Millennium madness

01 January 2000
Millennium madness

Does your information technology manager look as if he or she could be keeping something secret? If they are, they are not necessarily alone. According to a recent survey, 70% of IT managers are failing to tell their superiors of an impending computer-related calamity that could put some of their organisations out of business.

Some computing systems and applications, especially older mainframe systems and tailor-made software programs, have not been programed to cope with dates after 1999. They can determine only two-digit dates and, when 2000 arrives, they may think it is 1900 and process data incorrectly.

The shortcomings arise from the many programs written in the 1960s and 1970s when two-digit date fields were used to save expensive, program-vital memory space. Given the fast pace of change in the computing industry, they did not expect their programs to be in use 20 years later.

Systems using dates to process data could be in trouble at the turn of the century. If your computer fails, reservations may not be processed, invoices not sent out and payments miscalculated. The result may be serious: an IBM study found that if a company's system is down for two weeks there is an 80% chance the business will fail because of it.

The potential catalogue of disasters for hotel and restaurant owners does not end there. Computerised security systems that control access to buildings could also be affected, and Keith Ireland of the Central Computing and Telecommunications Agency (CTTA) stresses that companies should also look at lifts with built-in microprocessors.

Operating systems such as DOS, Windows and OS/2 will handle dates well into the next century, but some mainframe operating systems will not. Custom-built software is expected to be another area of concern. Problems are also foreseen relating to data, especially in relation to data passed between companies using electronic data exchanges. PCs may also be subject to difficulties.

Responsible suppliers of off-the-shelf packages are likely to produce new versions before the end of the century, but users will have to pay for them. Organisations with maintenance contracts will need to make sure their contractors agree to solve any 2000 date problems.

Several established and new companies are aiming to help solve the millennium problem. Many have search methods for finding date fields in large programs. A large company might have thousands of programs, with each program made up of millions of lines of code. Checking each line will be a time-consuming and expensive job and it is anticipated that there will be a shortage of programers and prices will go up as 2000 approaches.

PCs may also have hardware and software problems. With the hardware, there may be a problem with the built-in clock. Problems will also be found in PC programs. Microsoft, for example, points out that, while its products will sustain dates into the next century, the products can perform incorrectly if PC programers and end-users do not use built-in date formats. Examples might include database or spreadsheet tools.

The best source of free advice is the Computer Software and Services Association (CSSA), which provides a list of members providing millennium services and a help-line to try to match companies with the most appropriate suppliers.

The CSSA has also produced a report jointly with the Department of Trade and Industry, the CCTA and PA Consulting Group called Defusing the Millennium Bomb. This 28-page document provides a summary of the problems and provides guidelines to help management.

IBM provides a free guide, The Year 2000 and 2-digit Dates: A Guide for Planning and Implementation, through the IBM software group home page on the Internet.

Companies cannot afford to wait to see what will happen on 1 January 2000. In the meantime, no one will miraculously solve the problem for them. They should not waste time trying to find someone to blame. The message is: this is a top management issue.

Useful sources of information:

IBM Web site: http:www.software.ibm.com.

CSSA Web site: http:www.cssa.co.uk/cssa/new/millen.htm

or call Nicki Blinkhorn,tel: 0171-405 2171

Year 2000 Web: http:www.year2000.com

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