Related link:
Docket Performance & CAB Overview
Major Transparency Update & User Tips
On July 27, 2023, the DC Contract Appeals Board officially migrated our iManage case search and repository system to the cloud!!! (The iManage system is the software application that allows CAB staff to upload case records to the Board’s public website as fully searchable PDFs.) When the Board reached this milestone on July 27, it capped a much broader multiyear effort to:
(1) digitize and preserve millions of pages from the Board’s earliest cases (1950s-1970s),
(2) add these legacy records to the Board’s already extensive case search database as fully searchable PDFs https://cab.dc.gov/node/1656651, and
(3) migrate our entire case search database from the now archaic “on-premises” application and server model to the newer (and increasingly standard) “cloud-based” application and server model. (CAB may be among court pioneers in offering a cloud-based case search tool ... the federal court system launched a cloud migration initiative in 2022. See, generally, https://washingtontechnology.com/contracts/2022/06/federal-court-system-eyes-expanded-push-cloud/368709/.
The benefits from iManage migration to the cloud will be instant for CAB and our website users:
(1) CAB will avoid the deleterious effect of losing vendor support for iManage in December 2023. After December 2023 our iManage vendor will only support cloud-based applications https://legaltechnology.com/2021/09/13/imanage-announces-end-of-life-for-desksite-filesite-and-idol-indexer/, which would have effectively locked the Board out of security patches, routine maintenance checks, and (especially) scalability in the newly emergent world of AI features,
(2) CAB will gain instant access to the vendor’s cloud-based iManage host server (which CAB will not have to maintain in-house). After migration, the iManage host server will be supported by the vendor’s team, which has the training and expertise needed to support a powerful and highly specialized legal app like iManage. CAB’s on-premises host server will no longer support the iManage app, and thus expensive third-party maintenance costs for host server upgrades will be eliminated,
(3) After the migration, authorized CAB website uploads can be done from any authorized device at any time and location because the cloud based-iManage is also browser based. (Currently, CAB uploads can only be done on devices that have VPN and/or other specialty District remote-access software installed.) In addition, the cloud based iManage will be future ready, on the latest version (Worksite 10 vs the Version 9.4 that CAB currently uses), will automatically update to newer versions, and (as noted) be compatible with newly emerging AI products https://www.ncsc.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/20830/2020-04-02-intro-to-ai-for-courts_final.pdf and
(4) Finally, the migration may lead to lower carbon emissions as energy consumption at the OCTO data center attributable to CAB’s on-premises server may be reduced. (The discussion regarding reduced carbon emissions has been written about in the context of various company migrations, see, e.g.,https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/accenture-launches-mynav-green-cloud-advisor-to-help-companies-realize-sustainability-goals-through-the-cloud.htm.
The Board’s migration was undertaken on July 27, 2023, at 6:00 pm, and took approximately two hours to complete. The Board will maintain our on-premises iManage application and server for the first six-months after cut-over as “back-up” for emergencies (a process that takes approximately 30 minutes and is known as “roll-back”). A user survey tool seeking feedback on case searches in the cloud environment will be posted to the website during August. CAB Team Leaders Beulah Daniel and Mark Poindexter served as Project Leads, and the entire CAB Team pitched in to attend virtual meetings, train on the new system, conduct test uploads to the cloud, offer feedback on user searches in the cloud environment, and/or trouble-shoot various operational, financial or contract issues. In addition, the Board received tremendous support and assistance from OCTO and OCP in their respective spheres of expertise.
Thanks to the CAB Team for all it does! CAB is now at 8.5 consecutive years without a docket backlog, has been affirmed in the last 5 cases decided by the DC Courts, does not have any appeal case on the docket older than 2.5 years or protest case older than 60 business days, has digitized and uploaded over 1.2 million pages of searchable legacy case records to our website, and migrated our case search database to a secure, future-ready cloud environment. For more information on the above, please contact General Counsel, Mark Poindexter, at 202.727-6597 or [email protected].