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#Written by David Tam, 1996.           #
#davidkftam@netscape.net Copyright 1999#
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David Tam
Tuesday, October 22, 1996.

                             Business Press Review
                             =====================

Brethor, Patrick. "Zitel stock soars over software speculation".
The Globe and Mail.  Thursday, October 17, 1996. B19.
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    Zitel Corp., which makes computer storage systems and is based in
California, has developed a solution for a very serious problem that will
inevitably occur in the near future.  MatriDigm Corp, which is 35 % owned by
Zitel Corp, has developed a program that can automate the conversion of
programs to accept dates past the year 2000.

    This multi-billion dollar problem originated during the pioneering days of
the computer.  Programmers allotted only two digits in their programming code
to store years.  In those days, this optimization saved a substantial amount of
valuable computer resources.  Programmers also did not expect their program
codes to survive for more than a few years.  They expected rapid technological
advancement to render their codes obsolete within a short period of time.
However, this programming practice was adopted everywhere and results in the
current crisis we face.  Almost every electronic component, and computer
program has been programmed in this fashion, and when the year 2000 is reached,
the behaviour of these elements will not be known.

    Industry observers estimate this problem to be worth $600 billion
worldwide.  As we have learned in class, problems usually present business
opportunities for those who are willing to find the solutions.  In this
particular case, a $600 billion opportunity is presented to entrepreneurs.  The
value of the consulting services, which I don't believe was accounted for, also
presents tremendous opportunities.

    MatriDigm Corp's software can convert one million lines of COBOL, PL1, or
Assembler code in an hour, where as human programmers can take a month to
convert only 20 000 lines.  Analysts estimate that just these three languages
have over 220 billion lines of code to be convert by midnight of December 31,
1999.  The software is currently in the beta testing stages and should be
available in January.  By charging 40 to 60 cents per line of code, MatriDigm
has the potential to generate billions of dollars in revenue within the next
three years.  With versions of the software in development for C, Pascal, and
Fortran, the potential profits seems even higher.  As a result, the share value
of the parent company, Zitel Corp., rose from $19.75 US at the end of September
to a high of $44 US last week.

    MatriDigm recognized a problem, realized the opportunities in providing the
products and services, began developing solutions, and are now in the position
to greatly benefit from its efforts.