After all the hype, Y2K not a problem

Penn spent millions to avoid a Y2K disaster. But New Year's was uneventful. After months of media hype and years of preparation, the new year arrived without any of the predicted large-scale calamities, and Y2K organizers both nationwide -- and at Penn -- were able to smile broadly at their success. The University's Y2K preparation effort, launched in 1997, required millions of dollars and millions of man-hours -- with checking and re-checking, running and testing all systems for possible glitches. Michael Kearney, a top official in Penn's Information Systems Computing division, said the effort was attacked with a "risk-let approach, where we focused our attention on major systems." Major systems of concern for computing on campus included student records, payroll and Penn InTouch. Key areas for residential services were the availability and reliability of water, heat and electricity, University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said. She added that the safety of lab animals and experiments was of particular importance to the University of Pennsylvania Health System. On December 31, in addition to a beefed-up police presence on campus, command centers were set up at both the University and the the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Penn's "mission control" office was located in Division of Public Safety's headquarters. Called the Y2K Contingency Operation Group, it consisted of representatives from facilities, ISC, telecommunications, University Relations and Public Safety, Holtzman said. The most critical period stretched from 10 p.m. on December 31 until 2 a.m. on January 1. During this key rollover time, technicians from each of the represented departments were on the field and calling in every 15 minutes to report on Y2K transition status. "There were some difficulties of a minor nature," Kearney said. "And they were quickly fixed." Officials said that dates were printed incorrectly on some reports that came out in the early hours, but nothing more serious occurred. And University officials were not particularly surprised about the smooth transition. "We knew what our difficulties were going to be, we fixed them, and then tried them out," ISC Associate Vice President Robin Beck said. Many are now asking if all the media attention to Y2K was warranted, or if it was just unfounded hype. "Serious concern was necessary and proper," Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing Jim O'Donnell said. Although January 1 has come and gone, officials are saying that a few more dates in the upcoming year may cause problems in computing systems. February 29th, for example, might be problematic because of the leap year, O'Donnell said.