Millennium bug: Good news for big business

2,600 companies employing 500 people or more were grilled on how far on they were with preparedness in what Action 2000 describes as the "most robust research to date". A positive picture emerged, indicating that most companies were at the top of the "scale of readiness", with programs for the bug problem either well under way or completed.

Gwynneth Flower, managing director of Action 2000 hopes the good example set by such companies will have a knock-on effect. "It is imperative that larger companies realise that they have a vulnerability to supply chain failure and need to flex their corporate muscle to motivate smaller companies to get moving with their Bug plans," she said.

With only half of small to medium-sized companies making satisfactory progress according to Action 2000, the priority of the organisation is to get the message across to these key businesses which "form the linchpin of the supply chain". Flower reiterated the danger of complacency. "Companies with no formal programme underway are playing a high risk game," she said.