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Tuesday, 25 August 1998
Business Telegraph View
With only 493 days to go to the year 2000, you'd have to be living in a cave somewhere not to have heard of the millennium bug.
Most people are aware that the problem concerns the fact that computer programs mark years with the last two digits only, and could switch off or malfunction when they come up against '00'.
Not only might air traffic control systems and medical equipment go AWOL, but the domestic devices we all take for granted - central heating, microwaves, ovens - all contain computer chips which could be jinxed.
Back in March, Prime Minister Tony Blair set up Action 2000 to come to grips with the technical nightmare, and last night a series of advertisements was launched on national television.
But Action 2000's preliminary research has shown that only a quarter of UK companies have taken serious measures to try and combat the bug, and more than half a million businesses may miss the deadline.
Many of these are small and medium-sized firms, which may be lacking in financial and human resources to deal with the problem.
We're not alone in this. No country in the world, not even the go-ahead US, can claim to be on top of the situation. There are fears that the computer chaos could even trigger a world recession.
However, burying our heads in the sand will not put off the fateful hour. The Government has given £97m to deal with the millennium bug, but with costs estimated at hundreds of billions of pounds, is it too little too late? While taking care not to engender widespread hysteria, the Government must lead the way by example and action.