The Australian Government estimates that it will spend around AUD 600 million on remediation work within its own systems. Country-wide, the figure has been put at nearly 10 billion.
The Australian Government estimates that it will spend around AUD 600 million on remediation work within its own systems. Country-wide, the figure has been put at nearly 10 billion.
The Year 2000 computer problem, at first glance, is much ado over a very narrow issue ¾ a mere two digits in a date. However, it is a large and complex issue because of its potential capacity not only to disrupt services for individuals, households, businesses and communities, but also to cause financial loss and possible injury.
If not addressed effectively within the remaining months of 1999, it has the potential to cause significant disruption across entire economies. This is one of the most challenging issues facing any government because, unlike most natural disasters and man-made emergencies, in this case we know when the problem will occur but we cannot give assurances, let alone cast-iron guarantees regarding its nature or extent.
Our telecommunication carriers and carriage service providers have jointly established the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) Y2K Telecommunications Inter-Carrier Group. This group is addressing Y2K cross-network carriage service continuity issues, providing a general level of comfort to business and the community.
These efforts have been acknowledged worldwide, with Australia's Y2K preparedness being ranked among the highest in the world by international consultants, the GartnerGroup. In February 1999, the United States Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem found that Australia ranks in the top tier of preparedness, together with the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
The Government has been working with States and Territory Governments and peak industry bodies since 1996 to raise awareness of the potential problem and encourage maximum compliance of systems in both public and private sectors. But there is little room for complacency and we acknowledge that there are still gaps in our own backyard.
Indeed, while governments can show leadership and can help create an environment in which organizations are encouraged to act responsibly, the ultimate responsibility rests with individual organizations.
One of the best ways to alleviate public and media concerns is for the government to lead the way by insisting on high standards of reporting and early remediation as well as ensuring maximum public disclosure by agencies and departments wherever possible.
The Australian Government has set a target date of July 1999 for all of its agencies to achieve Year 2000 compliance and has been working diligently to meet this target.
Since September 1997, all Commonwealth Government agencies have been reporting quarterly on their state of readiness of mission critical systems. Summaries of the last two reports have been publicly released to provide an opportunity for business and the community to monitor Year 2000 progress of essential government services (in areas of health and national safety, payments and social welfare and employment, revenue collection, national security and defence).
The next quarterly report will provide detailed information concerning the preparedness of Commonwealth port folios. Shortly after, we will release information concerning the preparedness of individual Commonwealth departments and agencies. This will put Australia on a par with the world's best practice in terms of its level of disclosure.
It will illustrate that more than half of the Commonwealth's business-critical systems are already compliant. This is a significant achievement and indicates that the Commonwealth will be well placed to achieve compliance of all business-critical systems before the July 1999 target date.
In Australia, many of the key infrastructure services are delivered by a mix of government and private sector organizations in an increasingly competitive environment. There are also interdependencies within and between sectors. This presents a particular challenge in compiling a complete picture of any given sector and how it may impact, or be affected by the Year 2000 problem.
Within Australia, a number of different approaches have been adopted:
A key concern for the Government has been to raise awareness and encourage action within the business community, with a particular focus on the small and medium business sector. To this end, the Commonwealth Government is working closely with the States and Territories through a National Steering Committee and has allocated more than AUD 9 million to the national industry awareness strategy.
The campaign was launched in July 1998 and has had immediate impact in lifting business and community awareness. This success is in part due to the high level of cooperation between the national effort and State and Territory government based-awareness initiatives. These include:
A nationwide survey of some 8000 businesses released in December 1998 indicated a 92% level of Year 2000 awareness, with most large businesses undertaking Y2K work, and 97% of utilities taking action.
As encouraging as this may be, the survey also revealed 43% of businesses (mainly businesses with four or less employees) were not undertaking work. Almost one fifth of businesses intending to undertake work had yet to start, only 20% of businesses had sought some form of assurances from suppliers, service providers and customers. And only 13% had contingency plans in the event of Y2K disruptions.
It is understandable that many small and medium enterprises may consider other priorities more pressing than the millennium bug. To those fighting for survival the Year 2000 seems well over the horizon. Many may be finding it difficult to grasp the full nature and scope of the problem, and may not fully appreciate that it is a management, rather than an information technology issue.
There are those, I am sure, still under the misconception that there will be a "silver bullet" solution at the eleventh hour. And there will always be a small percentage who will simply bury their heads in the sand.
Many businesses are not examining their supply chain dependencies and are ignoring the potential indirect impact from suppliers who might also have millennium bug problems. In doing so they fail to recognize that they them selves are an integral link in other people's supply chains.
We have also been concerned about suggestions that businesses which provide information in good faith to assist others may themselves be exposed to liability. In February 1999, the Parliament enacted Year 2000 Information Disclosure Legislation in order to encourage organizations to be more open about their Year 2000 readiness and to help accelerate current levels of remediation activity.
