CHARLOTTE, N.C.--April 18, 1996--In testimony
submitted to the Government Management Information and Technology Subcommittee Hearing on Computer Security in Washington, D.C. earlier this week, Alydaar Software (NASDAQ/BB:ALYD) Chairman Robert Gruder
called for the establishment of a Year 2000 Task Force which would be comprised of Congressional leaders, industry representatives and the heads of government agencies to oversee the development of a specific
methodology that addresses issues unique to the Federal government.
The Task Force would assure a comprehensive review and evaluation of all Federal legacy computer systems.
The essence of the Year 2000 problem is simple. Computer system components that store the year within a date as a two-digit number are unable to properly process transactions with dates beyond 1999. Applications that use projected dates are failing at present, and without timely attention to this issue, entire system collapses are
possible.
It has been estimated that the market for Year 2000 problems is $600billion and that the U.S. Government could account for some $30 billion.
In his statement, Gruder observes, "The problem facing the Federal government is a particularly vexing one. As I travel around the country attending various Year 2000 trade shows and conferences, people in the private sector continually ask me how the Federal government is going to tackle their immense Year 2000 problem. We usually come to the conclusion that the Federal government will most likely wait until 1999, and then throw money at the problem. Neither Gruder, who noted that Alydaar Software was the only vendor to submit testimony, said, "We cannot solve this problem by ourselves. From the Social Security Administration to the Internal Revenue Service, the
vastness of the Year 2000 problem at the Federal level is
unprecedented. As an industry, we must band together to solve the Year 2000 problem at the Federal level, not individually, but together."
As part of his testimony, which has become part of the Congressional Record, Gruder said that his company, Alydaar Software, has developed a methodology to change the way companies approached their legacy system reengineering requirements and has been working in the area
since 1989. Alydaar's SmartCode technology can examine and understand an entire software system and identify all impacted and nonimpacted data characteristics.
SmartCode then synthetically reengineers software by incorporating multiple solutions to correct Year 2000 issues, while at the same timemaintaining code functionality. SmartCode can process any dialect of multi-language source code, across any platform.
Gruder said, "I believe, however, our industry cannot afford to neglect the Year 2000 problems that beset the Federal government whilewe mine the lucrative corporate environment. We are told at conferences and trade shows by speakers to hold back 15% to 20% of our capacity for 1998 and 1999, when we can charge 10 to 15 times more than we do now for our services. I refuse to play that game."
A full text of Gruder's remarks is available upon request.
CONTACT: Alydaar Software, Charlotte
Robert F. Gruder, 704/365-2324 |
