Manus Bray brings a wide-ranging skillset to Millennium Solutions – he has expertise in marketing, law and accountancy. He and business partner Bill Chisholm established Millennium Solutions in 1996. A year later the company had pre-tax profits of £1 million and it is on target for a £7 million turnover in 1998.

Manus deduced how the millennium bug could easily cripple a business. He watched first-hand while companies spent millions of dollars on their IT systems. Working closely with IBM customers, Manus knew there were more than 300,000 AS/400 systems installed worldwide. He knew it would be impractical to replace these mid-range computing systems, so he and Bill Chisholm started developing a comprehensive solution, known now as MS4. The software carefully combs through an entire enterprise, meaning it is a one-stop Y2K compliance solution.

Together with Bill Chisholm, Manus set off to test the commercial viability of MS4. In August 1996, they consulted with Waterford Crystal, since that international company was undergoing a major diversification which challenged the IT staff to prove its data systems could cope with the expansion.

Under an arrangement which allowed for a rigorous beta testing of MS4, Millennium Solutions installed the product in the Waterford computers. This saved Waterford about £60,000. Following successful testing in a live environment, MS4 rolled out for commercial release in December 1996. Immediately after that, Manus and Bill nurtured contacts throughout the world. Their first license went to Novartis, a large pharmaceutical company. During the ensuing months, Millennium appointed resellers to install MS4 worldwide. The client list grew to include Siemens, Proctor & Gamble, and Murphy's.

Many on the Millennium client list are interested in remaining functional as the euro currency is introduced. In September 1998, Millennium Solutions won a £1.6 million contact with Ciba, the giant chemical company, to make its European sites euro-ready. The new software follows EU law and sets up currency conversion and triangulation as prescribed by the European Commission. The EM4 software is running well and is now earning patent approval.

Throughout the past two years, Millennium have crossed several important thresholds.

• New staff members have enhanced the company's capabilities. The staff is planning the new phase of company growth, moving away from software solutions that are tied to legal issues. Specifically, Millennium are seriously studying a large-scale acquisition of an AS/400 software development company. Manus has shortlisted four companies already. He believes in-house software development is core to the success of Millennium Solutions beyond the turn of the century.
• Millennium have also grown as a consultancy, especially after Manus noted how much money it cost to subcontract the software installation procedure through its resellers. Talks with an Irish services company are continuing with the goal of acquiring the services of about 20 specialists in AS/400 consultancy.
• Sales of third party software have increased, especially through Millennium's developing line of resellers.

As the company crosses the millennium, the staff and employees are following a clear blueprint for the future. Combining in-house marketing, accounting, legal and technical expertise shows that Millennium Solutions will sustain its pace towards becoming a globally-recognized mid-range solutions corporation.

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