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Rubin’s Y2K Diary
Just Say YES CorpsRubin: First off, we’re very aware that
we must move quickly if we’re going tomake a significant contribution to Y2Kreadiness. We believe that our mostpressing task is to address supportinginfrastructure issues: power, communi-cations, water, health, public safety, evenfuel. That’s why we’re working primarilyat the national level. We’ve sent infor-mation to 160 national coordinators,informing them that our program existsand making ourselves available as aresource that can help keep their coun-tries afloat through this crisis.
Further, we’ll be attending regionalY2K coordination meetings, which arebeing supported through our center, sothat we can get a sense of what’s impor-tant to national coordinators. To matchour expertise with those nations’ needs,we must go on-site and see them for our-selves. Attending these regional meetingsalso lets us network and generate trustamong the national coordinators. TheWorld Bank pays for this travel, but con-sultants do not receive fees for their par-ticipation: Anyone who joins the YESCorps donates their consulting time.
We’ve just started to field specificrequests for expert support from differ-ent nations. We’ve received requests deal-ing with everything from contingencyplanning and program management tospecific issues with embedded systemsand power. To meet this challenge, we’restriving to assemble an internationalteam, so we’re looking for expertisearound the world. Anyone who wants tojoin our effort should check out the vol-unteer form at our Web site (http://iy2kcc.org/VolunteerForm.htm). ❖
Howard Rubin is a member of Com-puter’s editorial board, chairs the Depart-ment of Computer Science at HunterCollege, and is CEO of Rubin SystemsInc. Contact him at [email protected].
This month, Y2K consultantHoward Rubin describes howhis idea for a global technologycorps has taken shape and whatits priorities are.
GLOBAL MOBILIZATIONComputer: In our March issue you
told us that December’s United Nations’Y2K summit meeting inspired you topropose a global technology corps thatwould offer expertise and technicalresources to nations that need Y2K assis-tance. How has that initiative pro-gressed?
Rubin: On April 6th we announced thecreation of an International Year 2000Cooperation Center, under the auspicesof the UN and funded by the World Bank.Our Web site (http://iy2kcc.org) will serveas a clearinghouse and contact point forY2K technical and project managementinformation. The Y2K Expert ServiceCorps will take a more active role. TheYES Corps will supply assistance—in theform of advice, counseling, coaching,resource materials, and direction—tonational coordinators and sector leadersin countries around the world.
One of our first goals is to reverse thetrend of treating the less Y2K-compliantcountries as somehow tainted; as entitiesthat we should avoid dealing withbecause they might contaminate our sys-tems or infrastructure. In today’s globaleconomy every country is linked to allthe others. The cliché that a chain is onlyas strong as its weakest link has neverbeen more true. So if any link breaksunder the strain caused by Y2K failures,we’re all likely to feel the resulting finan-cial, political, and societal effects.
We hope the YES Corps will help bystabilizing the less-prepared countries,ensuring continuity of service over thenew year and protecting our global infor-mation food chain.
ANSWERING THE CALLComputer: What has the response to
your YES Corps initiative been? Haveany major organizations or big namessigned on?
Rubin: We’ve had a strong responsefrom organizations. The YES CorpsSteering Committee consists of myself,CIO magazine publisher and US Tech-nology Corps founder Gary Beach, andUniversity of North Texas’s and Societyfor Information Management’s LeonKappelman. Our sponsors includeCandle, the Federal Reserve System’sBoard of Governors, GTE, the MetaGroup, and the World Information Tech-nology and Services Alliance.
We’ve been flooded with volunteers.Help requests are starting to mount, andthe global nature of the program isbecoming apparent through the geo-graphic diversity of both the requests andoffers for help.
Computer: What about your fellowconsultants?
Rubin: Y2K is odd in that many of uswho consult on it have been accused ofhyping the problem to make money. TheYES Corps counters that trend by being,I believe, the first humanitarian effortfocused on technology. We’re dispensingresources, information, and expertise forthe global good. Yet most high-profileY2K experts are not joining us, and somehave told us point-blank that they’reclocking too many billable hours to sparetime for us.
It’s disappointing. We believe that upto two-thirds of the world’s nations needdirect assistance or additional resourcesto supplement their own efforts. Somecountries, like Russia, can’t even affordto send people to the regional Y2K con-ferences. Yet the same widely recognizedconsultants who proclaim that Y2K is apressing global crisis tell us they’re toobusy to volunteer their time.
FORGING INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Computer: What specific steps are youtaking to deliver the YES Corps’ exper-tise to the countries that most need it?
Editor: James Sanders, Computer, 10662Los Vaqueros Circle, PO Box 3014, LosAlamitos, CA 90720-1314; [email protected]
