< Back
by Paul Weiss and Sid Edelstein
The Year 2000 issue results from a computer's inability to process year-date data accurately beyond the year 1999. Except in recently introduced Year 2000 compliant programs, computer programmers consistently have abbreviated dates by eliminating the first two digits of the year, with the assumption that these two digits would always be 19. Thus, January 1, 1965 became 01/01/65. Unless corrected, this shortcut is expected to create widespread problems when the clock strikes 12:00:01 A.M. on January 1, 2000. On that date, some computer programs may recognize the date January 1, 1900 and process data inaccurately or stop processing altogether.
The Year 2000 Issue is likely to affect computer applications before January 1, 2000, when systems currently attempt to perform calculations into the Year 2000. Furthermore, some software programs have reserved several dates in the year 1999 to signify something other than the date. Examples of such dates are 01/01/99, 09/09/99 and 12/31/99. As systems process information using these dates. they may produce erratic results or stop functioning.
The Year 2000 Issue presents another challenge; the algorithm used in some computers for calculating leap years is unable to detect that the Year 2000 is a leap year. Therefore, systems that are not Year 2000 compliant may not register the additional day and date calculations may be incorrect.
To ensure that your company does not incur the potentially debilitating effects of non-compliant programs that you depend on, it is recommended that an action plan be developed immediately to identify, test and modify ail systems that may be negatively affected by the Year 2000 issue, particularly mission-critical systems. This action plan should be monitored closely to ensure completion before mission-critical systems begin to fail. Such failures may be evident before January 1, 2000. If your company fails to take timely and appropriate action, it may experience costly and significant application-program failures that could prevent it from performing its normal processing activities. Depending on the extent of system failures. Non-compliance could have catastrophic consequences for your company. Your company should also implement additional verification procedures to test the accuracy of information received from its vendors, service providers, bankers, customers and other
third-party organizations with whom it exchanges date-dependent information, because these organizations also must become Year 2OOO compliant. You should satisfy yourself that vendors, service providers, bankers, customers and other third-party organizations will not experience problems relating to the Year 2000 issue that could affect your operations or cash flows.
One approach to fix your software is to expand the year field from 2 positions to 4 positions. In this approach, the complete database needs to be expanded. Problems might be encountered as the moved positions may affect other items such as screen layouts.
A second approach is windowing" or "pivot point." In this approach the two-digit year field is not expanded. but the computer program is modified to make an assumption about the century in which a two-digit year falls. For example, if the two-digit year is equal to or greater than 60 the program assumes the century is 1900 if equal to or less than 59 the assumption is 2000.
As an alternative to modifying your existing software, it may be cost-effective to replace the software, depending on the need of historical database information and the size of the database files.
In almost all instances one solution will not solve the problem. It will be necessary to utilize a combination of the three solutions: replace software, expand the year field and "windowing".
The following checklist offers some guidance as to how to go about determining your company's exposure to the Year 2000 problem. It also offers some advice on what measures you can take to mitigate the effects of the millenium conversion on your business operations.
The first step in creating a comprehensive Year 2000 project plan for your company involves defining the scope, time frame, budget and staffing requirements to implement the plan at your company. In this phase of the project, your primary objectives are to define all potential business operations that may be adversely affected by the Year 2000 conversion and to assess the internal resources necessary to address these areas of exposure. The Following checklist should help you coordinate the first phase of the project:
If your company is international, you will need to address both domestic and global compliance. Your plan should address both information technology (I.T.) exposure (computer hardware and software systems) as well as non-I.T. exposure (telecommunications, office equipment, security systems. business machinery, etc.). Personnel should be assigned to address Year 2000 exposure specific to each department's business functions and/or operations. The company should define any reliance upon outside entities or service bureaus required to conduct its business operations.
The second phase of a Year 2000 project involves analyzing and documenting the Year 2000 compliance status of all internal and external business systems that the company relies upon to conduct its business operations.
A comprehensive inventory of all business system and information technology hardware and software must be prepared. This inventory should include manufacturer, model number, serial number, version number and vendor information, as applicable.
Ratings for all these products should be established and assigned based on each item's significance to the company's business operations.
Vendors for all commercial products contained in this inventory must be contacted to determine their products' Year 2000 status. This information should be internally documented and written confirmation should be obtained from any vendor whose product has been assigned a high-risk rating.
Internal system components whose vendors may differ from the hardware systems in which their products are contained may also need to be contacted to determine their Year 2000 status in the event that the OEM cannot verify this information.
In the event that Year 2000 compliance cannot be verified by a vendor for a hardware system or software application in use at the company, this system/application must be tested and possibly modified or replaced.
All outside entities and/or service bureaus upon whom the company relies to perform its primary business functions must be contacted to determine their systems' Year 2000 preparedness. Written confirmation on Year 2000 compliance should be obtained from any entity whose systems' failure could adversely impact your business operations. Additionally, contingency plans should be made with "back-up" providers to fulfill these services.
The last phase of the Year 2000 project involves the testing, modification and/or replacement of any critical business systems and/or outside services that have been deemed not to be Year 2000 compliant. It is in this phase of the project that strategic business decisions and budgetary provisions must be made to bring the company's business systems into Year 2000 compliance. There are numerous vendor offerings and tools available on the market to assist in addressing the technical aspects of Year 2000 testing and conversion. Every company implementing a Year 2000 project will need to develop its own strategy to affect compliance. The following guidelines should help you to coordinate the final and most difficult phase of the project:
A comprehensive report must be prepared, on an item by item basis, indicating the business systems that need to be brought into compliance. This report should contain:
- A cost benefit analysis of the various approaches (testing/modification vs. replacement) available to address the problem.
- Scheduling and staffing requirements for the project.
- Outside consulting and/or specialized programming requirements.
- Budgetary considerations for funding of the project.
Management must determine the strategy it wishes to pursue based on this report.
If testing and/or code modifications are to be performed, then the following questions must be answered:
- Have enterprise-wide standards for such testing been established?
- Has a determination been made as to whether such testing will take place on the company's live systems or in a simulated environment?
- Has the need to convert historical data been taken into consideration?
- Have software tools been chosen to assist in the Year 2000 compliance assessment and conversion? If so, have these tools been industry approved?
- Has the impact of Year 2000 compliance testing and conversion activities on the company's ongoing business operations been considered?
- Is there sufficient hardware available to perform testing and modification procedures?
If the company will be replacing business systems, then:
- A detailed analysis of the company's existing business functions must be performed and a checklist of key
- business requirements established.
- Contractual assurances should be received from any prospective new system vendor that their system is Year 2000 compliant and that the project will be completed on schedule (including any necessary data conversion. customization and user training).
- Hardware platforms and operating systems may need to be upgraded/ changed to support the new systems entailing additional expense and training.
- Will historical data be transferred over to the new system or will both systems be run simultaneously to address business history requirements?
Vendors and customers of the company should be notified of the company's Year 2000 initiatives and any business issues or interruptions that may result.
Legal counsel, insurers and bankers should be consulted to discuss potential company Year 2000 financial liabilities which could ensue if its systems fail.
p>While the above listing is by no means all-inclusive, it should offer a solid foundation for implementing your company's Year 2000 solution project plan.
You can also find additional helpful information at the Year 2OOO Information Center web site http://www.year2000.com.
Paul Weiss is a partner and Sid Edelstein is the director of Management Information Systems at Cornick, Garber & Sandler, LLP.
< Back
|
