HEADLINE: Most manufacturers have no 2000 bug plan
From the Electronics Times, November 10, 1997
by Bronagh Miskelly
Microcontroller suppliers and manufacturers could be hit by a wave of panic as the millennium approaches because businesses do not know if equipment is year 2000-compliant.
According to a study from Benchmark Research, presented at last week's Computers in Manufacturing (CIM'97) show in Birmingham, 75% of the UK manufacturing sector has no strategy to tackle the century date change problem. This is despite the fact that two-thirds have no guarantee that their systems are compliant, and that half the companies believe some of their equipment will fail on or before 1 January 1999.
This means most UK manufacturers will be looking for help to tackle the issue as the millennium approaches.
Mark Napier, director of CIM'97, said: "The year 2000 problem represents a challenge for everyone who uses technology, but the issue runs more deeply for manufacturers than for most. Manufacturers depend on technology at every level of their business, from design through production to distribution. The problem runs through manufacturing like letters through a stick of rock."
Telecoms is another area expressing its concerns over the date change issue. The Telecoms Managers Association is concerned that equipment manufacturers will not provide guarantees that their products are compatible. And now the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is stepping up its efforts to ensure the international phone network is not disrupted.
The ITU's working party says year 2000-related problems are likely to be diverse and generally locally based, so are unlikely to have a big impact on the global network.
But it is concerned that local failures or difficulties will cause some disruption, and has set up a taskforce to provide information, best practice advice and contingency plans for fault handling."
Sorry -- I don't have a link for this, since I didn't get it over the internet.
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