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Q: There is so much focus on Year 2000 initiatives in most companies right now, and appropriately so. But are
there other business areas likely to be affected which have received little or no attention?
A: I am seeing a tremendous Year 2000 exposure that could cause a great deal of trouble. The problem can be
seen whenever one visits a small business in the local community. I have noticed this in nearly every shop I visit
when I run my Saturday errands.
Most of these small-scale "mom and pop" enterprises rely on DOS-based PCs that are still running legacy DOS
applications. Think about your dentist, the hardware store, the tire store, your insurance agent, the folks at the
laundry and dry cleaner and your local coffee emporium. When Year 2000 arrives, these small businesses will be
in big trouble and sadly, these hard-working people are still unaware of what is about to happen to them. If some
of them are aware, they don't yet know what actions they need to take.
Most of the applications they rely on manage their sales, inventory and billing tasks. The PC BIOS on their old
PC will not have rolled over correctly, so even if the package, by some miracle, is still viable, the processor itself
will likely not be managing any of the date calculations correctly. The date calculation problems may not be
immediately apparent, leading these business people to assume they are past the worst.
Here is a checklist of action items I urge you to share with your business friends in the community:
Hardware-
Test the BIOS to see if it will "roll over" correctly at Year 2000
Upgrade the BIOS, if possible, on the PC
Ask for assistance from a local PC store that services PCs. This is a simple task and should cost less than $10 to
do.
Software-
Consider upgrading your current operating system
Contact the vendor of each application you rely on and ask if the version you are currently using is Year
2000-compliant.
Contact your current software vendor (the company that produced the accounting package) and ask them to
provide assurance, in writing, that the application is Year 2000-compliant.
Upgrade all non-compliant applications to the most current version. It's probably time to upgrade and the
investment will keep your business running.
When we see an old DOS application running in a store we patronize, I submit that we, as IS professionals, have
a responsibility to point out a potentially serious, business-interrupting problem. It is our duty and moral
responsibility to get involved because we know the possible consequences. It would be a shame to see our local
merchants lose money and customers or risk going out of business simply because they were surprised by an
easily resolved computer problem.
Bill Pike
PIKE Communications, Los Angeles
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