######################################## #Written by David Tam, 1999. # #davidkftam@netscape.net Copyright 1999# ######################################## From tamda@ecf.toronto.edu Mon Jul 12 18:27:40 1999 Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 13:10:30 -0500 (EST) From: David Kar Fai Tam To: APS 424S Subject: #12-02/10/99-"JetForm profit warning triggers stock meltdown" The Globe and Mail, Friday, February 5, 1999. B1, B3. The year 2000 bug is having negative effects on the sales and shares of software companies. JetForm Corp, based in Ottawa, is the latest victim. Because corporations are concerned about the year 2000 problem and are devoting most of their IT budget and resources towards fixing this problem, this leaves little room for the introduction of new software products or software upgrades to the corporate market. Many other software companies are facing similar situations such as DataMirror Corp of Toronto and PeopleSoft, Inc. Companies trying to sell complex software systems to the corporate market are being largely ignored. Naturally, companies want to fix their year 2000 problems first. However, once the millenium bug frenzy has passed, these companies should expect better results. This situation leads to interesting insight into the software market. Consulting companies that specialize in fixing Y2K problems will have great business preparing, modifying, testing, assuring, and certifying corporate IT infrastructure for the year 2000. They will also have great business immediately after the new year by performing damage control and assessment. Mean while, software companies which produce productivity enhancing corporate products will be largely ignored until a few years after the millenium. Once corporations are no longer distracted by the millenium, they will want to find methods of improving productivity and will turn their attention to these software makers once again. An interesting aspect of the industry that is currently not being ignored is the e-business / internet side. Despite the millenium bug, companies heavily involved in the internet and e- business are performing very well. Perhaps corporate software makers such as JetForm and PeopleSoft should try to incorporate e-business and internet aspects into their products and target corporations which are focusing on enabling their IT for electronic commerce.