January 18, 2000

ITRMC Gives Y2K Report to Joint Finance, Appropriations Committee

BOISE, ID - Although the public perception of the massive Y2K remediation undertaking by governments, business, and utilities may now appear as too easy, the magnitude of the effort should not be overlooked, according to Pam Ahrens, chairman of the government council responsible for monitoring Idaho state government's Y2K preparedness activity.

Appearing before the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee today, Ahrens on behalf of the Information Technology Resource Management Council (ITRMC), reported that cooperation and coordination between Idaho state agencies, local government, business and the Council were paramount to the state's successful computing date transition to the Year 2000.

"No major glitches have been reported from our state agencies in Idaho," she said. "This is a remarkable achievement, considering we managed the largest IT project in our state's history," Ahrens said.

"Because of the collaboration and cooperation by state agencies, city and county government, and the business community, we were successful in meeting an immense technological challenge," she commented. The Y2K issue illustrated that state government could take a collective and cooperative approach to confronting and solving a singular, critical issue, she added.

The State of Idaho invested between $13 to 14 million to assess, repair, upgrade, or replace computer operating and network systems, software applications, and related date-sensitive devices in equipment and facilities. As a comparison, the state of Georgia spent nearly $322 million.

Ahrens told JFAC members the state's IT systems are more technically equipped to enable the further utilization of electronic government and introduction of on-line services via the Internet to Idaho citizens.

Another benefit of all the Y2K work completed over the past several years is the fact that more state agencies now have a framework in place for crucial business continuity and emergency contingency planning.

"We are positioned well for the impending digital revolution within our state's IT infrastructure. With Y2K behind us, we are moving forward," she stated.

As a part of her presentation to JFAC, Ahrens announced the State of Idaho has been ranked among the top ten states in the nation for its progress in implementing electronic commerce by Government Technology magazine and the Progress and Freedom Foundation.

Idaho's positive ranking was reported by the magazine in its January 2000 issue which highlighted survey results from its Statewide Digital States Survey mapping 50 states' technological progress and achievements. Idaho tied with the State of Michigan with a ranking of 76 points out of a total of 100 points awarded by technical analysts.