December 27, 1999 Web posted at: 8:53 a.m. EST (1353 GMT) by Eugene Grygo

From...

(IDG) -- When it comes to exact dates, the year-2000 stakes could not be higher for the member firms of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

The futures and options financial contracts traded through the CME are based upon specific points in time when member firms hope to gain from the purchase and re-sale of agricultural commodities, foreign currencies, interest rates, and stock indexes.

The CME had to review thousands of programs supporting its regulatory, clearing, and administration systems, not to mention the price reporting, trading floor support, and order-routing areas also vulnerable to year-2000 problems.

About two years ago, CME officials had found 119 noncompliant systems out of 225, or 53 percent, which translates into 2,817 noncompliant programs out of 3,880, or 73 percent. This did not include the CME's own PC-based office applications and other software used throughout its departments.

There were also evaluations of the IBM and Tandem hardware environments as well as its electronic transaction links to other U.S. and non-U.S. futures exchanges.

Officials at the CME also had to keep in mind the exchange's interfaces with member firms and other external links, said Wayne Wright, director of the Year 2000 Program at the CME.

The CME did extensive external testing via the Futures Industry Association. There were also market data distribution tests via the Securities Industry Association.

The CME's year-2000 effort got its start in mid-1996, but it became a full-time effort in 1997, Wright said. If the standard testing and reprogramming were not enough, the CME came up with more than 200 year-2000 problem scenarios matched to contingencies.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE

IDG.net home page

InfoWorld home page

Windy city retailers promote Y2K-readiness

Feds issue final Y2K report

E-BusinessWorld

Several other basics had to be checked, including electric power-supply grids as well as Ameritech as AT&T telecommunication lines.

"It forced us to look again at our contingency plans," Wright said. The effort also led the CME to upgrade hardware, networking, applications, and operating systems to current versions.

For the moment, the CME is on target and as for any surprises, Wright said, "none have been found up to this point."