Aitch,
March 29, 1999, Issue: 835
Section: Small Business
Small biz better get on the ball for Y2K
Herman Mehling
San Anselmo, Calif. -- Perennially strapped for cash on the one hand, and
slow to change their ways of doing anything on the other, small businesses
have so far lived up to their image as laggards in year 2000 compliance.
More than half of all small businesses have not checked their computers and
software for Y2K compliance, according to a report issued early this year by
the Washington, D.C.-based National Federation of Independent Business
(NFIB).
The NFIB report also revealed that roughly one-third of small businesses have
no plans to inoculate themselves from the bug.
Still, the media's rising tide of doom-and-gloom scenarios, especially of ruined
businesses and sue-happy customers, is beginning to reach the average
small-business owner, according to resellers.
"Small businesses are definitely more aware of Y2K, but I can't say I've seen
a huge mood swing to do anything about it," said Richard J. Daniluk, president
of Richard J. Daniluk, Aurora, Colo. "I would say 50 percent of my small
businesses still haven't done anything and probably won't until it's too late."
Daniluk has noticed one alarming trend among small businesses-the foolhardy
assumption that big vendors have licked Y2K. "People think, 'Oh, this vendor
has a new package that will solve my problem.' Wrong. The fixes keep
coming and will keep coming."
"We've seen quite a bit of Y2K-related activity in the first quarter," said Carl
Livesay, executive vice president of Black Oak Computer Services, a
Salisbury, Md.-based VAR. "Most of it has been hardware-related,
upgrading BIOS or replacing 386s and 486s."
In fact, Black Oak is advising small businesses against buying new software
packages, particularly accounting ones.
"We tell them that this is not the time to switch to another accounting package
because they can avoid a lot of expense for training and installation," Livesay
said. "We advise them to upgrade what they have."
Black Oak also advises its customers against using shareware to find and
solve Y2K fixes, he said. "Shareware is a high-risk option but one that small
businesses are attracted to because it's free," Livesay said.
Black Oak uses only Y2K tools from brand-name companies such as
McAfee Software, a division of Network Associates Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.,
and Symantec Corp., Cupertino, Calif., Livesay said. Besides liking these
companies for the quality of their technology, Black Oak likes them because
they have certified technicians who know their stuff, he said.
The media's bombardment of the Y2K issue is causing small-business owners
to take action, said Paul Wilcox, regional account manager at TechPower
Solutions Inc., a Beaverton, Ore.-based VAR.
"There is definitely not as much complacency among small businesses as there
was six months ago," he said. "Small businesses are calling us about Y2K
because they are reading about the glitches and gotchas, and want to know
how they can make their systems compliant."
What is driving many small businesses to action is the concerns of their
customers and suppliers, said Casey Jongko, network sales specialist at HIQ
Systems Inc., a VAR and white-box builder in Sunnyvale, Calif.
"Their customers and suppliers are asking them if they are Y2K compliant and
what they are doing about it, so they are calling people like us," he said. "In
particular, we've noticed an upsurge in accounting firms updating their
hardware and software because of customer concerns."
While some calls lead to Y2K projects, many do not because Y2K is more of
a management issue than a straightforward technology one, Jongko said. "It's
easy to tell a small-business owner that he needs to replace all his desktops,
but unless he understands why and sees the value in doing so, we don't get
very far."
Lack of business savvy and IT expertise create a lot of fear, uncertainty and
doubt among small-business owners, said Livesay. "Some just don't
understand the consequences of the risks they take."
One of the biggest risks companies take is buying new white boxes or
second-tier motherboards and thinking they have solved their Y2K hardware
problems, said a number of resellers.
"There is a lot of cheap junk hardware that claims to be Y2K compliant and is
not," said Daniluk.
"Some lesser-known motherboards have [components] that are not compliant,
but the average small business doesn't know that," said Jongko. "We've
replaced a number of these boards lately."
For a list of small-business Y2K resources, visit www.crn.com/onlineplus.
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The Clock Is Ticking
- One-third of all small businesses have no plans to tackle Y2K issues.
- One alarming trend among small businesses is the notion that big vendors
have licked Y2K problem.
- Concern of customers, however, is spurring some businesses to act.
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