Y2k - India Has Little To Lose And Much To Gain
India may have started off late in the world of computers, but it is now looking forward to playing a big role in solving the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem which will afflict computers across the globe at the end of this millennium.
Being a late entrant, India itself will not be too adversely affected by the millennium bug, as it has come to be known in software circles.
In the early years of the computer boom, the high cost of memory resources led software developers to store the year as only two digits instead of four 1991, for instance, would be stored as 91. So, most computer systems in the world will simply not recognise the year 2000 as they would read it as 00, causing disastrous fallouts.
But, in India, computerisation began late, only at the end of the eighties. So, Indian companies and government bodies have not invested much in mainframe computers and the Y2K problem is not felt much domestically, apart from a few institutions like the Indian meteorological department.
But rich software skills and Indias large manpower pool is showing great promise and is well poised to corner a large chunk of the business created by the Y2K, an international meet of software experts here was told by domestic software leaders.
India is already taking quick strides in tackling the problem. Software firms have devised unique methodologies like DATE 2000, SOS 2000 and In2000, according to the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), the apex industry body.
Nasscom has showcased Indian skills in Y2K problems at Luxembourg, Oslo, London, New York and San Jose. Software firms are attempting to undertake a consolidated approach to gain the maximum market share for India from global opportunities thrown up by the Y2K problem.
Some 120 Indian software firms already offer tools and methodologies, besides actual conversion and testing work, to face up to the bizarre doomsday scenario in computer world.
Global estimates say the Y2K problem offers a huge commercial opportunity. Some put the market at $600 billion, while other conservative figures say it would be more like $60-100 billion.
The Indian software industry, with its skilled and large manpower pool and state-of-the-art expertise, has emerged as a major player in the Year 2000 solution providers market, Nasscom sources said.
Firms in this country have already spun off new divisions to cater to this business and are providing services like consultancy, feasibility study, coding and testing.
Countries expected to bear maximum impact of the Y2K problem include the US, Japan and nations in Western Europe, particularly Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Israel, Canada, South Korea, Australia and Brazil.
Software leaders from Japan, present at the meet here, said the Y2K problem is not one of the future, but an already existing reality.
Since the mid-seventies Japanese financial institutions have been facing problems in calculating the long-term cash flow of national bond and insurance.
Experts from South Korea conceded that the problem can cause not only confusion in the computer systems recognition of dates, but also complete disorder in the corporate computer systems, leading to business paralysis.