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Y2K Checklist
Things you should have done yesterday
To get the obvious Y2K pun out of the way, the clock is ticking. How quickly? Visit The Kansas City (Mo.) Star’s World Wide Web site, where an online timepiece silently whiles away the seconds to the millennium (www.kcstar.com/y2k).
Less than 12 months remain to address lingering computer problems, and Y2K latecomers shouldn’t expect to breeze through. "It’s taking seven-to-eight months to get replies from vendors," cautions Charley Johnson, information-systems director of The Evansville (Ind.) Courier. Already-busy consultants and programmers may prove equally slow to return calls.
Frankly, it’s probably too late to start from scratch using the most typical approach—forming committees by department to inventory and test, communicate with suppliers, repair or replace affected systems, and retest those systems (Presstime, June 1998, p. 53). Most publishers aggressively addressing the Y2K problem started years ago; most still plug away. Even the federal government started exploring the issue in the 1980s—and still may not get every system ready on time.
 For those still struggling in the Y2K trenches, a quick series of reminders.
Think triage. Revenue and production systems remain key; identifying and fixing problems in older, proprietary systems takes time. Problems with standard desktop personal computers and software, by contrast, are more readily pinpointed. As they affect the entire computing world, solutions or replacements also may be more readily available; more on this later.
When installing a new Y2K-compliant system, be sure to test it.
When testing any critical system, check first with the supplier about unanticipated problems the test may cause. In Evansville, one production system set to 2000 for testing passed with flying colors. When settings were rolled back to the actual date, users’ accounts automatically expired.
Remember that systems inter-connect, and not always in obvious ways. For instance, it stands to reason that a billing system interfaces with advertising front-end and page-layout systems, but it could also swap data with salesforce-automation software or spreadsheets scattered across a sales team’s laptops.
Don’t forget that desktop computers’ integral hardware chips may hide problems. A range of software fixes for Y2K bugs in PC BIOS chips exist; contact the hardware manufacturer or search the Internet for third-party solutions. Macintoshes remain exempt through 2040, though their software applications must still be checked.
Recheck that ubiquitous PC software, particularly shrink-wrapped, off-the-shelf varieties. "Only in the last six months have Microsoft [officials] bellied up to the bar and admitted they have some issues with their OS and software," says Johnson. Other household names in computing fare little better.
Don’t forget to check business partners’ progress. Tap suppliers ranging from the obvious, such as ink and newsprint vendors, to the scary, such as the bank drawing your checks. The Times Tribune in Scranton, Pa., sent letters to more than 250 business partners asking them to detail their Y2K status (Presstime, Oct. 1998, p. 10).
On the flip side of the same paper trail, prepare a simple but comprehensive statement outlining your paper’s Y2K expectations; distribute it in response to similar queries. (NAA received just such a query on behalf of member papers from the American Association of Advertising Agencies; visit www.naa.org/presstime/extra.html to participate in its survey.)
Don’t overlook embedded systems, the isolated, often hidden computer chips that run fire sprinklers, press units and HVAC systems. Unlike computer systems, aging heavy metal may pose fewer problems than newer equipment—it may have no chips. Other equipment with embedded chips has proved difficult to test because those chips are, as the name suggests, inaccessible. In some cases, all that can be done is to ask the supplier if the equipment is compliant, and replace it if it’s not.
Expect to miss something, but prioritize. For instance, while staffers in Evansville plan to replace a noncompliant PC controlling air conditioning, it’s near the end of their list. "Worst-case scenario, we can just set the date back," Johnson says.
Finally, managers must prepare for the possibility of a greater-than-expected financial drain, as well as broader economic implications. A study by British computer-services consultant Cap Gemini estimates that the cost of dealing with Y2K in the United States and Europe has increased by 20 percent in the past six months. And in the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s most recent quarterly survey, most economists said Y2K problems will slow overall growth in 2000; the average prediction was a decline of 0.3 percent in gross domestic product directly attributable to the bug.
A version of this article also appears in the January edition of Presstime.
Y2K on the Web
TechNews Volume 5, Number 1: January/February 1999
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