The McCannics isurvey, January 2000

Contrary to the impression given by most press reports, the Millennium Bug actually had an effect on slightly more UK businesses than were expecting it. The vast majority of those which spent time and money on avoiding the Bug believe that this was well spent. These are the findings of the most recent McCannics isurvey of internet-connected businesses in the UK.

The chart (left) shows that in the previous survey, carried out in December 1999, some 16% of businesses said that they were expecting the Millennium Bug to have an effect on their business. There was a general belief amongst most businesses that the potential dangers of the Millennium Bug had been over-hyped in the run-up to the new Millennium. Most had made preparations for the Bug and were therefore relatively confident that there would not be a major impact on their business.

The current survey (carried out from 10th January 2000 onwards) reveals that slightly more, 20%, did in fact experience Millennium Bug problems. Although many problems reported were minor or indirect, this appears to have been in-line with what these businesses had been expecting.

The fact that actual Millennium Bug consequences were pretty much what was expected by respondents to this survey, rather than widespread disaster, has led to the hype being turned against itself. Press reports have implied that the Millennium Bug never posed any threat at all, that its effects have been negligible and that money spent on avoiding the bug has been wasted. This is certainly not the feeling of the majority of these businesses, which have actually had to deal with the Bug. One respondent noted:

• "It's funny how the people who created much of the hype before the event are now the same people telling us it was a waste of time and money and over hyped!".

The chart (right) shows that only 15% of businesses taking part in this survey believe that the time and money they spent on avoiding the Millennium Bug was not well spent. Admittedly, some 20% of businesses didn't spend any time or money on preparing for the Bug and none of these subsequently experienced any Bug effects on their business. Even though all of the businesses in the survey use computers, different types of business had different levels of exposure to the Bug and it does not follow that all would have escaped if they had followed the example of those which ignored the Bug. Some 81% of those which did spend time or money on Millennium Bug avoidance (i.e. 65% of the whole sample) believe that it was well spent.

Many businesses taking part in the survey did find and correct situations which would have otherwise caused Millennium Bug problems. One respondent noted, for instance:

• "Out of curiosity we kept one [old till] and it did fail, whereas our new epos system has worked fine so far".