ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook
January 8, 1998                        Volume 4, No. 1

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

Global 2000 Ready to Release Country Assessments

The world may not be ready for the Year 2000, but the
Global 2000 Coordinating Group says it is almost ready
for public release of Y2K status reports on 35
countries around the world.  The group, composed of 37
countries and 200 financial institutions and
associations, has compiled a database of national
readiness information.  The release would be one of the
first publicly available, systematically assembled
views of the international financial community's
ability to weather the Y2K rollover.

Each country will be ranked in terms of sector
preparedness in several areas: financial services, bank
clearing and settlements, telecommunications,
transportation, government, and utilities.  Each sector
will receive a red, yellow, green or black desig nation
(red signifying the group's discomfort with the current
state of Y2K affairs; yellow is problematic; green is
comfort; and black is no information).

Jim Devlin is the U.S. banking industry's liaison to
Global 2000 and heads up the group's Assessment and
Disclosure Team.  Devlin says the plan is to release
this information at the end of the month, following a
meeting in London to shake out any last min ute ifs,
ands or buts.  Right now, he says, there are more
countries coded "yellow" than anything else, although
one-third of countries are "green" when it comes to
financial services.  Only about 20 percent of
telecommunication is code "green," he says, while
transportation is a "black" unknown.

Devlin, Citibank Y2K program office director, indicates
countries may have plenty to say about how they've been
portrayed in the database.  He says eight nations have
already called to suggest that their national progress
is better than their "red" rating suggests.  That
raises the twin issues of where the information comes
from and how it is generated.

The Global 2000 database is a composite readiness
picture with data provided by both member companies and
individuals designated as country liaisons.  Nine major
financial firms, including Citibank, serve on the
Assessment and Disclosure Team.  Measuremen t criteria
include whether public awareness information has been
published, whether target dates for project completion
exist, and whether Y2K compliance audit programs have
been established.  Even in its pre-release form, the
database has had the positi ve result of prompting
countries in search of a better rating to offer
information not previously available.

Devlin said that the database is structured based on
the importance of countries to the world's financial
stability.  He anticipates that the number of countries
included will grow.  He also says he's more optimistic
about the world's progress than he was six months ago.
"What seems to be happening is that the light of day
engenders action," he says, crediting groups like the
International Telecommunications Union and Global 2000
for raising awareness.

Gallop Poll Finding Draws Criticism

Interesting reading this week in a USA Today/Gallup
Poll, which finds that 16 percent of those surveyed say
that in response to the Year 2000 software glitch they
will probably pull all of their money out of the bank.
This startling statistic is one of s everal in the
survey, which also finds that 31 percent plan on
setting aside a large amount of cash and 47 percent
plan to stay off airplanes on or around January 1,
2000.

The survey is based on telephone interviews with over
1000 adults nationwide on December 19 and 20 of last
year.  Thirty-four percent of respondents predicted
major problems from the date bug generally and 14
percent said they expect to experience major p roblems
personally.

An official at the Federal Reserve called the bank
withdrawal numbers "nonsense."  "I don't think the
numbers have any credibility," he said, noting that
they represent the difference between "saying and
doing."  He added that the Fed is trying to figure out
how much discretionary cash individuals will want to
have on hand for the period around January 1, but that
amount is anticipated to be more like two to three
weeks of cash, not the depositor's entire balance.
"Anyone who says [they will withdraw the entire
balance] probably has less than $300 in the bank," he
said.  This official said the Fed is taking numerous
steps to mitigate the risks of banking system failure,
from having an additional $50 billion in the vaults of
federal reserve banks to makin g sure armored car
companies are geared up to transport the funds-should
it be necessary.

The Gallop poll also caught the eye of the American
Bankers Association (ABA).  ABA spokesman John Hall
says pulling money from the bank in response to the
Year 2000 is "ill advised."  On the contrary, he says,
the safest place for one's money is in the b ank on
January 1, 2000.  "Banks are prepared and ranked number
one in terms of Year 2000 preparedness," Hall says,
adding that depositors also have the assuredness of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation behind them.  He
says federal regulators have visited every banking
institution in the U.S. as a further check on their Y2K
worthiness.

