Manybusinessesnot readyforY2Kbug

April 1999

Many small and medium-sized companies in the county have not as yet put a strategy in place to protect their businesses from the serious threat posed by the Millennium Bug.

Enterprise Ireland says these companies are particularly vulnerable, as many have failed to recognise the very serious nature of the problem and its capacity to undermine their competitive position.

It says that in a worst case scenario, the bug may even threaten the survival of some businesses.

Wexford Chamber of Industry and Commerce said it is planning a seminar on the Millennium Bug but it was not yet aware of the size of the potential problem in the county.

Enterprise Ireland is so concerned that it has designed an information pack containing ‘A Guide to Year 2000 Compliances for Small and Medium Sized Companies’ and an ‘Irish Directory of Year 2000 Counsultants and Services’.

The body also operates a Year 2000 ( Y2K) Information Service which includes an 1850 helpdesk, a website and a series of workshops and briefing sessions.

The Millennium Bug problem has arisen because of a historical programming technique which used two digits instead of four to identify a year – for example, 99 instead of 1999.

When the year 2000 begins, non-compliant computer systems will simply not be able to recognise or cope with a 00 date.

Enterprise Ireland says that while the inevitable problem with this approach might seem obvious today, responses to it have been tentative and fragemented.

‘ The purpose of the Guide is to provide a pathway to managers of small businesses to identify where the issues may affect their businesses, and to try resolve, contain, or minimise its impact,’ a spokesperson said.