A SHOCK new survey shows one in three companies in Oxfordshire fear they are still at risk of being affected by the Millennium Bug.

The study of 1,000 firms showed many had still not considered the possible effects of the bug, which could cause major problems in computer systems that are unable to handle the change of date in the year 2000.

Chris Brown, manager of LINK it, the specialist information technology arm of Business Link Heart of England, said: "They must take action now or they could face chaos within the next few months

"The effects could well start before the end of the century, particularly for those companies whose systems are used for planning ahead and those that are linked into a supply chain."

The figure emerged from a Heart of England Training and Enterprise survey of 1,000 businesses in the county, which showed 23 per cent of firms think they may have been or are still at risk and a further seven per cent who are unsure.

Mr Brown said: "These figures show that 30 per cent are needlessly putting themselves at risk.

Even worse, the survey showed that 32 per cent of businesses have not checked out their suppliers and do not intend to do so.

"The largest sector in this figure are firms who employ between five and 200 people and there is no doubt they could be facing major problems.

"I urge all those companies that are not facing up to the bug problem to do so straight away. We have full information on how to manage the situation and are running regular seminars on the subject."

The next half-day seminar for small and medium sized firms, entitled Managing the Millennium Bug, is being held at Abingdon on Wednesday February 10.

Details are available from Angi Arnold at LINK it on 01235 442435.

Story date: Monday 01 February

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