This document is an excellent introduction to the problem facing every non-compliant organization. It provides 8 reasons why this problem is different from any previous computer problem. It then adds a section on what an organization must do to begin to tackle this problem. When you read this section -- "The solution environment" -- you will undertand why most managers are willing to sit there and do nothing, hoping for the best. They are like the deer caught in the headlights. They are paralyzed. They will be run over.
The Gartner Group's estimate of $300 billion to $600 billion to repair the problem, worldwide, may be off. It may be too low or too high. But this is certain: the costs are so high that very few companies will even begin the repair. At least 80% of the threatened firms won't finish the fix on time. If you can't finish on time, you might as well not begin. Also:
1. If your computer interacts with any computer that is not 2000-compliant, you might as well not begin.
2. If your business is dependent on major suppliers that will not finish, you might as well not begin.
Everyone knows this, which is why almost no one has begun. Everyone knows it's hopeless.
It's too late. For better or worse -- I think worse -- the Millennium Bug will not be thwarted by anything programmers can do.
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