2038 is many years from now. Do I need to worry about Y2038 now?

It depends. If your company’s products and/or services use time and have a 20+ year life cycle, then the answer is definitely yes. Examples are satellites, power plants, airplanes, trains, elevators, pace makers, life insurance, and mortgage services. If your products  have a much shorter life cycle, then you still have some time. Just realize that the results of many projects may get used for longer than expected.

We suggest making Y2038 compliance a requirement for all new projects, and test for it. Starting early allows plenty of time to identify dependencies on third-party products and contact those vendors for Y2038-compliant replacements, or find alternate vendors. It is much better to be proactive about Y2038 compliance rather than waiting for customers to discover issues.

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Author: John Lange

Owner of y2038.com