The legislation provides a framework to encourage greater voluntary disclosure and exchange of information (especially by business), remediation efforts and compliance by providing limited protection from civil liability for Year 2000 disclosure statements made in good faith.
The legislation should encourage organizations to be more open about their level of Year 2000 readiness. This will assist organizations to check their supply chains and target their contingency planning more effectively in areas of real risk. It will also encourage large companies to assist the remediation efforts of smaller firms, the so-called "Good Samaritan" effect, thereby helping minimize the risk of small business failure.
In addition, the removal of some risks for governments and business in providing publicly available information on Year 2000 preparedness will assist in addressing community concerns about the possible risks or otherwise of service failures.
There are a number of important aspects to note about the legislation:
By maintaining the right of consumers and individuals to take action in the event of a Year 2000 product or service failure, the legislation will not weaken incentives for government and business to continue remediation work.
The Australian Government is developing a national communication strategy to address the concerns of the general public about the risks or otherwise of service failures emanating from the Year 2000 problem. This strategy will be in addition to, but coordinated with, the Y2K Industry Programme.
The strategy aims to stimulate public confidence in measures undertaken by Australian governments and industry to achieve Year 2000 readiness, minimize the scope for unnecessary contingency planning by the public and raise awareness of Year 2000 issues among groups where remediation progress appears to be slow.
In Australia we have been fortunate that the press has taken a largely responsible and balanced approach to reporting and commenting on the Year 2000 issue. However, if we want the public to continue to receive balanced messages, we all have an obligation to make available information concerning our preparedness. No one can make informed judgements concerning the effect that Y2K is likely to have unless they can assess the evidence for themselves.
The Australian Government is working with other governments and with Australian industry on coordinated approaches to these challenges. In particular, we are assisting Pacific Island Governments and regional organizations to develop a systematic response to the Y2K problem through a package of technical assistance.
We are also looking at assisting contingency planning issues in the region as well as risk assessment and the development of corrective strategies for Y2K compliance in high risk areas such as air and land transport and telecommunications.
An important regional event will be the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Y2K Week in April 1999. The Y2K Week will include a two-day symposium in Singapore to take stock of Y2K preparations and contingency plans of the APEC economies and identify outstanding problem areas. The symposium will also include a focus on the special needs of small and medium enterprises.
Australian Ministers intend to take every opportunity to raise Y2K issues with their counterparts overseas.
In February 1999, Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore on information technology collaboration which also provides for exchanges of information and contingency planning on Y2K. The Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio is currently developing a Y2K Web site which aims to provide an online road-map with general information on the Y2K problem.
Clearly, we all have a common goal, and a shared interest, in meeting the Year 2000 challenge head on. An important message that I would like to leave you with is that it is not too late, whatever the situation, to take positive steps to be better prepared for the century date change.
The Year 2000 Problem lies in the change of date. Years are often indicated by means of only two digits. If one keys in the year "98", computer systems will take this to mean "1998", automatically assuming the preceding digits "19". In the case of the year 2000, a computer will therefore automatically take the digits "00" to mean "1900".
Over the next two years, we will find ourselves up against two other date problems. In many cases, programmers have had the unfortunate habit of using 9.9.99 as the "expiry date" for their softwares. There is therefore a risk that programmes will cease to operate on 9 September 1999. We would then find ourselves in the midst of computer chaos even before the new year.
What is more, 2000 is a leap year. This should not be the case, since according to the rules of the Gregorian calendar, any year which is a multiple of 100 is not a leap year. However, any year which is a multiple of 400 is an exception to that rule, and since 2000 is such an exception, it will indeed be a leap year. A number of tests have shown that these additional rules of the calendar have in many cases been neglected where information and communication technologies are concerned.
If systems are not equipped to handle the change of date to 1 January 2000, major malfunctioning could occur in economic processes and in our daily lives. This is one of the main reasons why many governments and enterprises have entrusted the Year 2000 Problem to their very highest bodies. The far-reaching implications of the Year 2000 Problem and Deutsche Telekom's resolve to continue to guarantee the same quality of products and services to its customers have led it to make the problem one of its highest priorities.
We began very early to prepare ourselves for this change of date. The first measures were taken in 1996, when preparations began in the development centres responsible for the design and monitoring of Deutsche Telekom's internal computer systems. In early 1998, we set up a central project office which now coordinates and directs all measures relating to year 2000 conformity. Our "JAHR2000" project covers all sectors of the Deutsche Telekom Group.
