New systems and system upgrades.

• Author: Pryor, John
• Position: Broward County, FL's preparation for the year 2000 computer transition problem

Broward County is home to more than 1.4 million citizens and 29 municipalities. With 10,900 employees and a fiscal operating budget of $1.7 billion, this county relies extensively on a variety of computer systems to function and deliver vital services. The year 2000 problem presented very serious concerns to Broward County government.

Operations of all 10 divisions of the Broward County Finance and Administrative Services Department will to some extent be affected by the year 2000 problem. The office of information technology (OIT), a division of this department, is tasked with assisting other divisions in addressing Y2K concerns, as well as addressing the concerns of the overall county organization.

The county began addressing the Y2K issue years ago by identifying and targeting for replacement those computer systems which were outdated, unable to adapt to dates beyond 1999, or unable to deliver sufficient performance for projected workloads. To assist in this process, OIT engaged a consulting firm to prepare an inventory and assessment of all centrally managed software and hardware. This assessment contained recommendations to the county and identified areas which could be fixed internally and those which required outside assistance. This consulting contract was structured to allow all county entities to use the firm to assess their Y2K needs.

Broward County now is well underway to solving its Y2K problems. Users with decentralized systems are obtaining an upgrade or other Y2K fix from their system vendors. Mainframe systems slated for replacement are in varying stages of selection or implementation. The OIT staff has compiled a list of all desktop software used across the county with a description of the release level in which the corresponding vendor has committed to be Y2K compliant. OIT is completing the renovation of all centrally managed system solutions that are not slated for replacement, and assisting in system replacement projects which are underway. The county administrator appointed a steering committee of senior managers to monitor and regularly report on the progress of all Y2K solutions. This committee is ensuring that nonmainframe Y2K problems such as telephone and radio communication systems are addressed.

In the finance department, current efforts include the following.

* The accounting and purchasing divisions are testing a new release of the county's primary financial system.

* The accounting and human resources...