Case Study: Iowa Workforce Development saves $6.5M annually and expands statewide access to services with NetApp

IWD Improves Accessibility to Services and Saves $6.5 Million Annually with FlexPod and VMware

Iowa Workforce Development (IWD), the state agency that serves roughly 400,000 individuals and 75,000 businesses annually, faced deep federal funding cuts that forced it to close more than half of its offices. The agency needed a cost‑effective way to maintain broad, reliable access to workforce services statewide while doing more with less.

IWD deployed a FlexPod Datacenter (NetApp + Cisco) with VMware VDI, implemented by IP Pathways, to virtualize desktops and migrate key Oracle databases. The platform supports ~1,500 internal and 1,000 public virtual desktops, enabled rapid Oracle cutovers, and improved backup and recovery (restores in seconds; backup windows reduced from 4.5 hours to 1.5 minutes). The solution cut storage needs by over 36% (≈10 TB saved) and eliminated dozens of physical offices, delivering $6.5 million in annual operating savings while expanding access and uptime across all 99 counties.

Iowa Workforce Development

Gary Bateman

CIO