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Technology Stocks : Y2K (Year 2000) Stocks: An Investment Discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bob who wrote (12712)	8/20/1998 1:41:00 PM
From: bob	Respond to of 13949

Business Community Calls on President and Congress to Back Dreier-Eshoo Year 2000 Disclosure Bill WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- As the 500-day countdown began for the Year 2000, more than 50 business associations including the National Association of Manufacturers called on the President and Congress to support a bipartisan disclosure bill that will encourage companies to exchange meaningful information on the Y2K computer conversion problem. In a letter sent yesterday to the President, Vice President and congressional leadership, the business groups wrote: "Few issues that confront our nation are as complex as the Year 2000 challenge. The forecasts for economic disruptions both nationally and internationally cannot be ignored. The undersigned associations representing a broad and diverse cross-section of American businesses are looking to the Administration and Congress to take affirmative steps for Y2K readiness, as our members in the business community are seeking to do as well. "Representatives Dreier and Eshoo, along with 10 other cosponsors, have introduced H.R. 4455, the 'Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure Act.' We support this bipartisan legislation as the first step in addressing the Y2K issue, and we stand ready to seek enactment of 'Good Samaritan' legislation this fall. It must pass this year -- 1999 is simply too late. "While we commend the Administration for taking the initiative on the subject of Y2K disclosure and encouraging quick congressional action, we believe that H.R. 4455 is the most effective approach to encourage voluntary disclosure and will result in meaningful and necessary information exchange. We strongly believe that the broader liability consequences of the Y2K problem also must be addressed by Congress. "The Y2K challenge is not business as usual. The Administration and Congress must work together on a bipartisan basis to get the country ready for the Year 2000. Your support of H.R. 4455 will go a long way in encouraging information exchange that we believe will happen among our members if the right legislation is passed. The economic viability and security of our country requires immediate action. We urge Congress to pass H.R. 4455 before it adjourns." For a copy of the letter and list of more than 50 business group signatories, call the NAM's Dionis Williams at 202-637-3096. Be sure to visit the NAM's Web site at nam.org for more information about legislative, policy and workplace developments affecting manufacturers, employees and the U.S. economy. The NAM is America's largest national broad-based industry trade group. Its 14,000 member companies and affiliates (including 10,000 small and medium firms) produce about 85 percent of U.S. manufactured goods and employ more than 18 million people. SOURCE National Association of Manufacturers Web Site: nam.org CONTACT: Laura Brown Narvaiz, 202-637-3087, or Jan Amundson, 202-637-3055, both of the NAM

To: bob who wrote (12712)	9/14/1998 9:04:00 AM
From: bob	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13949

Use of Year 2000 Service Providers to Continue After the Millennium Project, According to IDC Almost 70% of Companies Currently Using External Service Providers for Their Y2K Projects Will Continue or Increase Their Use of These Organizations FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies that formerly did not use external service providers are using them for Year 2000 (Y2K) services. The breadth of the Y2K problem has led to more widespread use of external services. According to a new report from International Data Corporation's (IDC) Systems Integration research program, of those companies using external organizations for their Y2K projects, 37% are new users. Retail/wholesale and manufacturing companies whose revenues range from $100 million to $500 million have the largest number of new users of service organizations. Most Y2K service providers can count on maintaining or even increasing their services to their Y2K clients after 2000 for application development or application maintenance work. Providers servicing the medium- and large-sized companies in the retail/wholesale and manufacturing sectors will have the greatest potential for expansion of services after the turn of the millennium. IDC's Year 2000 Survey was conducted in December 1997 and January 1998. Four hundred companies in 17 SIC codes were included, which gives IDC a margin of error of +/-5% for the total results. The survey answers the question: viewing all companies with revenues from below $10 million to more than $1 billion, what is their status regarding the Y2K date-coding problem at the beginning of 1998? Project priorities for eight functional areas were reviewed, including the strategy being adopted for each application area and the use of outside services. IDC also queried respondents on the bottlenecks being experienced in meeting the Y2K challenge. These eight areas are analyzed for the progress in their projects. This new IDC report, "The Year 2000 Problem: Status and Opportunities for IT Service Providers" (IDC #16476), identifies spending levels on the Y2K problem and breaks them out by internal expenses, outside services, software, and hardware for both average-sized and large companies. Actual spending for 1997 is compared with 1998 budgets and 1999 plans, and a total project cost estimate is given. The second half of the report is dedicated to looking at the use of outside services. The extent of use of service providers in the overall Y2K project in general and in the testing phase is analyzed. The types of services being used by industry and company size are also examined. The market share of and client satisfaction with Y2K service providers is explored, and the ramifications of the Y2K problem for the services market after the millennium change are discussed. This report is available for purchase by contacting Cheryl Toffel at 508-935-4389 or by e-mail at ctoffel@idc.com. For additional information on IDC's Systems Integration research program, please contact Kara Murphy, Group Marketing Manager, at 508-935-4136. About IDC Headquartered in Framingham, Mass., International Data Corporation provides IT market research and consulting to more than 3,900 high-technology customers around the world. With a global network of 375 analysts in more than 40 countries, IDC is the industry's most comprehensive resource on worldwide IT markets, products, vendors, and geographies. IDC/LINK, an IDC subsidiary, researches and analyzes the home computing market, leading-edge technologies in telecommunications and new media, and the convergence of computing and consumer electronics. IDC's World Wide Web site (http://www.idc.com) contains additional company information and recent news releases, and offers full-text searching of recent research. IDC is a division of International Data Group, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company. All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. SOURCE International Data Corporation Web Site: idc.com Company News On Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 113987