KISS (Japan) Announce Y2K Strategic Partnership

As businesses begin the final run-in to Y2K Compliance, K.I.S.S. (Japan) have joined forces with Millennium Solutions in offering MS4 to a large installed BPCS customer base throughout the Pacific region. KISS are recognized as specialists in BPCS applications and they had strict criteria when looking for the best Y2K Solution Partner.

"We evaluated a number of methods" explains Kazuhiro Tanaka, KISS Managing Director. "We came to the conclusion that the MS4 encapsulation method is the best way toward Y2K compliance for our client base.

"In addition, Millennium Solutions have a thorough knowledge of BPCS which assured us that we were making the right choice in forming the alliance."

EM4 Enhances Euro Compliance

EM4, the Euro compliance product from Millennium Solutions, enhances the existing currency capabilities of BPCS systems. Currently, BPCS allows for three layers of currency:

• Global (environment)
• Base (company)
• Transaction

EM4 extends the capabilities of a BPCS system to cope with the euro, the new European Single Currency. Millennium Solutions recognises the need for Euro compliance in all businesses dealing with Europe, not merely those situated in countries of the Single Currency themselves.

EM4 is functional and user-friendly, ensuring simplicity of use without need for retraining of current staff. Enhancements added to the BPCS system by EM4 include

• new currency conversion logic
• a Euro Data Conversion Pack

Version One of EM4 is shipping now and its operational results surpass its competitors. On-site consultants report that the program completes its infrastructure analysis and installation routine fast and efficiently. With a reputation for high quality, EM4 is proving to be the most cost- and time-effective plan for all BPCS Euro Currency needs. With many businesses suffering the expensive IT costs of Y2K compliance, EM4 comes as a welcome relief to those accustomed to the high installation and consultancy costs quoted by rival companies.

Y2K – Y 2 Care

Fresh on the heels of the Year 2000 Action Week in the States, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has published five new brochures in a series entitled "Y2K? Y 2 Care."

At first glance, the new publications offer a variety of tips and education on Year 2000 issues, both for consumers and businesses generally on how to prepare for the problem. Two of the publications released are billed as addressing financial services and how consumers and industry can reduce any negative impact of Year 2000 issues on their bottom lines.

While attending diverse user groups sponsored in venues across the world, the staff of Millennium Solutions believe that the FTC literature will help offer ways to energize effective public and private partnerships that are designed to encourage cross-flow of lessons learned by companies fighting the Millennium Bug.

EM4 Helps Pension Fund Management

Not since 1989 – when exchange controls were abolished – has there been such a drastic affect on how pension funds allocate their assets. Many financial managers, pressurized by these real-world forces, are looking carefully at EM4 as a tool that will enhance the functionality of their IT systems in the EMU.

EM4 allows managers running an AS/400 system to exponentially expand their investment environments. In this new environment, using triangulation methods within EM4, the performance of an Irish manager can be placed side-by-side that of a French manager for easy comparison. After EMU takes effect, fund managers will restructure their domestic holdings and the resulting portfolios will differ significantly from those of the mid-90s. Across the EU, fund managers looking to broaden their portfolios will look to other countries. Mid-range systems running with EM4 will be able to quickly and accurately access share prices and fund values.

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