The Year 2000 Problem

This guide was prepared during the last century in anticipation of a cataclysmic event that never occurred. It is provided here as an historical artifact for curious "nerds" who are interested in the past.

[The remarks below were written in c1999 and remain unchanged. The editorial comments were provided in July 2008]

Although the "Year 2000 Problem" (also known as the "Y2K problem") is technical in nature it is a problem that management will have to deal with. The Gartner Group has estimated that up to $600 billion (US!) will be spent addressing the issue and that as many as 10% of all firms will fail because of the difficulties and expenses associated with fixing the problem.

The problem will occur in 2000 because programmers in the past entered only 2 digits to represent a year (e.g. 06/10/97). Thus computers will interpret only the last two numbers of the year 2000 when it is entered and assume the date is 1900. Clearly all date-sensitive information will be affected and some have predicted that the results could be catastrophic.

Most larger corporations are aware of the magnitude of the problem, but many small businesses are not and most businesses and organizations of any size have done little to rectify the situation. Here at Western there is an awareness and in the Fall 1996 issue of PeopleSoft Project News it was noted that "The Year 2000 problem is a prime reason for purchasing the PeopleSoft suite of administrative systems".

The number of books and articles about the "2000 problem" has grown quickly, but one can encounter some difficulties in researching a subject that is rather unique. For this reason a list of resources is provided:

Web Sites:

[the links below will not work, but the brief descriptions are left here to indicate how serious the problem was perceived to be]

For a Canadian source see the very good site maintained by Industry Canada .
"Will Your Business Survive the Year 2000"

Another major site is the Year 2000 Information Center which "provides a forum for disseminating information about the year 2000 problem and for the discussion of popular solutions".

I.T. Works has a page which is a launching pad for information on the Year 2000 Problem.

BOOKS [yes, there are even books on the subject]

1. Keogh, James. Solving the Year 2000 Problem. QA76.76.S64K46

2. Fletcher, W. Michael. Computer Crisis 2000. QA76.76.S64F53 1998

3. Lefkon, Dick. Year 2000:Best Practices for Y2K Millenium Computing.
TAYSTK QA76.76.S64Y44 1998

4. Ottawa:Industry Canada. Challenge 2000:Executive Guide to Year 2000 Computing
Solutions HF5548.C426 1997

5. Ragland, Bryce. The Year 2000 Problem Solver: A Five-Step Disaster Prevention Plan.
QA76.76.S64R33.

6. Ulrich, William. The Year 2000 Software Crisis: Challenge of the Century. QA76.76.S64U38

7. Yourdon, Edward. Time Bomb 2000!: What the Year 2000 Computer Crisis Means to You!
DBWSTK QA76.76.S64Y68 1998

8. Zetlin, Minda. The Computer Time Bomb: How to Keep the Century Date Change From
Killing Your Organization.  QA76.76.S64Z48 1998

See also "The Year 2000 Problem: Impact, Strategies, Tools" on p.44 of Software Change Impact Analysis which is located in the Taylor Library at QA76.76.E93B65.

Articles

[Articles can be found, but the directions provided here are outdated. They indicate how the research could have been done in c1999]

The topic first began to appear in the Summer of 1994. Since that time a large number of articles have been written. A good place to begin is with the cd-rom product ABI which is on the Library System network or with ProQuest Direct (must have UWO IP address and accept cookies) available over the web. Since the problem has only recently been defined as a subject on that database (try su(Year 2000)), use the following strategy for earlier articles: year 2000 w/4 problem.
For regular updates on the Year 2000 problem and the companies that deal with it, access the Thomson One Banker database .

News about "Year 2000" problems and the companies that are dealing with them is also available on Bloomberg. Type in NI YEAR2000.