CAST Imaging enabled the advisory firm to convert a black-box AS/400 system into a validated architecture baseline in weeks, accelerating documentation of transactions and dependencies to guide modernization decisions.

Challenge

A global insurer’s mission-critical policy and claims platform, built in RPGIII on AS400 and tightly coupled to ERP and CRM, was a total black box to the Advisory. Documentation was thin, dependencies opaque, and transaction flows uncertain.

The client needed visibility into structure and complexity, documentation of business transactions and modules, and evidence to weigh buy, build, or modernize paths while mitigating risk, controlling cost, and preserving operational continuity.

Solution

The Partner deployed CAST Imaging for a time-boxed baseline: rapid installation, automated discovery, and AI-enhanced documentation automatically generated a navigable knowledge base of modules and transactions. Custom architectural views clarified dependencies.

Crucially, the client reviewed and acknowledged the architecture description, transforming unknowns into shared understanding and a trusted blueprint to evaluate options and plan modernization confidently.

Results

Completed in weeks vs. months, the Partner turned a black-box system into evidence. Teams found redundancies and cataloged operations and input/output specifications. The client’s executives received a roadmap – buy vs. build vs. modernize – with cost-benefit and risk assessments, plus code-wrapping guidelines to improve transaction efficiency. This strengthens confidence and enables data-driven planning for modernization sequencing, reducing risk, while the client’s path forward is still under consideration.