Dear IT Professional,

The pre-requisite for this conference is a firm belief the Year 2000 problem is real. This conference is not about Year 2000 awareness, quite frankly, it's about Year 2000 survival. If you are not already working on the Year 2000 problem, then your organization is playing a nasty game of Russian Roulette. It's as if the barrel of the gun is firmly pressed against your head, all the chambers are loaded and you're hoping for a miss-fire. We wish you luck.

Thousands of companies have already admitted the problem is real, complex and time consuming and have started on the long road to a solution. If you've not already started, you're playing catch-up. If you have started a Year 2000 project, then you have already begun to get an understanding that this project is unlike any other project you've ever attempted. For starters, unlike every other project you've been involved in, you can neither be late, nor cut corners on what you deliver. At the very least, on January 1st 2000, all your critical systems must be Year 2000 'compliant' and ready to run... or else you have placed the survival of your organization at risk.

You've already begun to suspect that this project is much, much larger in scope than any previous IT project. It affects the supply chain, both entering and leaving your organization; the personal liability of your Board of Directors; the business rules governing your Just in Time (JIT) inventory levels; your legal and audit departments and the status of all existing and planned IT projects. For a project of this magnitude, and importance... for a project that literally cannot be late... it should concern you greatly that the majority of programmers actually working on these projects do not believe they will be ready on time. Do not believe that management understands the complexities involved. Have little faith they will be able to deliver Year 2000 compliant systems.

It should concern you even more that the people these programmers report to, continue to say "Don't worry, we'll deliver everything on time... trust us." On this project, business leaders cannot afford to 'trust' the IT industry which has a track record of delivering more than 80% of all projects... late.

The purpose of this conference is to highlight the risks involved and offer suggestions as to how those risks can be minimized. Unless you are willing to accept the risks involved in this endeavor, it is unlikely you will plan to circumvent them.

We invite you to attend a Year 2000 Conference focused on solutions and not awareness.

Yours truly,

Peter de Jager Co-Chairman

Ken Orr Co-Chairman