ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook February 6, 1998 Volume 3, No. 5 Published by the Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, VA Bob Cohen, Editor bcohen@itaa.org ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is sponsored in part by BDM International, Inc., CACI International Inc., DMR Consulting Group Inc., IBS Conversions, Inc., Softworks, Inc. and Y2Kplus, Inc. Clinton Appoints Koskinen Date Czar The Millennium bug flew on to the presidential radar screen this week. President Bill Clinton issued an executive order creating a Year 2000 Conversion Council and named former Office of Management and Budget official John Koskinen to chair it. Clinton's order establishes executive branch policy that agencies will assure no breakdowns in critical federal programs; assist and cooperate with state, local and tribal governments on the Y2K issue; cooperate with critical infrastructure components, in cluding banking and financial, telecommunications, public health, transportation and electric power; and communicate with foreign counterparts to raise awareness and generate cooperative international arrangements. Koskinen becomes the long awaited federal czar on the Y2K issue. As council chair, he will oversee the Y2K transition of federal agencies; act as the Administration's chief spokesperson on the issue, provide policy coordination with state, local and trib al governments; and promote appropriate federal roles with respect to the private sector. The executive order also instructs agency heads to give Y2K the highest priority attention, to provide the council chair with the fullest possible cooperation, and to designate "a responsible official" to be represented on the council. Better late than never seemed to sum up reaction to the Clinton move. "The Year 2000 is of critical importance to the President of the United States. The message is new and long overdue," according to one IT industry executive. This individual said the business community is looking for assurance from the Executive Office that critical infrastructure components will be up and running as the century ticks over. A Washington lobbyist said creating the council is a "good but late step to bringing attention to a big job." Calling it the "culmination of a three-year education effort," this person said Y2K pressures are mounting from every direction. "Hopefully, Ko skinen wants the job." Whether he wants it or not, actually being successful may take "extraordinary powers" suggests Norman Berthaut, who heads the federal practice at Input, a market research firm. According to Berthaut, the new czar may need to change the business as usual thinking about a Y2K fix. An example of this thinking, he says, is a move to divert people from where they are in agencies to where they are most needed government-wide to fix critical systemsóclearly a radical notion. But these may be becoming radical times, at least in the mind of one veteran of the Y2K wars who says "emergency measures" are needed. This person calls Y2K in government a "serious, serious problem. Some things weíre going to have to learn to get by wi thout." While praising the move to throw Executive Branch weight behind the Y2K issue, Jacob Pankowski, an attorney specializing in federal contracting with McKenna & Cuneo, says the Administrationís approach cannot do without participation by the private sector. Expressing concern that the executive order did not stretch to include a private sector analog, Pankowski also said the federal approach is to try to legislate problems out of existence. "Whatís needed is a careful management approach to assure critica l systems are corrected first." Going into a difficult assignment, Koskinen appears to be very well regarded. He served from 1994 to 1997 as deputy director for management of OMB and headed the federal CIO Council. Earlier, he was president of the Palmieri Company, which specialized i n the turnaround of troubled companies. He was an attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles, a special assistant to the Deputy Executive Director of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, represented Mayor John Lindsay and New Yo rk City in Washington, and served as administrative assistant to Sen. Abraham Ribicoff. The lobbyist said that with his recent OMB experience, Koskinen will have relationships within the federal agencies already established. "He should be able to get the council up and running quickly," this person said. Quick is good. One