Banks also know more than a little about contingency
planning, Hall says.  He points out that these
institutions have years of experience dealing with
floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters.  A
whopping 63 percent of survey respondents said it is
likely that banking and accounting systems will fail.
As far as payment systems are concerned, Hall says
credit cards once functioned without telephone lines
and, if necessary, they could do so again.  He also
says plain old paper checks will work too.

Do the Gallup stats surprise the banking community?  "I
think the numbers will go down as people get more
accurate information," Hall says, noting that rumor and
speculation prey on people's lack of knowledge.
Elderly citizens, he says, should be particu larly wary
of scam artists offering to hold their money during the
date change period.

SEC Protects Investors from Y2K Failure

The Federal government is bearing down on firms that
inadequately disclose Y2K readiness.  The Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week charged nine
stock transfer agents with failure to disclose their
system readiness for Year 2000 conversion.  This on the
heals of their first major enforcement action in
October of last year, charging 37 brokerage firms with
similar allegations.

The nine companies each face a $7,500 civil fine and
censure, and must pledge to avoid future violations.
Of the nine agents charged, four are contesting the
charges: Alpha Tech Transfer Trust, Draper Utah;
Greenfield Fund, Inc; Old Greenfield, Connecti cut;
Manor Investment Funds, West Chester, Pennsylvania; and
United Stock Transfer of Englewood, Colorado.  Davidson
Trust Co. of Great Falls, Montana; Ivy MacKenzie
Services Corp of Boca Raton, Florida; and CSJ LLC of
Houston, Texas have agreed to the fi ne and censure,
while Corporate Planners Inc. of Fountain Hills,
Arizona and National Stock Transfer and Accounting Inc.
of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida will only face censure
after demonstrating funds were not available to pay a
fine.

Stock transfer agents keep records of corporate
shareholders and issue and cancel stock certificates
after transactions are completed.  The SEC charges were
designed in part to protect shareholders from
interrupted transactions and dividend payments due t o
Y2K conversion failures.

1-888-USA-4-Y2K: Keeps Consumer Fears at Bay

The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, led by
Chairman John Koskinen, yesterday announced a new
taxpayer-funded, toll free information line to help
consumers understand and deal with Y2K-related
questions.

"This toll free line is a key part of our ongoing
efforts to make available information that will help
Americans respond appropriately to the Y2K problem as
we move through this year," Koskinen announced at a
press conference unveiling the information lin e
yesterday.

The line will be supported primarily through the
General Services Administration's Federal Information
Center (FIC) and the Federal Trade Commission.
Information on utilities such as electricity and
telephones, banking and government programs, including
veterans' benefits and social security, is the main
focus of the line, which will provide recorded messages
24 hours a day and research specialists Monday through
Friday between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.  Eastern Standard
Time.

Harris Miller, President of the Information Technology
Association of America, remarked on the growing trend
toward educating consumers, "Until recently, Year 2000
information and education have been primarily directed
at informing business about the rami fications of Year
2000.  I commend the President's Council on Year 2000
Conversion for taking the next logical step, by
extending that knowledge to the consumer.  Accurate
information that is widely available to the individual
will help ease the transitio n to the new millennium."

Other new product offerings of the Council aimed at
consumers include an information fax-on-demand system,
quarterly summary reports detailing industry
assessments of Y2K readiness, and the addition of a
consumer issues area to its existing web site: www.
y2k.gov.

Y2k Contingency Plans - Here's to Your Health

The average hospital has anywhere between 1,400 and
5,000 separate functions that are directly related to
Year 2000 compliance, according to the Odin Group, a
Nashville-based healthcare information technology
advisory group.  That in mind, healthcare lea ders from
a wide range of industry segments - hospitals and care
providers, pharmaceuticals, insurers and equipment
suppliers - are collaborating with the help of Deloitte
Consulting and KPMG LLP to develop and implement the
first-ever comprehensive Year 2000 contingency guide
for the industry.

