, SQL Server, or other enterprise tools.
– Operational risks: High maintenance costs, risk of code duplication, and outdated bilingual design patterns.
– Growth constraints: Legacy platforms limited scalability, modernization of workflows, and improved reporting.
These factors made continued reliance on the systems unsustainable and placed critical business processes at risk.
Our Approach
Core Software executed a comprehensive technical modernization assessment and designed a structured roadmap.
Key steps included:
– Design Recovery & Reverse Engineering: Captured business rules, architecture, and logic from legacy systems.
– Code Analysis & Reduction: Identified unused objects and duplicated code (notably bilingual redundancies), lowering modernization scope.
– Database Modernization: Migrated Sybase-based applications (NICS, iNICS, WICS) to SQL Server; retained Oracle for FMCSIS and LA2000.
– Forward Engineering: Applied automated parsing and transformation to generate .NET objects from PowerBuilder equivalents.
– Proof of Concept: Delivered a modernized prototype of NICS Claims Processing with updated UI (WET 4.0 compliance).
– Project Phasing: Developed incremental “Code Drops” with defined timelines per application.
The modernization strategy ensured accurate code preservation, minimized risk, and aligned all applications with ESDC’s enterprise standards.
Results
The assessment and roadmap prepared ESDC for full migration of its mission-critical applications. Expected outcomes included:
– Improved maintainability through consolidation of duplicated code and elimination of unreferenced objects.
– Modern, scalable architecture leveraging Microsoft .NET, SQL Server, and Oracle where appropriate.
– Reduced operational costs by moving away from scarce PowerBuilder resources to readily available .NET developers.
– Future-ready applications with web-based access, WET 4.0 compliance, and improved integration with enterprise IT systems.
– Optimized project delivery with defined work schedules (6–13 months per system) and reduced migration scope.
Why It Matters
The assessment and roadmap prepared ESDC for full migration of its mission-critical applications. Expected outcomes included:
– Improved maintainability through consolidation of duplicated code and elimination of unreferenced objects.
– Modern, scalable architecture leveraging Microsoft .NET, SQL Server, and Oracle where appropriate.
– Reduced operational costs by moving away from scarce PowerBuilder resources to readily available .NET developers.
– Future-ready applications with web-based access, WET 4.0 compliance, and improved integration with enterprise IT systems.
– Optimized project delivery with defined work schedules (6–13 months per system) and reduced migration scope.
Environment
– Legacy: PowerBuilder 12.5 / Sybase & Oracle databases.
– Modernized Target: Microsoft .NET (VB.NET, C#), SQL Server 2014, Oracle (for FMCSIS & LA2000).
– Architecture: Model-View-Controller (MVC) with separation of presentation, business logic, and data access layers.
– Delivery Plan: Phased modernization with incremental Code Drops, spanning 6–13 months per application.