The bad news is that many users of these software products are just beginning to review the situation and may not have the time or resources to ensure that these upgrades take place. One additional consideration is that compliant software products that utilize date windowing routines may still lead to user-related problems. Several vendors have warned that certain Unix operating systems, once thought immune to the Y2K problem, must be upgraded to compliant versions. The hardware itself, including routers, workstations, and communication technology, may also need to be upgraded or replaced. The financial services industry processes massive amounts of currency data using spreadsheets.
Senior executives make key decisions using desktop systems.
Salespeople manage customer databases using PCs. Marketing departments recycle mainframe data to drive market research. And the Internet has spawned countless new ways to deploy PCs in business-critical situations. Fixing distributed systems is easy. For the standalone computer user, finding, testing, and upgrading PC hardware and software may be just an annoyance.