$311 Billion to Be Spent Battling Bug, Report Says

Companies and governments around the world will spend an estimated $311 billion to fix the year 2000 computer bug, a new International Data Corp. report says. Spending this year alone is estimated at $97 billion. An estimated $184 billion was spent from 1995 to 1998, and a projected $30 billion will be spent in 2000 and 2001, the market research firm says in a report expected to be released Thursday. The investment has reduced the risk of widespread computer failures caused by older computer programs unable to differentiate between the years 2000 and 1900, experts said. “We’re not looking for a global recession or for the world to stop spinning on its axis,” said John Gantz, International Data’s chief research officer.