Don?t expect Y2K.
Call it something like Day2K.
Daylight Savings Time comes early this year, bringing a slew of complicating effects on businesses.
The change, enacted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, moves the beginning date to March 11, three weeks earlier thanusual. DST will end Nov. 4, a week later than in previous years.
Software programmed before the change will “spring forward” on the first Sunday in April ? not the new date.
“There?s a possibility for some big issues with companies that aren?t prepared,” said Jon Aumann, a “double agent” for the Geek Squad at Best Buy in Baltimore. “On a consumer level, it?s more of an inconvenience.”
Although the glitch is not nearly on scale with the threat of Y2K, businesses can experience a serious loss of money from it, he said.
For example, if the software is not updated, or “patched,” a whole schedule can be one hour off, and wrong dates can be on transactions.
Microsoft?s Web site reported that “users should view any appointments that fall into these date ranges as suspect until they communicate with all meetings invitees to make sure the item shows up correctly on everyone?s calendar both internally and externally.”
And time is money.
“For multinational corporations, with conference calls, and with Web-based businesses, an hour worth of lost labor can mean quite a bit of money across the board,” Aumann said.
Acknowledging the problem can help those affected prepare.
For Windows Vista and XP, Aumann said, even though it will automatically update, users should manually double-check.
Anyone using prior Windows versions should manually update to stay on time.
Congress decided more early evening daylight would translate into energy savings, The Associated Press reported. Several U.S. territories operate on one nonchanging clock, so they don?t adhere to daylight savings guidelines.
