By ADAM GIFFORD
The police are trying to salvage something from the failed Incis computer system.
They will pay computer services company Unisys a sum "in the low single figure millions" to convert 362 servers from IBM's OS/2 operating system to the more widely used Microsoft Windows NT system.
Dr Jeffrey Soar, police general manager of information and technology, said the servers ran the local network in each police station, linking desktop computers to printers and to the national network.
The desktops already run on NT, a change made early in the Incis project.
Dr Soar said the change would mean fewer operating systems to support, which would cut costs.
The OS/2 servers also included security software called DSS, which came with the Incis package.
"IBM has discontinued support for DSS, so we will be replacing it with the security functions in NT," he said.
"NT is a more strategic platform. We could continue to invest in OS/2 but no one would support that decision."
Only the software needs to be changed, as both operating systems will run on the same computers.
Dr Soar said Unisys would set up a testing laboratory to work out the best way to convert the servers.
The laboratory would reproduce all the equipment found in a police station.
"The idea is to develop a model where at each site they will wheel in an NT server, plug it in and have it running parallel.
"When they're happy it is running okay they will pull out the OS/2 server.
"Once we get the model fully tested it's just a logistics issue," he said.
Unisys spokesman Shane Grove said the changeover should be completed by the end of the year. "It's a tight timeframe but we're confident we can do it. Unisys has done large OS/2 conversions before."
Dr Soar said police were evaluating offers for the IBM mainframe computer bought for Incis, and a sale was only weeks away.
Police try to rebuild on Incis ruins
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