Y2K Readiness of TSE and ECDS

02.07.1999 TLN

 
The Millennium Committee of the Tallinn Stock Exchange (TSE) and the Estonian Central Depository (ECDS) on July 1 1999 confirmed the Year 2000 readiness of the two organisations based on the successful outcome of the Y2K compliance project.

The testing of the systems was done in accordance with the requirements of the British Standard Institute document DISC PD 2000-1.

The systems correspond to the following requirements set forth in the document:

  • no value for current date will cause an interruption in the operation of the product;
  • date-based functionality must behave consistently for dates prior to, during and after Year 2000;
  • in all interfaces and data storage, the century in any date must be specified either explicitly or by unambiguous algorithms or inferencing rules;
  • the system will recognise the year 2000 as a leap year.

The Y2K compliance project consisted of the following activities:

  1. Definition of the project, selection of strategies, determination of the scope of the project and expected results.
  2. The project was started by the Millennium Committee in February 1998. The first stage included raising awareness of the problem’s nature and informing stakeholders of potential system complications.

  3. Inventory of IT and other technological base of the TSE and ECDS.
  4. The inventory review was conducted in fall 1998 and updated in February 1999. Compliance checks will be conducted upon the acquisition of new equipment and software to ensure Y2K readiness.

  5. Evaluation of importance of information system components with regard to reliability of the system as a whole; detailed agenda of further activities.
  6. The equipment, software and products used were ranked in three categories according to their level of importance in carrying out the functions of the organisations.

  7. Testing.
  8. Testing consisted of preparations in January and February 1999, hardware and system software testing in April and May, followed by core system testing and end-user testing with external counterparts of TSE and ECDS in May and June.

    The purpose of testing was to evaluate Y2K compliance of the TSE trading system, ECDS registry software and user interfaces of the clients of both organisations. The communication lines were not tested for technical considerations.

    The TSE trading system was tested by Hansapank (Hansabank), Eesti Ühispank (Estonian Union Bank), Optiva Pank (Optiva Bank), Talinvest Suprema Väärtpaberid (Talinvest Suprema Securities) and Sthenos Grupp (Sthenos Group). The ECDS registry software was tested by Hansapank, Eesti Ühispank and Optiva Pank.

    The ECDS also participated via Hansapank in the international testing program "Custody 2000".

    All tests were completed successfully.

    The suppliers of TSE and ECDS system software, upon the completion of independent testing, have also confirmed that the products fully conform with the requirements.

    The TSE and ECDS are of the opinion that the systems of two organisations are Year 2000 compliant. The TSE and ECDS, however, will continue to monitor and test their systems in order to be fully prepared. This includes:

  9. Recovery plan
  10. The TSE and ECDS continue to specify and implement the recovery plan.

  11. Changeover period

Detailed procedures to ensure smooth transition to the next millennium are to be specified. The changeover period is tentatively set to end in June 2000.

The Millennium Committee consists of the TSE chairman, the ECDS chairman and IT department heads of both companies.

Additional information:

Eva Palu
Head of Marketing and Public Relations Department
phone: +372 6408 800

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