[ Thanks to Cooper Stevenson for this
contribution. ]
I read the Boston Globe and related articles regarding
accusations that Mr. Quinn, IT director of the Massechusettes
Information Technology Division, had not received proper approval
for some convention attendances.
Regardless of whether the allegations are true or not, this
article–seen on the front page over Thanksgiving weekend–will
certainly have a chilling effect on State officials who are moving
to ensure that their State’s IT policies ensure long term data
retention.
While there’s relatively little I can do regarding the
Massechusetts matter as I am not an MA citizen, I can affect change
in my State of Oregon. I mailed a an Oregon State Representative
and two State IT officials with the following:
Gentlemen:
As are likely aware, the State of Massachusetts is moving toward
an Open Document standard for the State’s computerized documents.
Massachusetts’ IT director, Peter Quinn, cited long term data
retention and a move away from single vendor dependence as primary
reasons for the approved initiative.
Oregon agencies and businesses are facing the same issues
retrieving their data in proprietary formats that Massachusetts is
facing; difficulty retrieving documents written with older,
proprietary software. The problem is aggregated as the proprietary
software that originally wrote the document uses a non-disclosed
format written in binary.
The Open Document format, approved by the State of
Massachusettes and international standards consortiums, relieves
the problem by providing an open and clearly documented standard.
In effect, ODF documents are written using a structure that is
clearly documented and free of copyright restrictions. A key
benefit is that ODF documents may still be retrieved even if the
vendor of the document software is unwilling or unable to provide a
system of retrieving the information in a way that is compatible
with new systems.
It is critical that Oregon move to an open documentation
standard. During my 15 years in the Information Technology industry
in both technical and managerial capacities, I have seen time and
time again the consequences of implementing IT models using
undocumented, proprietary systems.
I look forward to discussing the matter with each of you
further. Please contact me for a meeting at your convenience You
may find my qualifications attached to this message.
Respectfully Yours,
Cooper Stevenson
President
GenCom, LLC
Ph: 541.908.1404
Em: cstevens@gencom.us
Www: http://www.gencom.us