Partying like it's 1999, redefined

It's the waning days of 1999 and, like everyone else, the international company where this IT pilot fish works is staring down the barrel of Y2k.

"Most of our servers around the world were Unix-based, but mail and groupware were on Windows servers, so Y2k was an important issue at HQ and therefore for all local department heads like me," says fish.

"We had updates, tests, drills and contingency plans, including re-creating the complete infrastructure from scratch. All went very well, and I and my colleagues around the globe were confident we could weather what the bigwigs at HQ saw as the looming catastrophe."

Four weeks before New Year's Eve, everyone gets orders to organize 24-hour shifts, with the bigger local divisions also taking responsibility for divisions in smaller countries.

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