With slightly more than three months to the turn of the century, more than half of Rhode Island small businesses are still not prepared for problems that might be associated with the year 2000 computer problem (Y2K), according to a survey by the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services (RIMES). The survey, conducted among 100 businesses representing the nonprofit, retail, and manufacturing sectors, showed that while most businesses are aware of the Y2K problem, as many as 60 percent are still unprepared to cope with it.
As a result RIMES, in conjunction with the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Small Business Development Center, and the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension Center has launched a Y2K Jumpstart program. It’s designed to help business owners prepare through a Thursday evening workshop, a free assessment kit and software, and an on-site consultation with RIMES.
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“This program walks through everything a business owner needs to do to protect themselves and be compliant,” said Leslie Taito, RIMES special projects manager. “It’s a comprehensive program that involves an inventory of all hardware and software systems, as well as helping business owners get the proper documentation from outside suppliers.”
Taito said legally all business owners are required to try and protect themselves from the Y2K bug.
“There are two things that you can’t do,” she said. “Federal legislation says businesses have to look at what they have and try and become prepared. If they do absolutely nothing and can’t deliver their product there is no protection. Secondly, business owners can’t willfully give false information that they have checked all of their systems for Y2K if that haven’t.”
According to RIMES, to be complaint in the year 2000 businesses must be able to handle information before, during and after midnight December 31, 1999; function accurately and without interruption before, during and after January 1, 2000 without any change in operations; respond to two-digit year data input; and process 2000 as a leap year.
Janice Holzinger, owner of Print World in North Kingstown for the past eight years, said she had no idea how much preparation was involved before taking the Jumpstart program.
“More or less I was like an ostrich with my head buried in the sand,” she said. “I was extremely oblivious to the problem, I always thought that it wasn’t a big deal. The program was a real eye opener for me.”
And Holzinger isn’t alone. According to the survey, only 41 percent of businesses have a readiness document, considered a critical necessity by business experts.
“Without a readiness document, businesses are not truly prepared,” Taito said. “In the event of a company problem due to Y2K, businesses are exposing themselves to liability.”
According to Taito, there are three critical parts of a readiness document: an inventory of hardware, software and embedded chips; an assessment of external threats, or supplies and vendors who may not be Y2K ready; and a contingency plan in case Y2K problems occur.
“If the display goes out on your coffee pot because of a Y2K bug that’s an inconvenience,” Taito said. “But if you lose the dateline in your phone system and as a result miss a call from your best client, that is a serious problem. Y2K readiness goes much beyond just computers, and businesses often forget that.”
As part of the Jumpstart program, Taito said businesses are told how to contact their outside vendors, like telephone and electric companies, to make sure that all of those companies are also Y2K complaint.
“I like to compare it to the General Motors strike a few months ago,” she said. “Though it was just one factory that was shut down, a number of different people were affected. I tell business owners we don’t want a chain reaction like that again. It can cause huge problems.”
Another aspect of the program includes a CD ROM, responsible for searching a company’s software for specific Y2K problems.
“This program walks through and kicks out the information that people need,” Taito said. “It will tell you what part of your system won’t work, and it tells you where you can go to get what you need. It’s an excellent tool.”
The survey also disclosed that 36 percent of businesses didn’t know that in the event of a company disaster due toY2K, they would not be protected by insurance.
“The majority of insurance companies are not writing policies that cover Y2K problems,” Taito said. “So ultimately it will be up to the individual businesses.”
For more information on the Jumpstart program call 1-800-637-4636 or visit the Jumpstart web site at www.rimes.org/y2kmain.html.
