Leveraging a Y2K Evaluation To Improve Information Systems Architecture

The cost of ensuring that information systems were prepared for the Year 2000 (Y2K) were enormous. The U.S. government spent an estimated $8.34 billion [1]. Once the cost borne by state and local governments, public utilities, and the commercial sector are included, the costs in the U.S. alone are staggering. When the Y2K costs from other countries are included, the estimated amount exceeds $3 trillion [2]. With the new millennium here, it appears that most of the potential problems were identified, although some fixes are still ongoing. One would hope, however, that organizations are able to recover more from these costs than just a positive statement "We can successfully operate our information systems in the new millennium?"