Remember when the world held its breath for the arrival of the year 2000 and the infamous Y2K bug?
It was the late ’90s, a time when floppy disks were still a thing, and the internet was just finding its footing. Among the excitement of a new millennium, anyone responsible for technology was very concerned that a lot of things could go wrong just after midnight on 1st January.
What was this bug all about? It was a computer quirk where systems might interpret the year ’00’ as 1900 instead of 2000. People feared planes falling from the sky, bank accounts vanishing, and their chunky desktop PCs going rogue.
Yes. Really.
But many people who worked in corporate tech roles were pretty chill about it. They spent years prepping systems to avoid the chaos. Some even used the Y2K frenzy for a little tech-savvy humour.
One tech pro set up a remote control to switch off all the lights and the TV at midnight at their New Year’s party. As the clock struck 12, they hit the button, and the lights went out. There were definitely some wide-eyed expressions from people who thought the apocalypse had arrived.
But in reality, Y2K didn’t bring about the chaos everyone feared. Most systems sailed smoothly into 2000 without a hitch. It was a collective sigh of relief around the world.
What do you think would happen if a similar event occurred today? With our increased reliance on technology, it’s intriguing to speculate. Would we handle it with the same level of panic, or have we gained a calm confidence?
One thing’s for sure, technology has come a long way since Y2K, and we’ve learned valuable lessons about preparation and resilience. If you could do with a hand future proofing your business tech, we can help. Get in touch.
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