The consolidation effort that began in 1997 to ensure a better tax system has finally been implemented. The number of mainframe computers that were the backbone of the IRS tax system has been reduced to 20. The older 67 mainframes had been a great achievement and had performed above par in the 80s and early 90s. But they were comprised of older technology that is about to become obsolete.
IRS decided to upgrade their systems in 1997 as part of their modernization program. It took three years because they were careful not to upset a system that filed more than 128 million returns a year. The new system will also reflect improvements in their customer service. The response time will be faster and many customer issues would be resolved with the first call.
IRS' mission to provide top quality service to American taxpayers will be well served by these new machines commented IRS commissioner Charles O. Rossotti. IRS is always looking to improve the level of service to the taxpayers. These new mainframes provided by IBM and UNISYS are going to do exactly that. These hardware improvements in the tax system will also provide better security and reliability. Security is an issue on every one’s mind these days with all the hackers out there.
Accessibility issue for many customer service representatives has been moved one step closer to being resolved. The 67 mainframes were spread across 20 locations. The 20 new mainframes are sitting in only 3 locations. This will make record searches fast and less places to look for them.
