For those who think that Y2K problem is just a hype created by media:
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 1997--The World Information
Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) called on trade ministers
from the twenty-nine member nations of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) to adopt a five point "Year 2000
Survival Plan" to address the monumental task of the conversion of
computer programs to deal with the millennium change of date.
"The Year 2000 issue is the single biggest challenge facing the
global IT industry since the advent of the computer. It is a global
problem and must be recognized as such by the OECD and other
multilateral organizations," said Robert Laurence, Chairman of WITSA
and President and CEO of Novadyne Computer Systems, Inc. He added
that the problem is compounded by the tight time frame to address the
problem and the shortages of skilled labor to work on Year 2000
conversion. Experts estimate the global fix for the Year 2000
conversion at between U.S. $300-$600 billion.
"Year 2000 will affect nearly every type of international
transaction imaginable," said Harris Miller, President of WITSA and
President of the Information Technology Association of America
(ITAA), the American member of WITSA. ITAA has led efforts in the
U.S. to urge both private and public sector action on Year 2000.
"The clock is ticking. The longer international and national
attention on Year 2000 is delayed, the more costly it will be to
solve it and the harder it will be to find the experts available to
solve it," Mr. Miller said. On May 21, Mr. Miller, on behalf of
both ITAA and WITSA, urged President Clinton to take a leadership
role in addressing the Year 2000 issue both domestically and
internationally.
OECD Ministers convene today in Paris for their annual meeting
where they are expected to issue several policy recommendations and
priorities which focus on IT issues, including recommendations on the
development of a Global Information Infrastructure/Global Information
Society and the release of Guidelines for Cryptography Policy.
"Although the OECD's attention to IT issues is commendable,
neglecting to call attention to the global implications of Year 2000
conversion is a costly oversight," said Rob Wirszycz, Director
General of the Computing Services and Software Association, the U.K.
WITSA member. He added that the contributions made by the OECD on IT
make it a good catalyst for spurring its member states, the most
developed economies in the world, to action.
Most computer systems recognize only the last two digits of a
year when storing dates, meaning that the year 2000 will be written
as '00'; the same designation is used for the year 1900. Unless
addressed, the incorrect processing of dates will result in the
breakdown of critical functions in both the public and private
sectors.
The five point survival plan recommended by WITSA calls on
national governments and international organizations to:
1. Report on progress made on addressing the Year 2000 problem;
2. Allocate sufficient financial and human resources to address
essential Year 2000 problems;
3. Ensure that future procurement of IT systems recognize the
requirement to process dates through the year 2000;
4. Raise awareness in the non-government sector of the need to
re-assess priorities; and
5. Identify critical systems, such as communications, energy,
finance, public health and transport, and ensure plans
are in place to fix them.
WITSA is a consortium of twenty-five information technology
industry associations from around the world dedicated to the
promotion of the information technology (IT) industry worldwide (A
list of WITSA members is attached). WITSA provides the views of the
global IT industry on issues affecting trade and investment in IT
products, including the development of the GII/GIS and the recently
concluded World Trade Organization Agreement on Basic
Telecommunications Services. More information on WITSA, including a
copy of the WITSA Year 2000 statement, can be obtained at http://www.
itaa.org.
World Information Technology and Services Alliance Members
*T
Australia Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA)
Bangladesh Bangladesh Computer Samity
Canada Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC)
China, Taipei CISA
Czech Republic Asociace Pro Pora denstvi v Podnikani (APP)
Finland Information Technology Services Association (TIPAL)
France Syntec Informatique
Germany Bundesverband Informationstechnologien (BVITeV)
Greece Federation of Hellenic Information Technology
Enterprises
India National Association of Software and Service
Companies (NASSCOM)
Israel Israeli Association of Software Houses (IASH)
Italy Associazione Nazionale Aziende Service Info. e
Telematica
Japan Japan Information Service Industry Association (JISA)
Malaysia Association of the Computer Industry (PIKOM)
Mongolia Mongolian National Information Technology Association
Morocco L'Association des Professionnels de L'Informatique
de la Bur
Netherlands Federation of Dutch Branch Associations in
Information Technology
New Zealand Information Technology Association of New Zealand
(ITANZ)
Republic of Korea Federation of Korean Information Industries
(FKII) Singapore Singapore Federation of the Computer Industry
(SFCI) Spain Asociacion Espanola Empresas Informatica
(SEDISI) Thailand The Association of Thai Computer Industry
(ATCI) United Kingdom Computing Services & Software Association
(CSSA) United States Information Technology Association of America
(ITAA)
Zimbabwe COMSA
*T
--30--LBH/ch
CONTACT:
SHEILA O'NEILL, ITAA
(703) 284-5329, soneill@itaa.org |
