Global news provider Reuters Holdings Plc has issued 50,000 information packs to its customers worldwide outlining its Millennium Compliance Program. The distributed materials explain the likely impact of the millennium problem to Reuters’ services and what the company is doing to prepare itself. The company has appointed a full time program director to head a technical team that will deal with the problem, as well as provide information and support for clients. Reuters feels it has procedures in place to safeguard itself from any major disruptions, although there is speculation that its new Series 3000 information terminal could be hit hard by the Y2K bug. On- site visits to upgrade customer sites are slated to begin by the end of the year, and should continue through December of 1998. The company says it expects to absorb the bill of its millennium compliance activities as part of the regular costs of running the business, rather than account for them as a one-time charge. It will publish the full costs of its Y2K efforts when it releases its annual results in February.