Evidence suggests that exhaustive contingency plans
will save on human and financial resources, should
operations be disrupted by failed Year 2000 conversion.
The first step to contingency planning in the
healthcare arena involves identifying mission-cri tical
operations that must be kept running on January 1,
2000.  Hospital internal operations, possible
dysfunction of medical devices, and interaction between
departments are potential "hot buttons" for Y2k
failure.  The nature of the healthcare industry relies
on interdependence between providers, so hospitals are
coordinating with emergency services, medical providers
like pharmaceuticals and equipment providers, and
payors to optimize the chances of a seamless
transition.

Daniel Nutkis, President and Research Director for the
Odin Group, was optimistic about collaboration:
"Because of this broad based support, we anticipate the
user manuals and alternate operating procedures will
become widely adopted and set the standard in the
industry."

There are over 40 major industry players collaborating
on the contingency plan, including Aetna, Inc.,
AmeriSource Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cardinal
Health Inc., CIGNA Corporation, Columbia/HCA Healthcare
Corporation, Glaxo Wellcome Inc, Johnson & Johnson,
Kaiser Permanente, McKesson Corporation, Merck & Co.,
Inc., Olsten Health Services, SmithKline Beecham, Tenet
Healthcare Corporation, UPMC Health System, and United
Healthcare Corporation.  (A complete list of
participating organizations is ava ilable through Odin
Group's web site: www.odin-group.com).

Business to Business

Century Technology Services, Inc., McLean, VA, has been
awarded seven Y2K contracts by government agencies and
commercial businesses to perform embedded systems
projects.

Informix Corporation, Menlo Park, CA, Sun Microsystems
Inc. and Creative Healthcare Systems have entered into
a strategic alliance to provide a Y2K product and
services package for community hospitals.

Formal Systems America Inc., Holmdel, NJ, has been
awarded contracts by a financial institution and a
government agency to perform Y2K auditing services.

Microsoft has announced the availability of Y2K tools
and information resources.  Microsoft also says its
policy is that future Microsoft products will be Year
2000 compliant and will maintain the Year 2000
compliance of many "recent but not most current"
product versions through January 1, 2000.

Open Systems Advisors, Inc., Boston, MA, has announced
that Viasoft's OnMark 2000 tool is one of the winners
of the Sixth Annual Crossroads A-List Awards.

Closer to Home

ITAA will conduct a special Webcast program consisting
of two parts - audio and visual - on Wednesday, January
13, 1999 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.  (EST) on the Year 2000
Information and Readiness Disclosure law.  The session
will feature leading legal and poli cy experts in a
discussion intended to help companies come up to speed
on the new law as well as better understand recent Y2K
rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Featured speakers will include Michael Aisenberg,
Galland, Kharasch & Garfinkle; Robert Kenney, Hogan &
Hartson; Jacob Pankowski, McKenna & Cuneo; and Robert
Bell, Wiley, Rein & Fielding in a panel moderated by
ITAA Senior Vice President and General Couns el Marc
Pearl.  In order to participate in this program
participants must register in advance (by close of
business Monday, January 11, 1999) and have Internet
access.  The cost to participate will only be the cost
of a long distance phone call.  Telephon e ports are
limited and participation will be granted on a "first
come/first served" basis.

ITAA will provide the presentation concurrently:

· The audio portion is accessed by means of a
conference call.  During the call all phones except the
presenter's are muted.  At the conclusion of the
presentation participants may signal the operator in
order to join the queue for question/comments.

· The visual portion is delivered to the participant's
computer screen using a push technology that delivers
PowerPoint slides to the viewer.  Once the viewer is
signed on to the webcast no further action is required.

The requirements are a long distance phone line, a
computer with access to the Internet and a recent
version of any popular browser.  All registrants will
be provided with the data (call numbers, access codes,
URL's and passwords) which will allow access to both
the audio and visual portions of the program.

For further information and to register, email RSVP to
Ted Karle at ITAA - Tkarle@itaa.org - by Monday,
January 11, 1999.


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 1999.  All rights reserved.  The
Information Technology Association of America, 1616 N.
Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300, Arlington, VA 22209.
Internet: http:\\www.itaa.org