It is still difficult to imagine that in only eight months Europe really will attempt such a significant feat as monetary union. And while most attention is still focused on the political ramifications, there is no doubt that its arrival will change Europe's economy irrevocably.
Initially, the single currency will cover 270 million people but with the distinct possibility that 100 million more may come on stream within a few years. From the point of view of European commerce, however, which countries are in and which are out is no longer an important factor. Large companies in Europe will deal in euros regardless of whether they are located in 'euro-country.'
For the IT industry, and many IT departments, the euro is seen largely as a technical problem - from ensuring multi-currency capabilities to conforming with EU currency, conversion and triangulation rules and introducing system conversion programs.
And for some companies the euro means instant financial advantage in terms of their own accounting and pan-European operations - savings on currency conversions and hedging, pan-European reporting and budgeting in the same currency and perhaps internal savings from simplified business processes.
Yet from the macro-economic level to the competition faced by individual companies the arrival of the euro is expected to have a far more momentous impact. Will, for example, the euro be 'good' for competitiveness?
Some pundits are convinced that it will be a trigger for both national governments and European companies. One that will force them to tackle long overdue problems with the structural and strategic changes that are needed to cope with the global economy and two of its increasingly important constituents - information and electronic business.
Of course there are some shining examples of companies throughout Europe who see the coming of the euro as an opportunity to demonstrate market competitiveness. These companies understand that their single currency strategy needs to be driven by marketing and not the IT department.
A handful of major companies like Hoechst, British Airways and Avis Europe are busy giving speeches at conferences about just how to deal with the implications of the Euro.
But there are many others who do not seem to have realised just how much their boardroom strategy needs to be re-examined. How many have actually asked just how big an opportunity, or threat, the euro will be to the way they do business?
There is a very real possibility that the advent of the euro will mean a shake up, and shake out, in Europe. The single currency will give increased power to consumers as price structures become more transparent, while triggering a further opening up of national markets to new entrants.
For pan-European companies there will be the 'opportunity' to simplify pricing. But what if some companies do and their competitors don't? And what happens if prices are different on a company's French and German web sites, but are now expressed in the same currency?
The euro will not just impact on multinational companies. In order to deal with new competitors it could well force some businesses to become pan-European even if they don't want to.
Some consultants are already warning that it will be the effective exploitation of information and knowledge systems that will offer the best hope of creating competitive advantage. Indeed it may be the only way for some companies to achieve the business transformation that will be needed for survival.
A report from PA Consulting, Don't Panic: How to Run a Successful Euro Programme, points out the obvious changes from the elimination of exchange differences between euro-countries - from the transparency of comparative costs between countries that will make sourcing and location decisions easier to the reduction in the need for bank relationships in every country.
But, it adds, 'given this, the entire fabric and structure of a company's strategic plan needs to be completely reviewed to ascertain whether it is still relevant, and where it needs to be altered to take account of the euro.'
When it comes to looking at preparation for the euro by the banking sector it finds a lot wanting. 'Banks typically went through the motions of carrying out a strategic impact assessment, but really concentrated on operational impact, leaving strategic questions to be answered until after the dust settles after 1999.
'For example, banks had no agreed new customer proposition, no decision process for closure of business lines or country operations, no decision process for canning other business initiatives whose business case was now suspect etc. Other financial organisations are typically even further behind.'
Yet the financial arena is closest to the cutting edge of the euro-effect and is generally seen as ahead of most companies in other sectors. If they are seen as dilatory where does that leave the rest?
'Leading companies in Europe are already seeing that they can gain leadership positions on this issue and gain a closer relationship with customers through this process,' says Laura Sandys, chief executive of LSA, a public corporate and political relations company which recently launched a euro communications unit. 'We have seen this work well for some European companies but too few are exploiting this opportunity.'
Part of the problem is put down to companies concentrating on the year 2000 problem - something that is squeezing IT budget and resulting in the wider implications of the euro being forgotten or ignored. CIOs, it is said, see year 2000 solutions as far more important because failure will have an immediate impact on the future stability and success of a company.
Unfortunately, the signs are that the message that information has become just too important to be left to IT experts is still being widely ignored. No doubt many companies will look back with hindsight at the lost opportunities of the euro when asking themselves why more forward-looking competitors have seen their market share jump.
'The year 2000 date change is a tactical problem, whereas Emu is a strategic business development issue that will have significant impact,' says Clive Williams, general manager of business development for software company Highams.
'Those without a sound strategy for dealing with the euro may find themselves at a serious competitive disadvantage. The key to a satisfactory resolution of Emu impact is acceptance at board level that it is a business issue that will affect IT rather than the other way round.'
There is a difference between being euro-ready and euro compliant and for some companies it will turn out to be a crucial one.
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