Application Services
General Information
Application Services, a division of the City's Management Information Systems Department provides technical support for the computer software systems used by employees, citizens and customers of the City. The Application Services staff consists of seven developers who support hundreds of applications and manage more than 60 Microsoft SQL Server databases and several Oracle databases.
Technical Specifications
The City has a sophisticated and robust network of computer systems. We use primarily Microsoft products for our in-house development. We also support IBM AIX, Oracle and Java applications that were purchased from third-party vendors. All of our in-house applications are written using Microsoft ASP.Net. This allows us to develop all new applications in a Web-based format, accessible from a browser like Internet Explorer. We use Microsoft SQL Server to store data for our in-house applications.
History
The Application Services Division has been writing computer systems for the City since the early 1970s. Until the last few years, almost all of the City's computer applications, which included Payroll/Personnel, Finance, Procurement, Inspections, and Utilities Billing, were written in-house and ran on the City’s IBM Mainframe. The current mainframe system is comprised of an IBM 9221 processor running a DOS/VSE operating system, CICS and VSAM file structures.
In the early 1990s, Application Services staff worked with a team from the Police Department to design and develop a Police Case Processing system. This system ran on its own machine, a DEC/VAX. The Police Department used this system until 2004 when it was replaced by a package.
Progression and Recent History
In the late 1990s, Application Services began to consider moving from the mainframe to Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 and Microsoft SQL Server Relational Database 7.0 for writing Client/Server applications. The first mainframe to be converted was the Building Inspections mainframe system in 1998.
The new Building Inspections system allowed City inspectors to do their work on hand-held units out in the field, saving the City money and increasing efficiency in the Inspections Department. Despite the success of the Building Inspections system, the transition from mainframe systems to the new technology was not yet feasible due to staff and time constraints.
In 2003, the City selected Lawson for its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The Lawson ERP system handles the City's Financials, Payroll/Personnel and Procurement/Distribution systems. In 2004, a new Utilities Customer Service system was implemented to replace the mainframe Water Billing System. Both of these packages are Java-based and use an Oracle Relational Database.
Now and into the Future
The City continues to migrate from the mainframe environment into Web-based ASP.net systems. In 2005, the Cemeteries, Privilege License and Parking Ticket systems were converted to Web-based systems from mainframe applications, making City data increasingly accessible to the public.
The City will soon offer customers the ability to pay for services on the Internet. In fact, the City's new website was developed by the Application Services division using Microsoft’s Content Management Software. It’s the beginning of a dedicated effort to make the City of Greensboro’s website the one-stop place to conduct business with your local government.