Additional vendor hired to help state with mainframe computer issues

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It could be midweek before the state, working with vendors, is able to repair a mainframe computer system that continues to impact several state agencies.

The state Office of Technology provided an update Monday afternoon of the problem that began a week ago.

“The state’s third-party vendor, Park Place Technologies, is working around the clock to repair the Mainframe hardware,” the update said. “IBM and Ensono have also joined Park Place Technologies to support the State in resolving issues related to the software necessary to process and store data.”

The problem has impacted both the state Division of Motor Vehicles and state Department of Health and Human Resources significantly.

The DMV hasn’t been able offer most of its services at the agency’s regional offices or across the state. The outage has also shutdown the DMV’s online portal that offers things like vehicle registration renewals and license renewals.

WV PATH, the DHHR’s public assistance portal, has also been impacted.

State DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch said last week residents can still submit a request for assistance through WV PATH but the outage is preventing DHHR from seeing the information.

“The PATH system is working from the public portal standpoint but the information is not getting to the DHHR,” Crouch said.

He said the longer the mainframe is down the larger the backlog will be.

Bill Crouch

“There’s going to be a big logjam here but we have people standing by to tackle it as soon as the system is fixed,” Crouch said.

Crouch said the Office of Technology is providing frequent updates to the agency about the progress of the repair work.

As of Monday afternoon, state technology officials were estimating a recovery timeline of 48 to 72 hours as the earliest the service will be restored.





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