A quarter of a century after the world held its breath and waited to see if the new millennium would bring computer chaos, Archive Services looks at how the University prepared for and responded to the event.
In 1999 as people prepared to celebrate the coming of the year 2000, more than a few feared that the new year would bring disruption if not outright catastrophe. During the late 1990s stories appeared about the danger posed by the ominous sounding “Millennium Bug” (also known as the Y2K Bug or the Year 2000 problem). This was not some insect that threatened to wreck crops or a bacteria that posed a health risk, but a computer problem that had the potential to cause massive disruption.
The issue was that many existing computers, data systems and electronic devices that used calendars only used the last two numbers in the year. Consequently when changing from 1999 many would think the new year was 1900. Thus there was a fear that systems would crash due to data conflicts and this could then spread across computer networks. In extreme cases there were fears this could lead to transport disasters, the failing of electricity networks and even nuclear accidents. The idea seeped into the public consciousness and was much talked about, with some predictions of just how bad things could get. References cropped up on TV. Both The Simpsons and Family Guy had (tongue-in-cheek) episodes showing the bug destroying society across the globe around this time.
25 years on it is tempting to laugh at these fears. The world did not end at 12.00.01 am on 1st January 2000. Some devices did have problems, but widespread chaos did not break out and few people noticed any issues. Yet it could be argued that this was only because a lot of work had gone into programming solutions in the lead up to 2000, accompanied by widespread programmes of preparedness should the worst happen.
The University of Dundee was certainly prepared for any challenges that might arise with a year 2000 steering group put in charge of ensuring a smooth transition. In 1997 a plan of action, which would be circulated in 1998, was put together. In it Richard Murphy, the director of IT Services explained the problem in some detail. Although he noted that there had been some “scaremongering” and “possibly overreaction” in some of the media coverage of the issue, this did not mean that there were not problems that had to be overcome. Thus the University had to take action to ensure that its systems would not be impacted by the problem. The next two years would see strong efforts to make sure staff were aware of the issues and corrective action could be taken where needed.
As a result, by late 1999 it was determined most PCs in the University were unlikely to be affected and staff were given advice on how to manually correct them if they might be prior to the end of 1999. Estates and Buildings staff stood ready to deal with any emergency and check there were no issues with buildings during the holiday period. In its final issue of 1999, the staff magazine Contact featured a pull-out outlining to staff how the University would deal with any problems. A Millennium Control Centre would be set up in the Tower Building to operate from 31st December 1999 to 1st January 2000 to deal with any problems which cropped up. It was to be led by Professor Janet Sprent who was given full authority by the Principal to act as necessary during this time. Staff were also advised as to what they should do to prevent problems before they left for the Christmas break and how to deal with any issues that did arise.
IT Services would ensure that all data was backed up between 20th and 23rd December and arranged for increased staff for the help desk after the University re-opened on 5th January 2000. Amusingly a slight date error crept into this report in Contact as it stated the University would open again on 5th January 1999! Maybe the Millennium Bug had got into the University’s systems a few weeks early!
Ultimately when students returned in January it was business as usual. The fearsome Millennium Bug soon went from a looming monster to a half-remembered paper tiger. Yet without the behind-the-scenes work of many staff things might have been very different and a quarter of a century later we should stop to thank all those who played a role in ensuring there was no major disruption to the University community.
