The head of Taskforce 2000, the unofficial Y2K watchdog, once again castigated his opposite number at government-sponsored Action 2000, slamming its latest report How Ready is the UK Public Infrastructure to Tackle the Millennium Bug? as not only a fudge but irresponsible. Robin Guenier, chairman of Taskforce 2000, also called the report pathetic.
In April, Gwynneth Flower, managing director of Action 2000, said that red ratings (signifying that an organization is at severe risk of material disruption) would be unacceptable by July (CI No 3,645). But yesterday’s official watchdog report ducked the issue, mentioning only a few financial institutions and local government authorities as being in the red zone. Guenier was incredulous and said: we’re being dealt a very significant fudge. I’d like a naming and shaming.
With only five months to go before the January 1 date change, said Guenier, companies in the amber sector, where companies are at risk but have set up remediation plans, are just as vulnerable as those in the red. He said more information should be published about which companies have done what in their preparation for the new millennium. With Action 2000 in control of presenting the analysis rather than the figures, it’s really impossible to tell, Guenier said.
