http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=80962888

Published Monday, October 4, 1999

Y2K's Silver Lining: Top 10 lessons we've learned Gerry Stenson

No one will argue the point.

Addressing the Year 2000 computer problem and becoming compliant before Jan. 1 has been a daunting, expensive proposition for virtually every company and organization.

Minnesota companies alone have spent billions of dollars on Y2K. Not to boost productivity. Not to develop new products. Not to enter new markets. Just to stay in business.

Now that most companies are reasonably sure that their computers will know the difference between 1900 and 2000, executives should be asking themselves some pointed questions. Are there any lessons from Y2K that will be useful in the future? Is there a silver lining in all of this?

The answer, at least from Norwest Bank Minnesota's perspective, is a resounding yes.

Here's our Top 10 list of Y2K lessons:

1. Technology is everything. Probably more than anything else, we've learned how incredibly reliant we are on information technology (IT) for virtually every aspect of our business.

It's not just about the arcane back-office functions of computers, hardware, software, cables, wires, printers and scanners. It's about having the data at hand to make good decisions on developing the products that our customers want.

It's about the way disparate processes such as accounting and marketing relate to each other. It's about how we deliver the best possible service to our customers.

2. We can't leave IT decisions to IT alone. Senior management has been outside the loop -- perhaps willfully in many cases -- while IT charted its own course. IT departments deserve direction and need boundaries, just like everyone else.

3. Non-IT managers must know technology. Lack of technical knowledge is no longer acceptable at any level of management. All managers absolutely must understand what information technology can do for their line of business.

For instance, all our banking store managers must know about Norwest's Internet-banking product -- not only to promote it to our customers, but also in order to offer them the efficiency and 24-hour-a-day access that they demand.

4. IT managers must know management. Strong technical skills and knowledge are just the beginning -- not the whole game -- for IT managers. They also must manage people well and understand and implement the vision of top management.

5. Have a clear sense of IT inventory. Y2K has made it abundantly clear that many organizations didn't have a clue about their internal IT resources. If you don't have a firm grasp of what's critical in your IT world, you may be missing out on cheaper, more efficient alternatives or on ways of deploying your existing assets more effectively. Keeping track of what you have should be an integral part of the acquisition process.

6. Document, document, document. While lack of documentation is not a problem unique to the IT industry, Y2K has certainly highlighted the need for documentation in businesses and organizations. Documentation to a business is what long-term memory is to an individual. With Y2K, the biggest challenge was determining what kinds of internal systems we had and what was on everyone's computers. Without documentation, the institutional memory of an organization's technical accomplishments and information resources is continually eroded by the passage of time and employee turnover.

7. Interdependencies exist everywhere. Y2K has proven to us that our businesses cannot operate autonomously. There are interdependencies with our suppliers, our vendors, our customers, our strategic allies, our partners. For example, Norwest relies on a number of vendors to make sure our ATM network works flawlessly for our customers. But understandably, Norwest customers tell us -- not our ATM vendors -- what they want to see in terms of ATM service. So it's incumbent on Norwest to communicate our customers' needs and desires to our vendors. Y2K seems to have brought about a better sense of community -- that we're all in this together.

8. Planning for failure is essential. Contingency planning, or planning for failure, is the mark of any successful project. This proved to be true in April 1997 when the flood of the century hit the Grand Forks, N.D., area. Because Norwest had contingency plans before the flood, we were able to make cash available to our customers with little interruption in service. Likewise, we have contingency plans in the event phone service is interrupted, come Jan. 1.

9. Know what's mission critical. As companies have had to study virtually all their systems and processes because of Year 2000, it's become much more clear what is and what isn't mission critical. It's important to know what we cannot live without before we make new investments. For instance, we know at Norwest that 40 percent of all loans are originated by telephone. So we view our telephone system as mission critical.

10. There will be a sequel. Something like Y2K is bound to happen again. It might be a virus, it might be some other surprise lurking in the techno-woodpile. It pays to spend some time and money today to hedge against a huge tab tomorrow.

) Copyright 1999 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Y2KOK.ORG), October 04, 1999

Answers

What a procedure! Post morteme befor death! WFK

-- WFK (kb2fs@mindspring.com), October 04, 1999.

Revisiting #10, I'm not sure that we have learned anything...the use of "windowing" means that companies will be fixing Y2K problems for the next half century! We have people proposing two digit year codes for authentification certificates...and not being willing to migrate to four digit years any time soon.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), October 05, 1999.