| This series of newsbriefs, drawn up by a team of experts
in hospitality technology, is designed by the International Hotel &
Restaurant Association to help hospitality businesses beat the Millennium
Bug. Although a wide variety of publications on the subject are available,
many are written for IT professionals and tend to be technical in nature.
This IH&RA publication provides a relatively non-technical overview
of the problem, shows operators and managers the risks involved, and explains
the steps needed to deal with them.
Why worry about January 1st 2000?
The festive atmosphere marking the start of the new millennium at your
property could rapidly dissolve into confusion as elevators grind to a
halt, telephones stop working, heating systems fail and electronic locks
cease to function. A practical joke? No - these are just some of the potential
problems for your business posed by the Millennium Bug.
What is the Millennium Bug?
The Millennium Bug (also known as the Year 2000 problem or Y2K) has
arisen because when computers were first being developed, they were programmed
to read only the last two digits of a year date. So on January 1st 2000,
many computers will recognise the year as "00". In fact, problems can start
occurring before then, for example, with credit cards that have expiry
dates in 2000.
What impact will it have?
Unfortunately the problem is not confined to computer hardware and software.
The almost universal use of embedded microchips as control devices means
that the implications are much wider. For example, telecommunications equipment,
heating systems, kitchen equipment and security systems could all be affected.
Who in the hospitality industry will be affected?
Restaurants, hotels, hospitality associations, corporate headquarters
- no matter what type or size of business you are working for � you are
at risk. While most major international hotel groups have started to ensure
that their systems are Y2K compliant, thousands of independent and smaller
operations have yet to develop a Y2K strategy. This publication will show
you how!
Y2K Action Checklist
| Undertake careful, enterprise-wide planning to make yourself aware
of the potential impact of the problem on your organisation. |
| Assign a senior person as project leader to co-ordinate your Y2K efforts
and raise awareness of the problem. |
| Organise Y2K teams with representatives from information systems, engineering,
security, finance and operations. In smaller organisations, your team should
include people from each department to maximise the pool of available knowledge. |
| Exploit as many sources of information on the issue as possible. These
can include staff expertise, external consultants and advice from peers,
articles, books or Internet sites. |
| Take stock! Conduct an inventory of hardware and software applications,
and any equipment that might contain embedded control chips. |
| Assess each of these systems and prioritise them into critical, important
and non essential categories. |
| Where possible, test, test and test systems again. Look for assistance
from vendors, outside consultants and peers where appropriate. |
| Correct, replace or develop work around strategies for each non-compliant
system. |
| Make sure that your suppliers, customers and service providers are
ready. Remember, their failure could mean yours. |
| Develop a contingency plan so that you are prepared if things go wrong. |
| Don't overlook the legal implications. Protect yourself by getting
written Y2K assurances from key suppliers and service providers. Demonstrate
due diligence by documenting your Y2K progress. Consider taking out business
interruption insurance and officer liability insurance to protect yourself
should problems occur. |
Look out for forthcoming issues of �Millennium Bug Info� which cover
the above points in more detail.
Gather more information.
This newsletter is intended to be a starting point for your Y2K project
. Additional reading is recommended. The following publications can be
ordered through the IH&RA:
Year 2000 Software Problem: Quantifying the Cost & Assessing
Consequences
Allows business and IT professionals to assess the scope of the Y2K
problem, identify appropriate solutions and measure their success. Casper
Jones Addison-Wesley, pp 335, Jan 1998
US$46
Solving the Year 2000 Problem
Describes a 5-step process to handle the change to the Year 2000, for
executives & IT managers. James Keogh Academic Press, pp 260, Jan 1997
US$40
Time Bomb 2000: What the Year 2000 Computer Crisis Means to You
A simple approach to understanding the Y2K issue. Edward Yourdon Prentice-Hall,
pp 448, Mar 1997
US$33
The Millennium Bomb
An investigation of the massive computing failures of the millennium
anticipated by IT experts. Simon Reeve Vision Paperbacks, pp 188, Feb 1997
US$19
Managing 00: Survival Aid for the Millennium Computing Crisis
An examination of the millennium computing crisis by Canadian Y2K guru
and IT consultant Peter de Jagar John Wiley, pp 240, April 1997
US$35
Payment by credit card only
Free delivery within France
US$ 8.50 for delivery within Europe (allow 15 days)
US$ 17 for delivery outside Europe (allow 30 days)
|
|