One in seven UK firms with more than 250 employees is ignoring or oblivious to contingency and business continuity planning in preparation for the millennium date change, according to an update from government Year 2000 watchdog Action 2000. We’re running out of time, said an Action 2000 official, some firms haven’t blinked an eyelid.
Over a quarter of UK small businesses are not taking precautions for January 1 2000, said the State of the Nation report for August. These guys [small and medium-sized enterprises] represent a third of Britain’s GDP, said the spokesperson. Gwynneth Flower, managing director of Action 2000, argued that SMEs’ lack of readiness would trigger knock-on effects: Can they issue, receive and pay for orders? If companies fail, the impact will be felt up and down the supply chain.
Action 2000 staff expressed dismay that despite nationwide campaigns warning of the dangers of the millennium bug many firms, including some still unnamed FTSE-500 companies, are still indifferent to the threat. You can take a horse to water but you can’t make the horse drink, said an official.
