InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
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June 1, 1999 Smaller Companies Believe In The Net Small businesses are increasingly looking to the Internet to help them compete against larger companies, a new survey finds. But as the Internet becomes a more critical part of the way they do business, some concerns remain. The report, prepared by Bruskin Goldring Research for IBM, follows a similar study done in 1994. In the five years since, there's been a dramatic rise in the number of executives at small and growing companies who see the Internet as an asset: 93% vs. 74%. In all, 79% of the 206 entrepreneurs and business owners polled in the 1999 survey say the Internet is essential to global expansion; 63% agree it helps them cut costs; and 70% believe it aids them in competitive bidding. The flip side: 75% of users polled felt strongly or somewhat strongly that by doing business over the Internet, their abilities to protect confidential records and information could be compromised, up from 56% in 1994. "The idea of opening up of their business, so to speak, to outsiders is very exciting but obviously of great concern to these businesses," says Walley Casey, VP of small and midsize business for IBM Software. "We have to try to make sure we get across that we have ways of protecting that information and that it is a safe thing to do." After all, Casey adds, there's no going back to the old ways of doing business: "We've crossed the chasm about whether or not E-business is important to these companies." |
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