Capitol Hill staffer said enough with agency report cards, it's time for some concerted action. This person suggested that Koskinen's reputation may help the federal government find its resolve on the issue. Noting a need to move be yond status reports, the staffer said, "We need someone who will say, 'This will get done folksÖFailure is not an option.' We need to ratchet up the national discipline." A second Hill staffer said Koskinen, who will not begin his new assignment until March 9, will enjoy a two- to three-month honeymoon with Congress. By the May 15 agency status reports, "We want to see some impact on the numbers." Unlike Sally Katzen, wh o led the government's efforts on a part-time basis as head of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the staff member pointed out that Koskinen will be a full-time assistant to the President focused exclusively on the Year 2000 issue. And, this individual noted, "[Koskinen] knows where all the bodies are buried, both in OMB and the agencies." Perhaps so. But as head of the federal CIO Council in 1996-97, Koskinen was arguably in a position to accelerate the government's Y2K response. Still, the Hill staffer appears willing to give the federal official the benefit of the doubt. "It's a struct ural problem," he said, noting that while at OMB "Koskinen had ten other things to do. He should have dedicated a full time person to the work but he didn't. Now he is reincarnated as the Y2K czar. I guess I'm damning him with faint praise." In that other Washington, Washington State Year 2000 Program Manager John Sanders said he hopes the appointment will bring a more complete view to the federal government's Y2K dealings with the states. "There are so many state interactions with federal a gencies," Sanders said. He said he is looking for "an even more complete and consistent coverage of federal agencies in communicating with the states on interfaces and interface testing." Sanders clearly views the federal step in practical rather than political terms. He said state agencies look for three things from their exchange partners: an inventory of interfaces; written exchange formats; and written timing formats, including infor mation on when Y2K testing will start and stop, when bridges will be implemented and removed, and when the conversion cut over will take place. Some federal agencies, he said, have been better than others at providing this information. Key Execs Depart Federal Service A pair of top IT executives and Y2K champions are in the process of seeking their challenges elsewhere. Internal Revenue Service CIO Arthur Gross ends his less than two-year tenure to become executive vice president and CIO of the Albany Medical Center i n New York. Department of Defense Acting Secretary for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence Anthony Valletta is also retiring at the end of next month. Gross has been an active proponent of strong Y2K measures at the IRS, bringing in a third-party audit team to verify the work in progress information being generated by agency offices. Gross was also forced to juggle on-going IS operations, tax systems m odernization and a new bossóa mix which apparently proved too much. "Itís really sad," said one industry executive. "Art tried to make things happen in an environment marked by lethargy and tradition." Numerous observers speculated on a possible conflict between incoming IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti and the formerly independent Gross. "It was the clash of the titan egos," one source said. "It was inevitable with a new commissioner," commented a H ill staff member. "Both are technical, both are experienced and they came from different schoolsÖArt took to a mainframe-centric approach to life. Rossotti is a distributed processing guy." These and other differences have put the agencyís Tax Systems Modernization (TSM) effort temporarily on hold. An agency trying to reinvent itself in the midst of the Y2K conversion is no easy undertaking. Ironically, putting a hold on the TSM contract m ay make the systems to be converted even more of a moving target. "Whenever you hold progress, you put a lot of things on hold," this source said. At DoD, the Valletta departure caps an exodus which also includes Cynthia Rand, principal director for information management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense/C3I; and ASD/C3I IT Director Sam Worthington. "Thereís no one left running Year 20 00 for Defense," said one industry observer, adding, "No