The Knoxville City Council has given city staff the approval to explore more closely the possibility of changing the IT system throughout the city. The new system would be a virtual system, and City Manager Harold Stewart says that over the next ten years, the city could cut its computer replacement and maintenance costs by 65-70%. The system would come with a high up front cost of close to $60,000, which would be spread out over the next few years. Stewart says that in case of viruses, the new system would cut lost work time from as much as eight hours to as little as 15 minutes.