Thirty years of deferred decisions, taken one at a time.
Blount County ran its finances on a custom COBOL application built on an IBM AS400 purchased more than thirty years earlier. The platform had been out of support since 2008, carried no documentation, and almost no one left could read the code.
You cannot replace a system nobody understands. You have to make it safe first, then replace it.
Founded in 1795, Blount County is one of Tennessee's oldest counties, governed by a County Commission of twenty-one members across ten districts. Its finance and administrative operations ran on a home-grown COBOL application hosted on an IBM AS400 server bought more than three decades ago.
The platform had been out of vendor support since 2008. The custom code carried no documentation and few explanatory comments. The operating system was unpatched. Meanwhile the legislative process — agendas, commission packets, minutes — was assembled by hand, on paper, meeting after meeting.
The instinct in that situation is to buy a replacement immediately. Avèro's sequence was different: stabilize the system the county could not afford to lose, then replace it deliberately.
The deliverables.
Managed services for the AS400
Bringing an out-of-support, undocumented COBOL platform under managed service so it stayed operational and secure while a replacement was selected. This is the step that makes a considered replacement possible instead of a forced one.
Financial management system replacement
Selection and implementation of Tyler Munis as the county's modern financial management information system, live in February 2019, retiring dependence on the custom AS400 application.
Enterprise asset management
Implementation management for Tyler EAM and work order management in the Highway Department, including current-state discovery across departments, business process mapping, and the assignment of workflows and permissions.
Legislative process automation
Replacing a paper-intensive, manual process for agendas, commission packets, and minutes with Granicus, giving staff a workflow for meeting management and automated documentation end to end.
A unified public web presence
The county's web presence was decentralized, with departments running their own sites and no shared branding. It was consolidated onto a single standardized platform with a content management system and emergency notifications.
Capacity inside the county
The IT department was understaffed for a modernization of this size. Avèro embedded consultants alongside county staff with the explicit goal of leaving behind a self-sufficient department rather than a dependency.
Status and outlook.
Where it stands
Tyler Munis went live in February 2019. Tyler EAM followed in the Highway Department. The county's legislative process and public web presence both run on modern platforms.
Why the sequence mattered
Stabilizing the AS400 first meant the county chose its replacement on the evidence rather than under the pressure of a system that might fail. The order of operations was the advice.
In their words
“Avèro Advisors has brought IT advancements to Blount County Government that were 30 years overdue. This modernization could have been a lot more painful had it not been for the ability of Avèro to build strong relationships.” — Ed Mitchell
Related engagements.
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