one is well placed to make decisions. You canít have GS 14 and 15s running around getting this job in a big agency like DoD." Arthur Money, CIO of the Air Force, has been designated as Vallettaís replacement. Closer to Home ITAA Presses for OECD Action ITAA has urged the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to help build international awareness of the Y2K issue. In a January 30 letter to State Department official Richard Beaird, ITAA President Harris Miller said the OECDís Worki ng Party on the Information Economy (WPIE) should consider an economic analysis of the potential Y2K consequences internationally should the issue go unaddressed, along with a survey of OECD member states on their Y2K readiness. Miller urged the OECD Tra de Ministers to make Y2K a priority issue, including it in the Spring 1998 OECD Ministerial Statement. Miller urged similar action be taken in any communique emerging from the October 1998 Ottawa Electronic Commerce Ministerial meeting. ITAA*2000 Certification Announced TSR, Inc., Catch 21 Enterprises Division, Hauppauge, NY, has received ITAA*2000 certification. ITAA*2000 is the industryís century date change certification program. The program examines processes and methods used by companies to perform their Year 2000 software conversions. TSR participated in a rigorous evaluation of its approach to date conversion, with extensive analysis in eleven discrete process areas deemed necessary to a successful Year 2000 conversion. Certification indicates that TSRís Catch 21 Division has the core capabilities needed to address the Year 2000 challenge. The company developed Catch/21 for Windows í95, 3.1 and NT; Index Conversion Generator, for Windows í95, 3.1 and NT; Inventory/Package Preparation for MVS, DOS/VCE, VM/CMS and OS/400; Sort Exit Ge nerator for Windows í95, 3.1 and NT, MVS, DOS/VSE; Date Advancing Utility, for Windows í95, 3.1 and NT, MVS, DOS/VSE; and Bridge Generator, for Windows í95, 3.1 and NT as well as Project Management, Assessment, Testing and Programming services using the c ertified processes and methods. Business to Business Reasoning, Inc., Mountain View, CA, has entered into a Y2K partnership agreement with BTMS International. Alydaar Software Corporation, Charlotte, NC, has won a Y2K conversion contract with British Airways. Data Integrity, Inc., New York, NY, has been awarded Y2K conversion contracts by Citibank and Credit Suisse First Boston. COLLEGIS, Orlando, FL, has signed a long-term agreement with the San Bernardino Community College District to provide Y2K conversion services. MVSI, Inc., Vienna, VA, has won a Y2K conversion contract with the Warehouse Management System of L'OREAL Hair Care Division. Sponsor Advertising BDM International, Inc. Are you confident that your renovated software applications are millennium-ready? Have you also validated the associated hardware, firmware, interfaces, third party software, and non-information systems that keep your business running? If not, BDM can help you mitigate business risks across your enterprise with our BDM SMART ValidatorSM solution. SMART Validator helps you to objectively validate that each and every automated system affected by Year 2000 performs as intended. SMART Validator provides customers with detailed processes, checklists, compliance statements, and guidelines to validate a nd maintain compliance beyond Year 2000. With 37 years of large-scale project management and testing experience backing our solutions, you can count on BDM and SMART Validator to help you prove Year 2000 compliance across your organization. (800) 794-6085 e-mail: year2000@bdm.com http://www.bdm.com. CACI International Inc. -- Restore 2000 CACI leverages 35 years of information technology experience and over 10 years of reengineering systems ó solving the same problems Y2K poses ó to offer a total solution to the Year 2000 challenge: Restore 2000SM. The Restore 2000 methodology applies a comprehensive three-phase process to your information systems: Assess, Plan, and Remediate. Furthermore, we give you the option of buying our methodology or our services ó both backed by CACI experience and Y2K expe rts. Restore 2000 is certified by the ITAA as meeting the highest standards of Y2K compliance. In addition, software development processes at CACI have been independently certified as being at Level 3 of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Mat urity Model. Achieving SEI Level 3 provides clients further assurance that CACI solutions successfully and effectively deliver Year 2000 compliance while allowing you to save money, reduce risk, and minimize systems disruption. With approximately 3700 employees worldwide and FY97 revenues in excess of $270 million, CACI provides a depth of experience and expertise you can rely on. Weíve performed Year 2000 conversions for many of Americaís biggest enterprises, including major he alth insurance providers, retail clothing manufactures, gas companies, airlines, and government agencies. Superior functionality backed by decades of experience ó CACIís Restore 2000. DMR Consulting Group Inc. DMR Consulting Group Inc.