Year 2000 - Challenge of the Century

Year 2000—Challenge of the Century

In just a few years, we will see the end of a month, a decade, a century, and a millennium--all at once. Have you given any thought about the havoc that will cause on all our computer systems?

The Bad News First

The "year 2000" crisis poses the most significant challenge ever faced by the computer industry. It is an event unprecedented in the history of the industry because, for the first time, something must be done by a real date. It is a problem that cannot be ignored and must be resolved by a precise, drop dead date--with no schedule slip possible. The only justification for undertaking this enormous effort is survival!

The problem can exist in any level of hardware or software--in new or old applications, in files and databases, and on any computing platform. The task facing us is to identify and correct all data and to check the integrity of all calculations involving date information. We must correct the data residing in all data files or write code to handle the problem. The problem extends beyond mere calculations and into the I/O process of every application.

How do you know whether you have a "year 2000" problem? Try the following: Can you enter 2000 into your date fields, or can you enter only two digits, forcing the input of 00? Can your hard-copy reports print four digits?

Now for the Good News

Although the problem is large and complex, we have the skills and resources to take care of it--providing we take the time now to solve it. Unless you start planning your solution to this problem now, you will have a major disaster on your hands in just a few short years.

The technology to fix the problem is here today, but it will be expensive. The Gartner Group, a consultant firm on information technology, estimates that a medium sized company with 8000 programs will spend between $3.6 and $4.2 million to repair "date-challenged" software.

In order to meet this challenge, DCRT is taking steps to assist our users through this conversion effort.

We will offer a seminar this summer to present different techniques for solving this problem and to recommend a game plan to help you manage the project.
We are evaluating "year 2000" software products that provide assistance with the conversion effort.

The changes required by the beginning of the next century are enormous. The best anyone can do is minimize problems by preparing now --not later.

Begin Today

As you run your applications, start thinking about the effect of the turn of the century.

Ensure that all new development has century-change capabilities.
Use all maintenance tasks as opportunities to certify century-change capabilities.

The year 2000 is fewer than a thousand working days away. Now is the time to fix your "date-challenged" applications. Delay--even one week--and repent at leisure.

Interface 195 (March 31, 1996)

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