E-Business Hype Sparks Bad Decisions, Study Says

Electronic-business hype is causing many companies to ignoresound business judgment, according to a study released yesterday by Gartner Group. Gartner predicted that 75% of E-business projects will fail because of a lack of understanding of technology and poor business planning.

The IT research and consulting firm cited five of the most common reasons that E-business projects will fail. First, they're viewed as an end in themselves, rather than a vehicle for improving results in the overall business; second, the projects are often managed poorly, and without necessary understanding of the technologies being implemented; third, they're launched without clearly defined business goals; fourth, they're not flexible enough to incorporate new technologies that could achieve the project goals; and fifth, they're launched with insufficient awareness of what competitors are doing in E-business--both traditional competitors and new entrants from the Internet startup field.