Year 2000 Wire/Reynolds and Reynolds Exterminates Customer Y2K Bugs

8 February 1999

Year 2000 Wire/Reynolds and Reynolds Exterminates Customer Y2K Bugs; Company Now Plans to Educate Auto Retailers Who Have Not Made a Y2K Commitment

    DAYTON, Ohio--Feb. 8, 1999--The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Annual Convention in San Francisco, that virtually every Reynolds customer is Y2K compliant. "Regrettably, a few have chosen not to replace older legacy systems even after our aggressive 14-month educational campaign. We'll work hard to quickly move them to Y2K readiness," said Mark Brown, group vice president and general manager, Automotive Systems Group and Marketing Services for Reynolds' Automotive Division.
    "Reynolds customers are ready for the millennium because of our aggressive approach to the Y2K issue," Brown said. "They can focus on their business rather than worry about systems that won't function at the turn of the century."
    Key to the company's success in moving its customer base to Y2K compliant solutions was its Year 2000 Certification from the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). Reynolds is the only dealer systems provider to receive ITAA's Year 2000 Certification. Brown added, "Receiving ITAA's Certification proves that Reynolds has demonstrated the highest levels of commitment and integrity in providing and implementing Year 2000 solutions for our customers."
    A unique part of Reynolds' Y2K awareness-building program was when the company took its solutions on the road with the Y2K Express, a customized motor coach outfitted with Reynolds' information management solutions.
    Since last year's NADA Convention, the Y2K Express logged over 45,000 miles and assisted more than 500 dealers in making Y2K decisions. This year, Reynolds' Y2K Express and two smaller custom coaches will again "hit the road" outfitted with leading-edge Y2K solutions, targeting many of the nearly 2,500 auto retailers who are not using Reynolds Y2K-ready systems, and who have yet to upgrade their systems. Reynolds' Y2K Express will be located outside the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco during the NADA Convention.
    "Within the dealership environment, there could be over a hundred different items affected by the Y2K bug," said Charlie Schroeder, director of enterprise marketing for Reynolds. "Beginning 14 months ago, we notified every customer whose older legacy systems wouldn't be made Y2K compliant and provided cost-effective system upgrades with our ERA2 system. For our existing ERA(R) system customers, we provided the software they needed to become compliant at no additional charge."
    Schroeder will be part of a panel of experts for NADA's Y2K Workshop, which will give an up-to-date look at critical Y2K issues. The workshop will be held Saturday, Feb. 6, at 11:30 a.m. in Room 110 at the Moscone Convention Center, and again on Monday, Feb. 8, at 12:30 p.m. at the same location.
    Reynolds and Reynolds, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is a leading provider of integrated information management systems and related value-added services to automotive and general business markets. The company has reported revenues of over $1.53 billion for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 1998. For more information on Reynolds and Reynolds, visit the company's World Wide Web site at www.reyrey.com, or call The Reynolds and Reynolds Information Hotline at 1-888-4REYREY.