Local Computer Company Offers Y2K Tests

A lot has been written about the havoc that the Y2K problem is expected to wreak on computer systems worldwide, but less time and space has been devoted to discussing solutions. A Fayetteville company, Prompt Technologies, Innovative Computer Services Inc., has recently started a diagnosis service that it hopes will be effective preventative medicine for “the millennium bug.”

“We are trying to get our customers to where they are not going to stop doing business on Jan. 1, 2000,” says Prompt president Edward Ellerbee. “But we don’t want to just tell them [about] a problem but also advise them on a solution.”

Prompt has a team of four technicians that performs on-site tests of all systems and software. After the analysis, clients are presented with a full report. Ellerbee says that clients are not required to contract with Prompt to fix any problems, but the company is capable of performing system and software repairs.

“Most people [we have tested] are about 75 percent compliant,” says Ellerbee. “But there are a lot of people who are still using [computers with motherboards that are not Y2K compliant]. The biggest software problems come with accounting software and database programs where you have dated material. For games or programs like Excel the date is not as important.”