30+ IBM-based applications migrated to modern Microsoft architecture — plus full training of PNC's development teams on building and maintaining the new platform.
PNC Bank came to McKula with a large portfolio of IBM-based database applications that had accumulated over years of enterprise operations. The technology was aging, increasingly difficult to integrate with modern systems, and unsustainable at scale. A migration to Microsoft architecture was the right path — but the scope was significant.
The challenge had two distinct dimensions. First: 30+ applications needed to be assessed, redesigned, and deployed in the new environment without disrupting the business operations that depended on them. Second, and equally important: PNC had their own development teams who would need to maintain and extend these systems going forward. A migration that left those teams unable to own the outcome wasn't a real solution.
McKula was brought in to solve both problems — as builder and as teacher.
McKula provided expert consultation to define the target Microsoft architecture and map each IBM application to its modern equivalent. The migration approach was designed to preserve business logic and data integrity while taking full advantage of what the new platform offered.
Over the course of the engagement, McKula led the deployment of more than 30 applications into the modern Microsoft environment — each one migrated, rebuilt, and validated against the workflows it was replacing. The work was executed at enterprise scale, with the rigor that a major financial institution requires.
Alongside the technical delivery, McKula trained both of PNC's internal development teams — the Run team responsible for ongoing support and operations, and the Change team responsible for building new capabilities. The goal was full self-sufficiency: PNC's developers would leave the engagement confident in the new technology, not dependent on an outside consultant to maintain it.
Over three years, PNC Bank transitioned its IBM application portfolio to a modern, maintainable Microsoft architecture — with over 30 applications deployed and fully operational in the new environment. The migration eliminated the technical debt and integration friction that had accumulated in the legacy system.
Equally important, the engagement left PNC's own developers equipped to build, extend, and support the platform independently. The training investment meant the value of the migration didn't stop with McKula's last day on the project — it compounded from there.