Much of Software And Hardware Used By Many Retail Firms Not Year 2000
Compliant
BOSTON, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Keane, Inc., (Amex: KEA) leading software
services firm and provider of year 2000 compliance solutions, today announced
the results of a recent study conducted for the National Retail Federation
(NRF). The study finds 87 percent of midsize retailers are using non-
compliant retail management systems, and 65 percent of all point of sale
software and 67 percent of all in-store hardware sold since 1980 are non-
compliant. As a result, much of the software and hardware used by many
retailers could experience major systems failures or erroneous processing on
or before January 1, 2000.
Keane and the NRF designed the survey to cover vendors targeting midsize
retailers ($300 million to $2 billion in annual revenues), a group NRF
believes will be most affected by the year 2000 problem. The findings are
being released at NRF's Retail Information Systems Conference, held this week
in Philadelphia.
Keane surveyed 17 software and hardware vendors serving more than
2,000 retail customers or 80 percent of the midsize retail marketplace.
Retail management systems involve core information systems such as integrated
merchandising, warehouse management, credit management and finance and
accounting. In-store systems include point of sale software, point of sale
registers, hand-held terminals, in-store processors and time and attendance
equipment.
Other key findings include:
-- 58 percent of the vendors surveyed do not have any software package or
operating system versions that are year 2000 compliant.
-- As of mid-1997, at least two software vendors were selling current
version products that are not year 2000 compliant.
-- Of the nearly 2,000 retailers using non-compliant versions, over
90 percent must upgrade two to five versions to achieve compliance.
-- None of the software or hardware represented in the survey has been
certified by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). ITAA
is the IT industry's leading trade group on the year 2000 software conversion
issue. Of the 17 vendors, one vendor has applied for certification, while two
have indicated they have their own compliance certification process.
-- 35 percent of point of sale software versions sold and 42 percent of
point of sale register models sold are year 2000 compliant.
"Retail companies have less than 14 months to address the year 2000
problem and fix it," said Bob Wyatt, vice president of Keane's Project
Management practice. "All companies -- whether retail, financial or
manufacturing -- must achieve compliance by the end of 1998 to allow a full
year for testing system interfaces with customers and suppliers to ensure
operation in the new century. Many are turning to outside services firms such
as Keane that can provide significant year 2000 expertise, as well as program
management capabilities critical to fixing the problem."
"The year 2000 conversion is the greatest challenge facing retailers
today," said Don Gilbert, NRF senior vice president for information
technology. "It has far-reaching implications for the way retailers and their
vendor partners do business and deserves nothing less than top-down attention
and support."
About NRF
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade
association with membership that includes the leading department, specialty,
discount, mass merchandise and independent stores, as well as 32 national and
50 state associations. NRF members represent an industry that encompasses
over 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, employs more than 20 million
people, one in five American workers, and registered 1996 sales of nearly $2.5
trillion. NRF's international members operate stores in more than 50 nations.
For more information about NRF or year 2000, visit its website at
nrf.com.
About Keane
Keane, Inc. is a $600 million firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
The company helps Fortune 1000 corporations, government agencies and
healthcare institutions develop, maintain and apply information technology.
Its services, delivered through a North American network of 40 branch offices,
include application development, application management outsourcing, year 2000
compliance, and help desk outsourcing. Information about the company is
available via the Internet's World Wide Web at keane.com.
SOURCE Keane, Inc.
CO: Keane, Inc.
ST: Massachusetts
IN: CPR MLM
SU: |
