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Tuesday, September 7, 1999 Published at 13:14 GMT 14:14 UK
Sci/Tech
Millennium bug: 'Last chance' warning
Older computer systems could crash on 1 January 2000
A "last chance" guide for businesses still to tackle the millennium bug was launched on Tuesday by the UK government's task force, Action 2000.
They estimate that over quarter of a million of Britain's 1.3 million small-to-medium sized firms are still not ready, despite repeated warnings over the last two years.
The millennium bug is a computer software problem which could result in systems not recognising the new date in the year 2000.
Mass mailing
Chairman Don Cruickshank said: "Action 2000 has a responsibility to ensure that every company in the UK is alerted to how to protect their business from risk of disruption from the bug.
"This is why we have taken the unprecedented step of mailing 1.3 million named senior individuals from those companies employing between one and 249 staff."
The booklet will be mailed to businesses from September 13 and is described as a "final lifeline". It targets areas "critical to survival" for companies which have not prepared and offers "short cuts" to emergency solutions.
Mr Cruickshank added: "Last Chance allows them to see at a glance the extent of their risk. And for those who are on track or have finished their programmes, it provides a final checklist to ensure they have covered everything."
Legal responsibilities
The guide, which is divided into eight sections, includes examples of the type of things that might go wrong, tips on legal implications, and useful contact numbers.
The total cost of the measures to tackle the bug in the UK is estimated at œ25 billion with, for example, supermarket chain Sainsbury's spending an estimated œ40 million.
However, Action 2000 estimates that one in seven large companies still do not have a contingency plan in place should anything go wrong. |
