CHAPTER 1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A phenomenon exists in the Information Technology (IT) industry because historically many computer programs make use of dates represented by only two digits (for example, 95 rather than 1995). However common this practice might be, it can cause programs (both system and application) that perform arithmetic operations, comparisons, or sorting of date fields to yield incorrect results when working with years outside the range of 1900-1999. IBM refers to this phenomenon as the YEAR2000 CHALLENGE.

DOES THIS REALLY MEAN ME?

The scope of the Year2000 challenge spans the entire IT industry. A data mismatch can exist in any level of hardware or software from microcode to application programs, in files and databases, and might be present on ANY platform (IBM and non-IBM). In recent years, the IT trade press has given ever greater attention to this phenomenon with increasingly ominous article titles.

However dramatic all this may sound, consider the following scenarios to help put the phenomenon and its business ramifications into perspective. Imagine if in the first quarter of the year 2000 your company cannot process its 1999 end-of-year billing or end-of-year payroll properly; your corporate credit card holders are refused most transactions because their accounts appear delinquent; your 1999 year-end profit data cannot be calculated properly; and your utility companies cut off their services due to your apparent late bill payments. Your household and personal financial situation could encounter a dilemma if your creditors do not also successfully meet this challenge.

Although referred to as the Year2000 challenge and often as the 'Year2000 Problem', this is really a 2-digit-year representation problem. Your Information Systems (IS) organization needs to plan for, and address, the date changes well in advance of 1 January 2000. This is not only a future challenge; in the banking industry years ago application programs encountered problems with amortization and interest table calculations for long-term mortgages. Consider also, the standard 5-year automobile loan, a 15-year mortgage, a long-term insurance policy, a data base that retains birth dates (which includes an ever increasing set of dates over 100 years). Even before 1 January 2000, many computing environments might not function as expected because systems and/or application programs will not process dates later than 31 December 1999 properly.

BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD...

There are some general misunderstandings and myths regarding the Year2000 challenge. These include:

o This is a problem that occurs only after 31 December 1999.

In fact, difficulties caused by the Year2000 challenge are already occurring. For example, some applications that deal with future dates, in such areas as mortgages, insurance policies, and driver's licence and credit card expiration dates have already encountered problems.

o This is just a hardware clock problem.

In fact, both hardware and software are affected. The internal timers in hardware might need to be tested for Year2000 readiness and reset. In software, application programs, and operating systems using two digits for year representation could experience difficulties even if the hardware on which they are running has clock and/or system timer services that provide a 4-digit format. And it is a problem that will appear in a variety of programs, including those purchased from Solution Developers, written in-house by your own system and application programmers, licensed from various software vendors, or shared among the IS community.

o This is a problem that only occurs in mainframe systems and/or legacy applications.

In fact, any system or program (large or small) can be affected if it uses two digits for year representation.

WHAT'S MY ROLE AND WHAT CAN I EXPECT?

For many institutions, you can expect the initial size of this Year2000 work effort to appear overwhelming and the overall project to appear enormous. It should. This is not a trivial project. Expect the need for your sponsorship to dedicate personnel and computer resources, approve the requisition of potential Solution Developer tools and/or service support, and provide a budget to fund it all.

The technical solutions are not complex when viewed on a program-by-program basis. It is the overall project size and the program/data inter-relationships that introduce the true project complexity. Expect the need to appoint a cross-department and cross-divisional focal point to manage it all.

WHAT IS IBM DOING TO ASSIST ME?

Support is currently available from both IBM and many Solution Developers. IBM is committed to addressing the Year2000 Challenge within its own hardware and software product offerings and to assist customers in their efforts.

The IBM document (The Year 2000 and 2-Digit Dates: A Guide for Planning and Implementation), summarized here, is the result of IBM's effort to articulate

the overall IBM support with respect to the impending Year2000 transition. It is intended to assist the IS community with planning, methodology, and guidance information needed to convert their application systems to correctly manipulate dates within and between the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Year 2000 and 2-Digit Dates: A Guide for Planning and Implementation is available through your IBM representative or in softcopy form through the Internet. That document provides your IS personnel both generic and IBM-specific information on:

  o   How to plan a Year2000 transition
  o   How to detect and remove Year2000 exposures
  o   How to test and migrate to a revised Year2000-ready system
  o   Where to find further information  (An extensive bibliography lists many
      of the most prominent publications and trade press articles concerning
      the Year2000 challenge.)

But remember, this document is continuously being updated as IBM obtains new information and updates old information.

This document also provides information that addresses:

  o   MULTIPLE PLATFORM SOLUTIONS (including IBM product-specific information
      for):

      -   IBM and non-IBM IS platforms
      -   IBM operating systems
      -   IBM programming languages.

  o   CURRENT IS TOOLS (from IBM and non-IBM software vendors):

      Tools that are available today to help your IS personnel identify
      potential exposures in your applications, assist their efforts in the
      categorization of potential exposures, and assist the testing and
      transition to a Year2000-ready application environment.

  o   CONSULTING SERVICES:  IBM consulting service offerings that provide
      skills and expertise for the understanding and/or the solution of your
      applications' Year2000 transition.

Although this document is designed mainly to provide in-depth information to your IS technical staff (that is, your applications and systems programmers), the support that it demands must come from you. This will not be a small undertaking for your IS staff within any aspect of your IS environment. If your business relies on computer processing, and that processing includes date manipulation, your business might be at risk if you fail to take timely action. This document provides direction to help your organization to begin a proactive response to this challenge.

SO, WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE?

Your immediate attention to this effort, and a directive to your IS organization to plan for and solve your Year2000 challenge, is critical. When you face your stockholders who ask, "Now that you spent xxx dollars on this project, what do we have now that we didn't have in 1995?," you can respond: "We have had an opportunity to take inventory, assess our IT strategy, and make more efficient our IT infrastructure. And more importantly, WE STILL HAVE A VIABLE BUSINESS, one that accepts billing, correctly computes interest and invoices, and calculates our stock dividends. Not all of our competitors can make that same claim!"