spend $1 to $1.50 per line of COBOL code that needs to be fixed, according to the Software Productivity Group (SPG, Westboro
ugh, MA).
The problem isn't limited to COBOL programs running on mainframes, according to Eliot Weinman, president of SPG, whose recent conference on the problem was a sellout (the company will hold another one in March). "As a result of extensive downsizing, many companies have downloaded data from the mainframe to PC databases," he says. Mark Sokol, vice president of product strategy at Computer Associates (Islandia, NY), agrees. "These issues affect Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, and other applications as much as they do the mainframe."
Many companies have already converted their programs, especially insurance, banking, and human-resource applications that reference dates in the distant future. But Weinman says others are just now grappling with the issue, and that as the date gets closer, companies may have to farm out some program modifications to countries such as India, which have lower pay rates for programmers. "Every single company in the world is going to have to test it
s code," he says. But one company's problem is another's opportunity. Says Weinman, "A whole subindustry in services and consulting has sprung up around this problem."
Vendors advise buyers to be sure their new software handles its dates properly.
Year 2000 Promises Strange Days Ahead
