ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook October 23, 1998 Volume 3, No. 39 Published by the Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, VA Bob Cohen, Editor bcohen@itaa.org Read in over 80 countries around the world ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is published every Friday to help all organizations deal more effectively with the Year 2000 software conversion. To create a subscription to this free publication, please visit ITAA on the web at https://www.itaa.org/transact/2ko utlooksub.htm. To cancel an existing subscription, visit https://www.itaa.org/transact/2kremove.htm. ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is sponsored in part by CACI International Inc., DMR Consulting Group Inc., and Y2Kplus Development Bank Official Offers Candid Latin Perspective Is Y2K just a bad hair day for most Latin American countries? A trifle in comparison with more immediate and pressing concerns? Carlos Guedes, CIO and Deputy Controller of the Inter-American Development Bank, appeared at the Washington DC Y2K Users Group this week and indicated that many of the criticisms leveled at the slow pace of Y2K progress in Latin America are unfortunately true. The key is understanding why. As a development bank, the IDB works with Latin countries to assist in restructuring their economies and to pursue socioeconomic issues like poverty reduction and social equity, modernization and integration, and the environment. The bank is providing $2 billion to fix Y2K problems in Latin America and the Caribbean. But survival of the techno fittest takes on new meaning in the Latin context. As an example, Guedes said Equador suffered the equivalent of 50 years of rain in 1996 and 1997. The rain sank the country's banana crop. When the rains stopped, an earthquak e in 1998 (measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale) destroyed what was left. Add a major drop in oil prices and a two-digit crisis over a year away simply dries up in the Quito sun. "South of the equator, procrastination is not a sin," Guedes said. "It's part of the equation. It's not all about planning. If I have no food today and I'm going to starve in two months, I'm not worried about 2000." That doesn't mean that the bank is not trying to avoid a serious calendar crunch. According to an IDB Y2K Policy Statement, the bank is "working diligently to encourage its business partners…and borrowers to assess their potential risks associated with Year 2000 system failures." The bank also expects its business partners to get the whole job done by next June (the same date it has picked for its internal efforts, estimated at $22.5 million). Whether IDB partners act on that expectation remains to be seen. Guedes says one banker compared the situation to a major overall of computer systems undertaken in response to that nation's 10,000 percent inflation rate. The change was conducted over a weekend. "Why is Year 2000 a big deal?" this individual asked him. As Guedes points out, the change involved known requirements implemented in specific systems, not a search for two-digit days in millions of lines of code. "That's why acrobatic pilots die," he said, "One day they do the trick and it doesn't work." Despite his real-world view of Y2K efforts in the region, Guedes predicted many small problems in small countries (as opposed to economic show-stoppers). On the contrary, he suggested big problems like bank runs are more apt to be the work of Y2K extremi sts. Clinton Signs Y2K Bill; Congress Introduces One More President Clinton signed S. 2392, the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, into law this week. "Many organizations have been reluctant to share valuable information about their experiences in dealing with the Y2K problem or the status of their Y2K efforts for fear of lawsuits. The Act's limited liability protections will promote and encourage grea ter information sharing about both experiences and solutions, which will significantly enhance public and private sector efforts to prepare the Nation's computer systems for the new millennium. However, the bill will not affect liability that may arise f rom Y2K failures of systems or devices," the President said. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4756, the Year 2000 Preparedness Act of 1998, which would "encourage" Y2K Czar John Koskinen to develop best practices guidelines and standards for remediation and validation. Introduced without co-spon sors by Congresswoman Connie Morella (R-MD), the bill moved directly from the Science Committee to a vote of the full House. Along with guidelines, the legislation seeks a national assessment of the Y2K computer problem, covering banking and finance, ene rgy, telecommunications, transportation, vital human services, and more. The bill calls on the President to allow the Y2K Czar to step in and exert leadership in civilian Federal agencies put at Y2K risk by "ineffective management." The bill also requires agency heads to schedule data exchange test and implementation schedules, possibly including national test days for end-to-end verification of critical processes; to notify data exchange partners of the "implications" of missing tes t dates; to give priority to the installation of filter technology to prevent data corruption; and to develop and implement contingency plans for data exchange snafus. Data exchange meetings and reports are a required part of the package. The bill would also launch outreach and awareness campaigns for small and mid-sized companies and consumers. The bill is expected to be re-introduced in the next Congress. FTC Calls Y2K Problems in Some Consumer Products Unlikely A consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commission says some consumer products are unlikely to experience Y2K date-related failures. The alert says that small and large appliances, heating and cooling equipment, home entertainment products, photographic equipment and other devices contain microchips. Some devices, like programmable microwave ovens and coffeemakers, use clock but not calendar functions, the alert notes. Other products, like refrigerators, may track cycles rather than dates. The FTC rol led out its "Y2K? Y 2 Care" campaign this week, composed of a series of publications aimed at businesses and consumers. The pubs are described at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1998/9810/nationyk.htm. Gore Calls for Sustained Y2K Effort With the nation's Year 2000 Action Week drawing to a close, Vice President Gore issued a statement calling on American businesses to make aggressive efforts to fix the date problem in computer and embedded systems. "Progress on the Y2K problem among busi nesses is not uniform," Gore says. "For those getting a late start, access to technical information on experiences and solutions will be critical. The legislation that President Clinton signed Monday, which provides legal protections for information sha ring, will help many smaller organizations that are just beginning their Y2K work. The President and I urge trade associations and umbrella organizations to collect such information from their members and provide it to others through websites and other m eans devoted to discussing Y2K experiences and solutions." Closer to Home ITAA announced this week that Oracle Applications Division of Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, California has received ITAA*2000 certification. ITAA*2000 is the industry's century date change certification program. The program examines processes an d methods used by companies to perform their Year 2000 software conversions. Oracle Applications Division of Oracle Corporation participated in a rigorous evaluation of its approach to date conversion, with extensive analysis in eleven discrete process a reas deemed necessary to a successful Year 2000 conversion. Business to Business Alydaar Software Corporation, Charlotte, NC, has been awarded a Y2K remediation contract by Idaho Power Company. Unisys Corporation, Blue Bell, PA, and TAVA Technologies have entered into a worldwide business agreement. Under this agreement Unisys will be able to resell TAVA's plant Y2KOne software and professional services as part of the Unisys TEAM2000 solution p ortfolio. Software Testing Assurance Corporation, Stamford, CT, has developed an SEC Y2K compliance verification and validation process. ITAA Y2K Information Center Solution Providers Directory http://www.itaa.org/script/2000vend.cfm ITAA*2000 Certification Program http://www.itaa.org/2000cert.htm Outlook Archive http://www.itaa.org/script/get2klet.cfm Legislative and Litigation Table http://www.itaa.org/Y2Klaw.htm Calendar http://www.itaa.org/y2kcal.htm Vendor/User Status Questionnaires http://www.itaa.org/questmain1.htm Copyright ITAA 1998. All rights reserved. The Information Technology Association of America, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300, Arlington, VA 22209. Internet: http:\\www.itaa.org