QUESTION
Why was IBM not involved in the Snow Day preparation tests and simulations?
1:03:24
·
103 sec
IBM's systems were used in Snow Day preparation simulations, but there was no direct consultation or separate notification to IBM prior to the event.
- Deputy Chief Information Officer Scott Strickland clarifies IBM was not directly involved in the preparation tests but their service ran without issues alongside other vendors.
- The purpose of the test was to ensure students and staff were prepared, and no major vendors, including IBM, had previously experienced service difficulties.
- Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Chancellor for Operations + Finance Emma Vadehra explains that IBM's systems were indeed utilized in district-by-district simulations, similar to services like Zoom and Google Classroom.
- Going forward, the NYC Department of Education adjusts its approach by informing vendors beforehand and conducting more thorough load testing.
Shekar Krishnan
1:03:24
So there was no actual consultation with IBM or Snow Day preparation with IBM where they were involved before the actual snow day happened.
Scott Strickland
1:03:38
So they were not involved in the tests that were preparing our students Right.
1:03:41
Staff administrators.
1:03:43
Their service had run fine as well as our services from all of our other managers.
Shekar Krishnan
1:03:47
But why was that?
1:03:48
Why were they not involved?
1:03:49
Given that they managed the whole system?
Scott Strickland
1:03:58
The objective of that test was to make sure our student and staff were prepared.
1:04:01
It could do the work.
1:04:03
And we had not experienced difficulties again across the pandemic.
1:04:07
With any of our major vendors that provide these type of services, whether it's IBM or Outlook, Microsoft, Google, etcetera.
Emma Vadehra
1:04:17
I also just want to again clarify, and I appreciate the question you're asking, and it's a good question, and it's obviously something we're adjusting going forward with all of our vendors.
1:04:24
Their systems were involved.
1:04:26
So their tool was involved.
1:04:28
Their tool worked in those simulations that we did district by district.
1:04:31
Just like Zoom did, Google Classroom did as well.
1:04:34
Right?
1:04:34
So it's not like their systems were not involved, but we didn't do a separate notification to them.
1:04:38
This is what we're doing this.
1:04:39
So we're doing this.
1:04:40
Now That is what we are doing with them as well as more load testing, but their system was used.
Shekar Krishnan
1:04:44
Uh-huh.
1:04:44
Okay.
1:04:46
It also seems very strange that they wouldn't be involved given that they oversee the whole system and administer it, you know, when you're talking about preparing for the snowstorm.
1:04:55
One thing I wanted to correct was and I hopefully, we came up from IBM too, but I believe that their login rate reached about 3000 per second, which is much higher than the contract amount.
1:05:05
Just going back to my first question.