1998 is the watershed year for Y2K readiness. If you don't have a plan, plan on problems.
Ed DeJesus
When considering the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem, 1998 is the point at which to start panicking. The reason, like the problem, is simple math. Many consultants estimate that it takes at least two years to fix the problem for medium-to-large enterprises. As of 1998, there simply isn't enough time left.
Y2K is a problem because programmers are too clever. Faced with managing millions of records (e.g., financial transactions, births, deaths, and so forth), using two digits to represent the "19" portion of every year like "1954" seems wasteful. Why not simply ignore the "19" an
d handle just the last two digits of the year? The problem is that, after 1999, the years don't start with "19" anymore. Changing records is a tedious process, but it's a straightforward one. It's finding all the references to years in compiled running code that makes CIOs head for the Prozac.
You may have the delusion that only ancient COBOL applications on primordial mainframes have Y2K problems. Sorry, but you're wrong. Your desktop computer, your applications, your database, your spreadsheets, and your form letters with "date here" codes could
all have
the same problem. This desktop perspective might inspire a boomlet of upgrades to Y2K-safe versions. Expect to see "Year 2000 Compatible" stickers on boxes.
You can uncover these errant pieces of code, but it's not a simple undertaking, and it's certainly not guaranteed to root out every single one. An entire industry has arisen to help enterprises find and fix everything before the odome
ter clicks over. (These consultants face a Y2K problem of their own, of course, involving unemployment and a very narrow set of skills on their résumés.)
This process involves a sequence of binary choices. First: Fix the existing code or replace it? Consultants can help you figure out the best choice, or you can perform a similar analysis yourself with software (from Ascent Logic, Computer Associates, Viasoft, and others). Fixing the code is most attractive when your code works and is stable. Your second binary choice: Fix it yourself or hire outside help? While tools (from Cayenne, Computer Associates, Micro Focus, New Art Communications, Platinum Technology, Viasoft, and others) can help you find and fix problems, many are looking to outside specialists for help.
Replacing your code instead is an attractive option if the code is buggy anyway or if the IS department has changes they've been dreaming of making. Again: Write the new code or get others to do it? This is straight develo
pment without Y2K overtones. Of course, you might want to make doubly sure that the new code will be Y2K compliant.
Hardware problems are, well, harder. Do you have thousands of desktops whose BIOS is toast after 1999? Then you have a problem. You could change all those BIOSes, but this is probably not one of your life goals. You could buy all new machines, but signing such an invoice is the equivalent of signing your own pink slip. Some programs claim to intercept the BIOS with software, an ideal solution if these programs prove to be utterly trustworthy with every application that will ever run on the machine they're installed on. But I wouldn't bet the ranch on it.
My own view? Give everyone the day off, if they don't have it already, and bring in a dustpan and brush on January 2.
Where to Find
Start at Year 2000 expert Peter de Jager's Web site:
Internet: http://www.year2000.com/
| Y2K Affects Everything
|
|---|
| Area
| What's affected
| Problem
|
|---|
| Enterprise hardware
| Mainframes
| Hard-wired to use two-digit years
|
| Enterprise applications
| COBOL code listings or records on compute
r cards
| Records and programs assume two-digit years
|
| Desktop hardware
| Desktop computers
| PC BIOSes can't handle years after 1999
|
| Desktop software
| Boxes representing databases, spreadsheets, word processors
| Assume years are two digits long
|
| Files
| Spreadsheets, form letters
| Give wrong years after 1999
|
illustration_link (11 Kbytes)
AT A GLANCE:
Machines and programs assume that years start with "19" and will start failing in 2000.
WHO SUPP
ORTS IT:
Software vendors include Ascent Logic, Cayenne, Computer Associates, Micro Focus, and Viasoft. Consultants include Compuware, ConSyGen, Data Dimensions, IBM, Keane, KPMG, Peritus, and TRW.
Solv
ing for the Year 2000
