DDD Letter #74

Update of Year 2000 Activity

Reformatted: January 12, 1998

With the beginning of a new year, it seems appropriate that we report on the state of the Year 2000 efforts from the perspective of the Computer Center, the University, and the State.

The University Computer Center (UCC):

The UCC has made major progress to insure that we will be able to function properly in the year 2000 and beyond. In addition to creating standards for date fields and completing an inventory of all of the hardware, software and equipment for which UCC is responsible, we have upgraded the VM and MVS operating systems, and many of our critical program products, (including Fortran, ISPF/PDF, Syncsort, Easytrieve Plus) as well as installing new products (including Cobol 370 and LE 370) to insure Year 2000 compliance.

With respect to administrative applications, the UCC has completed the upgrade to NOTIS and Phase 1 of the Thesis/Pace/Touchtone Year 2000 project; and the programming staff is in the process of upgrading several other mission-critical applications including SAM, SARS, Gateway and Phase 2 of Thesis/Pace/Touchtone (scheduled for March, 1998).

In the area of Consulting and Support Services, the staff has inventoried all of its vendor products and has made significant progress in assessing the Year 2000 compliance status of these products. In addition, they are in the process of testing the ability of the desktop/personal computers to roll over to the year 2000.

In order to disseminate Year 2000 information and guidance to the user community, the UCC has created a discussion list (YR2000-L), set up a web page (http://vm.uconn.edu/~year2000/uccyr2k.html), and in August 1997, we hosted a Higher Education Year 2000 conference attended by 80 UConn and non-UConn representatives.

The UCC has also been actively participating in the State's Year 2000 efforts. We are represented on the Agency Coordinators Group and on the Year 2000 Advisory Group.

The University:

While some departments have been more aggressive than others in resolving their year 2000 issues, there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done in the user community. UCC will continue to provide relevant information to assist them. Currently we are distributing through the Help Desk a free program to test IBM-compatible PCs. There are now 74 subscribers to the YR2000-L discussion list. Over 50 university employees attended the Year 2000 Higher Education conference to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding the Year 2000.

In July, 1997, the Research Foundation apprised Principal Investigators of the notification from the National Science Foundation concerning their responsibility for insuring Year 2000 compliance for their computer systems.

In September, 1997, Vice Chancellor Maryanski published correspondence to Deans, Directors and Department Heads outlining the steps that should be taken with respect to insuring Year 2000 compliance of their systems. Additional plans are being formulated for helping the University community of users cope with the Year 2000 problem.

The State of Connecticut:

The State's efforts began in 1996 when they inventoried agencies' mission-critical systems, appointed a Year 2000 Program Office director, and established the Agency Coordinator Group. In 1997, $15 million in bond funding was approved to finance Year 2000 compliance efforts for the 1997-98 fiscal years, and CTA, Inc. was awarded the contract to assist the Year 2000 Program Office to prepare a Year 2000 Readiness Assessment report for each agency, including cost estimates, resource requirements and recommendations to meet Year 2000 compliance.

The Year 2000 Program Office has also established the Year 2000 Advisory Group which has been providing input on standards and policies with respect to compliance, reporting mechanisms, and a certification process.

The Department of Information Technology (DOIT) has established a Year 2000 web page (http://www.doit.state.ct.us/y2k/) and is providing Year-2000-related information on such topics as Best Practice guidelines and progress reports.

Next Steps:

If your office has not already done so, we recommend that you follow the steps below:

1. Appoint a Year 2000 coordinator for your office/department.
2. Inventory your department's hardware and software products and files that process dates.
3. For each item in the inventory, determine if it is Year-2000 compliant, and if it is not, how you plan to proceed (e.g., replacement, upgrade, conversion).
4. Develop a project plan for converting any necessary software and for obtaining upgrades and replacements for any hardware or vendor software. In order to provide adequate time for testing, it is recommended that all systems be in place by Jan. 1, 1999.

If you need assistance from the Computer Center, please contact Elaine David, Year 2000 Project Coordinator (e-mail address: edavid@uconnvm.uconn.edu; phone number: 486-1362).

A copy of this communication will be viewable on the Computer Center Policies web page at the following address: http://vm.uconn.edu/~wwwucc/uccpols.html.