InformationWeek

Among IT vendors, E-business has clearly expanded far beyond such pioneers as Dell Computer and Cisco Systems. More than three-quarters of IT firms now use E-business in a majority of their business units, up from about one-half six months ago. And the average percentage of total revenue from online business among IT vendors is an impressive 21%.

Widespread use of E-business by retail and travel companies jumped almost as much as it did in IT, from 40% of companies in December up to two-thirds currently.

Online sales, either through Web sites or extranets, account for an average of 19% of revenue for retailers and travel companies.

Financial services led the industry pack by a wide margin six months ago, with 60% of companies reporting Web initiatives in a majority of business units. Now, other industries have caught up, as that figure increased only marginally to 64% in the current survey.

Widespread E-business among manufacturers also grew only modestly, from 45% of companies to 50%. But E-business in health care grew considerably, from just one-third of companies in December to nearly one-half today. These industries lag the others in percentage of total revenue from E-business, with financial services at 14%, health care at 12%, and manufacturing at just 9%.

Medical and dental equipment distributor Darby Group Companies Inc. in Westbury, N.Y., handles 2% of its sales via the Web today, but sees strong momentum toward its goal of 10%. Web orders last year doubled from 1998, and the company sees more and more of its 150,000 customers--mostly doctors' and dentists' offices--getting online. The reason: widespread availability and decreasing cost of high-speed Internet access, such as digital subscriber line service.

"In the past, it could be difficult to capture the customers' interest [in buying online] because of low access speeds," says Peter Bavoso, Darby Group's VP of E-commerce. "With DSL and the like, these offices are online all the time and very comfortable with it. That--combined with the fact that Web sites, including ours, are getting more user friendly--means the growth of E-business will be exponential."