The Year 2000 Problem in PCs!
If you do not know about the Year 2000 problem as it relates to computers, then please read on! The phrase 'Year 2000' is also commonly shortened to Y2K (where the K means a 1000). This problem is also referred to as the "Millenium Bug".
All software, either directly or indirectly, obtains its date from the hardware. If the hardware incorrectly reports the date, it is very difficult for the software to have the correct date. If the hardware problem is not rectified then any process involving dates is unreliable. This can cause major problems for business:
The Deadline
The Y2K problem does NOT start at midnight on 31 Dec 1999 as many people might think – it starts much earlier, and it goes on much longer! Your financial software will generally want to ‘rollover’ the financial year on or around 1 Jul 1999. You may even have an 'end quarter' rollover, which is even earlier.
You will have to have all your problems (if any) sorted out by then. In real terms, you will have to have all of your systems checked and any changes designed, tested and implemented way before even that date. It has been suggested that the real deadline date is 31 Dec 1998!
There are two main aspects to this problem. Hardware and software.
Hardware
You need to check your PC hardware to see that it will work after Y2000. This is a problem area because the person that sold the hardware to you will most likely swear that it is compliant (he probably knows as much as you do), or you can be fooled by doing a range of simple tests at the DOS prompt. The DOS prompt test(s) can be misleading at best, but the real problem is that they usually only check ONE aspect of the Y2K problem (ie the BIOS rollover test). What about leap years, for example. Can your PC handle all the leap years, or even non leap years, for that matter. The DOS command line check is laughable if you have a mission critical application or situation, or use use a non DOS operating system (ie UNIX).
A DOS level check is like driving around the block when you buy a new car. It really tells you very little, but it makes you feel better. When you buy a car, you really should get it checked out beforehand by your Auto Club - right? Don't you think you should do the same thing when you are buying a PC?
I have neard people say - "ah well, we need to upgrade pretty soon anyway, we might as well wait as late as we can, then upgrade ALL of our PCs then". Well, for a start, that is a pretty big outlay. And indeed you might not have to dump all your old PCs at all. The real problem though, is that you don't know what you are buying. You could just as easily be buying PCs just as non-compliant as the ones you are replacing.
You MUST check your PC hardware properly. Otherwise what is the point of going on and checking out your software problems. I would suggest having a look at the SIMCOM AllClear 2000 Pro page for a serious discussion of this problem and their solution.
Software
This area is where most people (if they think about the problem at all) think that there may be some sort of problem. While this is certainly true, I hope that you are starting to see other possible problem areas (ie legal, hardware, etc). Click here for more details.
Financial
This is pretty obvious (well, at least to me it is!). Your company could very well be affected finanically in many ways. The most drastic of course, is that you cannot trade because all of your computers and/or the software they are running simply stop!
But you may have problems getting goods from your suppliers, because while you might be ok, their computers have stopped. ASK your suppliers if they are Y2K compliant! And I would strongly suggest that you don't take a bland - "sure we are" answer at face value. That's like saying "trust me, I'm a used car salesman!". See the legal page for more details on this.
There is also the taxation issue. If your company is going to be forced to spend a lot of money on this, are you seeking advice from your taxation experts?
Your job!
If it has been your job to maintain the computer systems for your company, and they fall over because of this problem - who do you think will take some/all of the blame? While giving you the boot may not fix the problem, I am sure that some sort of retribution will be taken by management.
I strongly suggest (as I have done) that you take this problem seriously, and that you strengthen your position in your company by correcting any shortfalls while it is still possible. It in the past it has been somewhat difficult to make senior management take this problem seriously, but as the media focus's more and more on this problem, it is becoming easier.
Some legal issues discussed, but mainly legal links.
