FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 5/1/1998

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Sara Alt, 303-866-4240

Brian Mouty - IMC Year 2000 Project Office, 303-866-3222

Susana Villescas - GSS Embedded Systems Team , 303-866-4253

Colorado state government efforts to become Year 2000 (Y2K) compliant are proceeding on schedule, according to Paul Quade, chairman of the state's Commission on Information Management (IMC).

Quade says, "A methodology has been laid, and all plans are in place to give the departments the ability to be successful in their Year 2000 conversions. I am very pleased at the progress made to date. This is a huge task and also a very expensive one. At the same time there are no options. These systems must be Y2K compatible to avoid catastrophic failure as we near the year 2000."

More than 750 information systems that control everything from the state's central accounting system and driver license records to child support payments have been inventoried. A central project office guides departments as they correct potential Y2K problems. Y2K problems, which pose a potential worldwide dilemma, could result if a computer system fails to recognize 2000 on Jan. 1, 2000 because it was programmed to accept only the last two digits of a year. Historically, computer systems were programmed for two-digit year entries to save storage space.

The IMC Year 2000 Project Office, headed by Brian Mouty, has centralized all Y2K information system efforts, tracks projects on a monthly basis and reports to the legislative Joint Budget Committee and the IMC. The projected cost to fix information system problems is $35 million, according to a March 31 estimate. Three state departments - Human Services, Revenue and Personnel - account for about 80 percent of this cost. Fatal systems and critical systems that are essential to an organization's operation account for 73 percent of the cost. More than three-fourths of the expected expense is for labor.

Also under way is a parallel project to identify and correct potential Y2K problems in "embedded systems." These are computer-driven functions using embedded electronic chips that operate everything from elevators to medical equipment and phone systems. A newly developed "tool kit" will be available in early May to help state agencies assess operating systems to see if they have embedded chips and offer guidance for correcting problems. It includes a list of 11 tests that must be passed to meet Y2K requirements. Operating systems that cannot be repaired because the manufacturer is no longer in business or because the chip is no longer available may need to be abandoned or replaced.

Susana Villescas of the Department of Personnel/General Support Services leads the embedded systems project. No firm cost estimate will be available until the assessment is completed and manufacturers are consulted regarding correction possibilities.