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SSA slowed down by old mainframe
The Social Security Administration is struggling to provide benefits to a growing number of retiring baby boomers. At the same time it does not have a modern, online system to deploy.
The obstacle is an old mainframe system. SSA has stored citizens' retirement information in formats that cannot be read by modern databases or processed by computers other than the older IBM mainframes, according to a paper written by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA).
The association submitted recommendations to an SSA technology panel tasked with designing a road map for delivering electronic services throughout the next decade. CCIA is recommending that the SSA should back open standards--specifications that are not controlled by a single vendor to give the government better options for paying social security benefits.
"If you've been relying on a mainframe, it is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to effectively migrate off," Dan O'Connor, CCIA director of competition and telecommunications policy, told nextgov.com.
There are other problems, too, according to CCIA. The COBOL software code used by the database is obsolete and hasn't been used as an industry standard in years. In addition, some critical business applications are written in IBM assembler language, which is considered archaic by most IT professionals, and is not an industry standard, CCIA officials and federal advisers said.
"This is akin to storing major documents in hieroglyphics," O'Connor said. "There are only a few people who know this coding. They are dying off and retiring, so the supply of people who know how to use this stuff is vanishing."
For more on SSA's aging computer problems:
- see this nextgov.com article
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Is it time for a digital Social Security card?
IT maintenance a drain on Social Security budget
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Comments
By John P. Baker | Posted 12:38pm | November 12, 2009
The CCIA considers any and all mainframe systems phehistoric. Could it be because CCIA members are IBM competitors?
However, mainframe systems don't have viruses.
Modern relational database systems originated on mainframe systems. If the SSA is not running one, then they have no one to blame but themselves.
COBOL has been widely used for 50 years, and remains one of the most widely used programming languages in business. It may not be cool, but it does the job, and that is what makes business successful.
IBM Mainframe Assembler language, when properly documented and maintained is not a problem, although in cases where a high-level language can perform equivalent function, a conversion should be considered.
Comparing it to hieroglyphics just demonstrates bias and ignorance on the part of Mr. O'Connor.
There are many assembler professionals who could assist the SSA in addressing any issues they may have.
By Hieroglyphics coder | Posted 1:50pm | November 12, 2009
The purpose of organizations like CCIA is to foster organizations like CCIA. Mt. O'Connot is showing his ignorance of mainframe computing and Ms Hasson is reproducing this without critical comment. Perhaps we should put all of our SSA data "In the cloud" so that anyone who has taken Hacker 101 can get to it.
By Anonymous | Posted 3:36pm | November 12, 2009
There are many assembler professionals looking for work that would gladly assist in order to simply be gainfullt employed again. Those pieces can be rewritten. Maybe in Cobol. Maybe in C on the mainframe.
To be honest, imagining the size of the databases and processing demand the SSA would require, I would be more comfortable knowing that it was running on a solid mainframe workhorse rather than strung out over a handful of Windows or Unix servers. The original article is a disappointingly myopic view on IT that requires another view. The design has probably been patched to death and needs reinforcement but I would be fearful of the millions of tax dollars that would be spent redoing this under technology more in vogue with the times knowing that it would likely fail, waste tax dollars, and we'd still be at the same place we are now. Don't be too quick to toss this away without a serious review of the options.
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