Our network infrastructure has undergone and passed a battery of tests aimed at determining its ability to handle the year 2000 changeover. The tests were carried out in our Nuremberg laboratory. First, each system was examined separately, from every angle. This included operational tests, covering ten different date changes considered as critical, on a total of 1619 separate systems. These tests were completed in summer 1998. We then set up a "great journey through time" — an integrated system test in which we projected all of our existing installations, for example links to the mobile network, into the future. In addition to the changeover from 31 December 1999 to 1 January 2000, we also tested the changeover to 9.9.99, and from 28 February to 29 February and then to 1 March 2000.
Having analysed the results of these very comprehensive tests, our technicians informed us: "All systems are go!".
However, we were not satisfied with these results alone.
Because of the interconnection of systems at the global level, Deutsche Telekom took part in an interconnection test organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The other participants were Telia (Sweden) and Hong Kong Telecom. The testing laboratories of the three participants were hooked up and simultaneously projected into the future. Again, this test was also used to monitor the changeover to 9 September 1999, from 31 December 1999 to 1 January 2000 and from 28 February to 29 February and to 1 March 2000. In the case of Hong Kong Telecom, these changeovers took place several hours before Telia and Deutsche Telekom, the time difference having been taken into account. Once again, the tests went through without the kinds of major malfunction that would have caused inconvenience to customers. This test was the first of its kind on a global scale. The results may be consulted on the Internet at http://www.itu.int/y2k/.
We are planning to conduct an even more complex and exhaustive interconnection test in early May 1999, this time in collaboration with our partners France Télécom, Sprint and Global One, as well as with Sprint Canada and TELMEX.
Our ultra-modern switching and transmission techniques are directed, monitored and also invoiced by a whole host of computer systems. Here again, we tackled the problem very early as part of our JAHR2000 project.
In all, the Deutsche Telekom Group operates some 530 very large and 600 smaller computer systems, many of which have been renewed in recent years, independently of the Year 2000 Problem. By way of an example, Deutsche Telekom operates the biggest SAP R/2 application in the world, in the field of cost accounting. We had to change the version of the standard soft ware, in an operation which was successfully completed in 1998. As was the case for our switching and transmission equipment, we shall also be carrying out global integration tests on our computer systems. The aim of these tests is to ensure that our business processes, which are supported or carried out by integrated computer systems, will continue to function smoothly beyond 1 January 2000.
We are also examining all our products (telephones, fax machines, PABX, etc.) in the utmost detail, to which end we are working in close collaboration with the various manufacturers. Full test results may be consulted on the year 2000 pages at http://www.telekom.de/untern/jahr_2000/index.htm.
The JAHR2000 project involves all of the Group's subsidiaries, which by 1997 had already set up project groups working in close cooperation with the parent company. The following are examples of this:
Our subsidiary DeTelmmobilien is taking steps to ensure that on 1 January 2000 none of our premises find themselves without electricity, that all of our lift systems are in perfect working order and that access to our secure areas remains possible. DeTeCSM, one of the main computer service providers in Germany, will ensure that computer systems remain operational.
T-Mobil is working in close cooperation with our units responsible for telecommunication networks to ensure continued optimum interworking between mobile and fixed networks on 1 January 2000. To this end, the link to the D1 mobile network was also tested during the great journey through time.
The Group-wide project also covers our foreign subsidiaries and holdings. Thus, Deutsche Telekom is supporting Islacom, a holding company in the Philippines, in its preparations for the change of date by sending experts from the parent company.
Since we are taking the Year 2000 Problem very seriously, we shall also be taking steps to prepare ourselves for any problems or breakdowns which may still occur despite all the preventive measures adopted. On 31 December 1999 and 1 January 2000, we shall be observing all of our operations very closely in order to deal with any eventuality and to be in a position to remedy as speedily as possible any difficulties or breakdowns which might occur in our systems.
All of this implies a major planning and preparation effort which we have already begun. The planning, like the project as a whole, will involve all Deutsche Telekom's subsidiaries, other telecommunication enterprises and our suppliers. Among other things, we have checked the ability of our 1000 or so emergency generators to handle the changeover to the year 2000, so as to be prepared in the very unlikely event of a failure of the power supply.
One of our key missions this year is preparing for the year 2000. We shall be taking all necessary preventive measures to avoid problems for our customers and ourselves, and to minimize, or even eliminate altogether, the undesirable consequences of the change of date.
"Each one of us has a role to play in addressing not only our internal efforts to become year 2000 ready, but also to encourage those organizations on whom we rely, and who rely upon our services, to take appropriate action. So I welcome the leadership shown by the International Telecommunication Union and Telstra for organizing the Year 2000 compliance and telecommunication workshop for the Asia-Pacific Region", said Senator Richard Alston, Australian Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
Senator Alston was delivering the keynote address to an ITU Y2K workshop hosted by Telstra Corporation at the Royal Pines Resort on Queensland's Gold Coast (Australia) from 7 to 9 March 1999. The event brought together more than 150 representatives of telecommunication carriers and governments from 45 countries in the region.
