Year 2000 Update

Last month, we introduced the ways in which the Year 2000 problem may impact computing systems and many commonly used electronic devices, both on and off campus.While many vendors are creating Year 2000 compliant software and hardware upgrades, they alone cannot assess whether your particular systems are at risk. The migration to Year 2000 compliance requires your immediate involvement. Systems, from the smallest PC to the largest server, are best understood by the team of people who manage and use them.

To assist you with the Year 2000 compliance process, the Gartner Group, a leading provider of IT research, advisory and market research services, has developed the concept of "Time Horizon to Failure," or THF. Gartner defines THF as "the point in time when a particular application no longer conforms to business requirements because of indirect date handling." The THF also occurs when date-related failures are "of such quantity that they cannot be corrected during normal maintenance activities." The THF essentially defines the latest date at which the technology must be corrected for Year 2000 compliance. The THF, which depends on the type of date calculations performed, varies with every application and every system. At high risk are non-compliant (i.e., two-digit date) software aplications that calculate dates beyond December 31, 1999. Examples of such applications include financial aid systems and budget applications.

How can you determine when a system or application will reach its THF? If the program stops working, then the failure is recognized immediately. But the program can fail more insidiously by continuing to run and generate false information. You have only until the application reaches its THF, less the time period in which the application should be repaired or replaced (i.e., the "buffer").

So, to correct non-compliant technology, you need to determine when the technology will fail and how much time is needed to bring it to Year 2000 compliance.

Knowing the THF of your applications and systems will help you develop a strategy for Year 2000 compliance. Since 1996, Information Technology has been utilizing the Gartner GroupÕs five-stage Year 2000 compliance program for the UC Davis central administrative computing and telecommunications systems. These five stages will be presented in a future issue of the I.T. Times .

If you have questions, please contact Kent Kuo (ktkuo@ucdavis.edu), Assistant Director of Information Resources and the Information Technology contact on central systems Year 2000 issues.