WILL the millennium bug bite? The answer is yes,and it’s going to hurt a lot ofbusinesses.
With less than 12 months to go, the travel industry seems to be hurtling towards oblivion with total disregard for its business systems.
The larger organisations are taking action but what of the others?
Most companies have said “We are alright, the PCs are modern and the network is okay; that makes us secure from the millennium bug”.
Wrong. What about fax machines, alarms, insurance cover, and so forth? Even if your internal systems have been checked and cleared, what about your businesssuppliers?
A supplier whose systems fail can cause more damage than in-house failures, because control of remedial solutions is elsewhere.
The industry, as a whole, needs to take urgent action now. Only the efficient are likely to survive.
Obtain all the information you can from your local Business Link or from action2000 (www.bug2000.co.uk). Once you understand all the issues, talk to your system supplier to get written confirmation that your hardware and software are compliant.
Contact all your business suppliers to make sure that they have completed compliance checks on their systems.
If in doubt, get independent advice.
Richard Bristow
Travel Systems Associates
Horsham
West Sussex