The computer industry has a poor reputation for delivering systems on time. If you do take the time to ask this question, if you care about the truth of the Year 2000 claims, you'll uncover the real risk associated with the Year 2000. We're not good at delivering projects on time. This statistic, which is yours to discover in only a few conversations, is important, because delivering this project late is the same as not starting it at all. The media and non-technical managers scoffed at the seemingly outrageous claims of a global computer problem.
Today there is a growing, albeit grudging, acceptance of the problem.
Even those who were once loudest in their attacks on the messengers of bad news are beginning to agree that we have a crisis on our hands. Denial of truth always has a consequence. The time taken to convince people of the severity of the problem was stolen from the time necessary to implement the solution. A shortage of time is something we now have to live with. Leave the problem until the very last possible moment and you'll need more people, better management, and lots of luck to complete your project on time.