The Minister went on to give an overview of what the Australian Government was doing to ensure that 1 January 2000 is not a black spot on the country's national calendar (see excerpts from his speech, pages 9-12).
Negba Weiss-Dolev of Telstra and Senator Richard Alston
(ITU 990023)
Gerry Moriarty, Telstra's Group Managing Director of Network Technology and Multimedia, stressed the need for international cooperation and information sharing.
"The global nature of business today means that we now have to look beyond our own nations to find solutions for the Year 2000 issue. Telstra's Year 2000 programme is committed to addressing the Year 2000 needs of its customers in Australia, the Asia-Pacific Region and globally", he said.
Ron Balls of BT and Chairperson of ITU's Year 2000 Task Force thanked Telstra and the other members of the ITU Task Force for their ongoing commitment to tackling the Y2K bug in a spirit of cooperation. "The excellent level of attendance from so many countries in the region is very gratifying. It is a reflection of the high level of activity in the region", said Vishnu Calindi of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT).
The workshop included speakers from telecommunication carriers, satellite operators and their major clients, government representatives, major suppliers and Year 2000 legal experts. Themes covered in the workshop included contingency planning, remediation and compliance testing, and risk assessment. There were also a number of presentations from participants from the Asia-Pacific Region on the status of their Y2K readiness (see NTT's countermeasures).
An impressive aspect of the workshop was the openness and cooperative attitude of the major equipment suppliers. Alcatel, Ericcson, Lucent, NEC, Motorola, Nortel and Siemens, provided an in-depth account of their Year 2000 activities, their plans for customer support and their contingency plans.
The workshop also provided many opportunities for face to face discussion among suppliers and operators.
Negba Weiss-Dolev, Telstra's Group Director, Year 2000 Programme, said that the workshop aimed to facilitate mutual assistance through sharing information and experience and to identify common issues which could affect international telecommunications Year 2000 compliance. "We also aimed to promote a risk management approach and define contingency plans to cover a variety of possible scenarios, encourage interaction with major suppliers and educate delegates in Year 2000 project management principles", she said.
This regional event attracted a number of major sponsors from across the globe, including Telstra, the World Bank's infoDev programme, BDT and ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), AusAID, Cable & Wireless plc, BT, Rotary International and the Australian Government's Year 2000 Industry Programme.
The workshop provided many countries with the support and guidance they needed to focus their attention on tackling the Year 2000 Problem.
As George Ganakas, National Manager Networks for Telstra's Year 2000 Programme, put it:
"Telstra's considerable investment in the Asia-Pacific workshop has already borne fruit. Many of those from the region who attended the workshop have returned to their home countries with renewed enthusiasm and armed with the latest information on the Year 2000 issue. As a result they are able to devote more energy and resources to tackling the Y2K bug."
The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation participated in the ITU's Year 2000 compliance and telecommunication workshop in Australia. Like other telecommunication carriers attending the workshop, the company announced the countermeasures it is taking to deal with the Year 2000 Problem.
It initiated an internal study of the problem in March 1995, then launched a project to deal with the problem among all companies of its business group in November of the same year. In December 1997, it started a project to deal with the problem in systems sold to its customers.
Through such measures, the company has been installing new systems and upgrading others as required to deal with the problem. For example, the key systems of its telecommunication services, including operating systems and equipment procured from outside manufacturers, are now fully Y2K compliant.
By December 1998, the company had completed: modification of communication systems (92%), modification of support systems (85%), simulation test of communication systems (81%) and simulation test of support systems (66%). All of these check-ups were conducted according to the Y2K Action Plan released by the Japanese Government in September 1998.
The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation plans to complete all action for dealing with the Y2K problem by June 1999. In principle, all of its network equipment and systems for telecommunication services use four-digit calendar year dates, so the company believes that there will be no failure in its network systems. Simulation test of systems is nearing completion and no problem has occurred as yet.
NTT is considering conducting simulated interconnections with other telecommunication carriers and general companies in a bid to assist other Japanese telecommunication carriers in dealing with the Y2K problem and to create confidence in the nation's telecommunication infrastructure.
The company will commission external personnel to conduct audits during April and July 1999 to further ensure that it is fully ready for the turn of the century. It will also create a contingency plan by the end of June 1999 and operate a crisis management system until April 2000.
As a provider of services to some 60 million people and as operator of crucial infrastructure, the company has prepared exhaustively for the Y2K problem. It intends to disclose Y2K problem know-how and related information, as well as provide Y2K consulting services to other telecommunication carriers through its Communicationware Corporation, a subsidiary in charge of developing systems for NTT.
Information on the status of NTT's Y2K countermeasures has been shared throughout the company via its Intranet and
publicly since December 1998.
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The company will commission external personnel to conduct audits during April and July 1999 to further ensure that it is fully ready for the turn of the century |