(formerly DMR TRECOM), an Amdahl company, is a global consulting organization of over 7,000 employees providing a comprehensive range of information technology services. Our Year 2000 Practice comprises a comprehensive offering of consulting, assessment, remediation, testing, and implementation services utilizing a formal methodology (APM/2000), best-in-class software tools, and six global conversion centers. We have mul ti-disciplinary experience in most mainframe, mid-range, and client-server/desktop environments. APM/2000 includes: … Program Management … Enterprise-Wide Assessment … Impact Analysis … Conversion Delivery … Testing and Implementation Year 2000 Risk Management Consulting Services include: Program Review, Stakeholder Readiness Assessment, Risk Management and Vendor Compliance Research. Contact: Stephen Frycki Managing Director, Year 2000 Services - US Phone: 201-200-3923 Fax: 201-200-9046 Email: fryckis@dmr.com Websites: http://www.dmr.com IBS Conversions, Inc. IBS Conversions, Inc., founded in 1982, is the first service organization to receive ITAA*2000 Certification for IBS/Solution 2000TM methodology, products and services. IBS is a recognized leader in automated conversion/migration software and consulting having translated millions of lines of code for companies worldwide. IBS/Solution 2000 IBS/Solution 2000TM is a full suite of Year 2000 services and products: Full project Analysis, Pilot Project and Repair, staffing and management/methodology Scan/Repair Conversion Factories for Mainframe and AS/400 environments Project Methodology Qwik-Sizer Analysis Licensing Scan/Repair Tools for AS/400 Y2K Projects License Conversion Factories/Tools to other Consulting Firms http://www.ibs2000.com SOFTWORKS, Inc. HOT DATE 2000/SIMULATE Preparing for the new millennium isn't easy, especially in the data center. Ensuring an accurate conversion could be a daunting task. That's why SOFTWORKS has created HotDate 2000/SIMULATE. HotDate 2000/SIMULATE is a comprehensive identification, testing, and simulation utility created to locate the programming changes needed to prepare for the Year 2000. Using a simulated Year 2000 environment, HotDate 2000/SIMULATE locates and tests pote ntial date problems the Year 2000 will cause to your individual programs, applications, and entire system. HotDate 2000/SIMULATE is transparent to your applications and supports all programming languages. For more information about HotDate 2000/SIMULATE, call SOFTWORKS at 800-727-4422. Http://www.softworkscc.com Y2Kplus, Inc. Y2Kplus provides a portfolio of "best of class" software products and outsourcing services that address Year 2000 issues. These offerings are available both to IT Solution Providers and IT organizations. Y2Kplus has offerings that address the following needs: * A comprehensive Renovation Preparation offering to enable you to prepare complete and accurate packages of software components ready for mainframe code renovation. * A powerful Code Renovation set of offerings that will renovate: * multiple languages including COBOL, Assembler, Pl/1 and Natural code for mainframe systems; * mid range COBOL systems running on DEC, HP, DG, NCR, Unisys, Wang, Prime, Bull, Tandem, and IBM AS/400 platforms. * A Re-engineering tool for mid range COBOL systems that will enable you to rehost to other platforms, thereby providing "value beyond year 2000". * Code Renovation outsourcing services for all of the above systems plus IBM AS/400 RPG. * A Testing Tool that enable you to warp test data dates to allow you to do future date testing by updating your current test data stream and then compare results of test runs before and after 2000. * Services for development and management of Comprehensive test plans and strategies to help your organization create effective baseline tests, improving the quality of risk mitigation derived from forward date testing. For more information, please send email