ls your computer ready for the 21st Gentury?

By Robert S. Fitzpatrick Vice President-Sales and Marketing Spruce Computer Systems, Inc. Latham. N.Y.

0l/01/00. Financial analysts say a global recession is looming if the computer systems of the world's security exchanges and banks choke on the date. The U.S. Defense Special Weapons Agency, the Pentagon office responsible for the security of U. S. nuclear stockpiles, recently admitted they lied about the readiness of their "mission critical" systems. If the world's super power doesn't have its act together, why should independent lumber dealers be immune from this mass anxiety?

There is much frustration amons

S YOUR computer system ready to handle the 2lst Century?

This is the question that is weighing heavily on anyone's mind whose entire business depends on their computer system.

In the early days of computing, memory was extremely expensive and programmers conserved precious processing power by omitting the first two digits representing the century from the year field. Just as we commonly write the date on our checks and correspondence as MM/DD/YY. As a result, computer systems now require new microchips, operating systems and application software to recognize 01/01/00 as Jan. l, 2000 rather than Jan. l, 1900. The fact that computers affect virtually every aspect of our lives, and the potential for error is so great, the "millennium bug" is commonly referred to as TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It).

Companies that market products such as solar panels, short wave radios, even compost toilets, are experiencing huge increases in sales due to the anticipation of widespread power shutdowns and intemrpted water supplies, when the date rolls over to

Was built-in

obsolesence part of their marketing plan?

independent lumber dealers who wonder if they are getting accurate information regarding Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance issues from their system suppliers when these vendors are profiting from mandatory upgrades. Was built-in obsolescence part of their long-term marketing plan? Many lumber dealers are currently entertaining quotes for mandatory hardware upgrades that are equivalent to purchasing a new system from top to bottom. Therefore, it makes sense to shop the market.

Recent mergers among turnkey system providers for lumber dealers have had a big impact on the quality of support. Where once there was an entire company supporting one product, you have a much larger company supporting multiple products. The person taking your call may, or may not, know your company or the software product you are using.

If you must replace your CPU before December 31, 1999, ask your software supplier what percentage of their customers using the same software product as you have to replace their CPU in the next year. Do they have the resources to manage that many installations? If you are dissatisfied with your support call response time now, you can anticipate that it will increase exponentially in relation to the number of customers upgrading. Is the software release required for Y2K compliance for your system being shipped to customers now? If there are a large number of customers who must install new CPUs before the Year 2000, and the software release is not done yet, chances are your supplier has an unmanageable task ahead of them.

If you are shopping the market, compare the facts. The area requiring closest examination is support, both short term and long term. A quote for a new CPU may appear instantly attractive because of short-term savings in maintenance costs. The maintenance for hardware will always be less in the first year due to manufacturers' warranties. Be sure to ask to have the software and hardware maintenance charges for the second year following your purchase included in your proposal. Ask if the supplier will commit to the quoted prices for software support without any prepayment to hold it. If you are entertaining a quote from a new vendor, call some of their customers and ask about support increases over the years and support call response times.

Begin the next millennium feeling confident that the tools required for your company to compete are available today. Align yourself with a software supplier who qill save you money over the long haul.