to info@y2kplus.com, visit our web site at www.y2kplus.com or call Dave Ehlke at 781-863-8111. Calendar February 9-10, '98 DCI - Testing For Y2K Compliance Phoenix, AZ Info: 508-470-3870 http://www.dciexpo.com February 10-12, '98 AFCEA's 3rd Annual Virtual Gov't College Park, MD http://www.afcea.org Conference & Expo February 11-13, '98 DCI - Y2K Issues and Answers Phoenix, AZ Info: 508-470-3870 Conference http://www.dciexpo.com February 17, '98 Washington DC Y2K Group Meeting Washington, DC http://www.bfwa.com/bwebster/y2k February 18-20, '98 Software Quality Engineering - Austin, TX Info: 800-423-8378 Y2K Software Testing http://www.sqe.com February 23-24, '98 The International Conference/Expo New York, NY Info: 212-734-4412 On Year 2000 Computing February 23-24, '98 The Y2K Maritime Issues Conference New York, NY Info: 800-237-7203 http://www.motivatorsconference.com February 23-24, '98 An Action Plan For Year 2000 Orlando, FL Info: 781-235-2895 Compliance - Seminar http://www.masp.com March 4, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm March 9-11, '98 DCI - Managing Y2K Projects: Washington, DC Info: 508-470-3870 The Key Issues External & Internal http://www.dciexpo.com March 10-12, '98 DCI - Testing For Y2K Compliance Washington, DC Info: 508-470-3870 http://www.dciexpo.com March 17, '98 Washington DC Y2K Group Meeting Washington, DC http://www.bfwa.com/bwebster/y2k March 18-20, '98 SPG Year 2000 Conference & Expo New York, NY Info: 508-652-1010 http://www.spgnet.com March 23-24, '98 IBC's Y2K Legal Compliance Conference New York, NY Info: 508-481-6400 http://www.ibcusa.com/conf/2000legal March 23-24, '98 An Action Plan For Year 2000 Boston, MA Info: 781-235-2895 Compliance - Seminar http://www.masp.com April 1, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm April 6-9, '98 Year 2000 National Symposium Atlanta, GA Info: 508-393-3266 BrainStorm Group, Inc. http://www.brainstorm-group.com April 14-15, '98 An Action Plan For Year 2000 New York, NY Info: 781-235-2895 Compliance - Seminar http://www.masp.com April 20-22, '98 SPG Year 2000 Conference & Expo Orlando, FL Info: 508-652-1010 http://www.spgnet.com April 21, '98 Washington DC Y2K Group Meeting Washington, DC http://www.bfwa.com/bwebster/y2k April 29-30, '98 Y2K Info Net Technology Conference Toronto, Info: 905-454-8577 Canada May 6, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm May 18-20, '98 IBM Y2K Technical Conference Las Vegas, NE Info: 800-426-8322 http://www.training.ibm.com/ibmedu/conf/yr2000/ May 18-20, '98 IQPC's Year 2000 Industrial & Houston, TX Info: 617-482-3258 Process Control Systems Conference May 18-19, '98 An Action Plan For Year 2000 Boston, MA Info: 781-235-2895 Compliance - Seminar http://www.masp.com June 1-2, '98 An Action Plan For Year 2000 Chicago, IL Info: 781-235-2895 Compliance - Seminar http://www.masp.com June 3, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm June 22-25, '98 Year 2000 National Symposium Chicago, IL Info: 508-393-3266 BrainStorm Group, Inc. http://www.brainstorm-group.com June 22-23, '98 An Action Plan For Year 2000 San Francisco, CA Info: 781-235-2895 Compliance - Seminar http://www.masp.com June 29-July 1, '98 SPG Year 2000 Conference & Expo Chicago, IL Info: 508-652-1010 http://www.spgnet.com July 1, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm August 5, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm August 10-13, '98 Year 2000 National Symposium San Francisco, CA Info: 508-393-3266 BrainStorm Group, Inc. http://www.brainstorm-group.com September 2, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm September 23-25, '98 SPG Year 2000 Conference & Expo San Francisco, CA Info: 508-652-1010 http://www.spgnet.com October 7, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm November 4, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm November 9-11, '98 SPG Year 2000 Conference & Expo Boston, MA Info: 508-652-1010 http://www.spgnet.com December 2, '98 ITAA Y2K Task Group Meeting Arlington, VA Info: 703-284-5312 http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is published every Friday to help all organizations deal more effectively with the Year 2000 software conversion. If you would like to receive this free publication, please sign up on the web at https://www.itaa.org/transact/2kout looksub.htm. Copyright ITAA 1998. All rights reserved. The Information Technology Association of America, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300, Arlington, VA 22209. Internet: http:\\www.itaa.org