This article came from Internet Works
Although in 2002 we saw a respectable 490,000 British SMEs (Small to Medium-sized Enterprises) operating online, this seemingly impressive figure fell way short of the original target set by the UK Government. In fact, the Government had intended for one million businesses to be buying and selling goods and services online last year, with continual growth month by month.
The reality though was rather different. Not only did the targets fall short by 50 per cent, the number of businesses actively operating online fell by 50,000.
So how did the Government get it so wrong?
With hindsight, it’s easy to say that Tony’s team were being a tad over-optimistic. “The Government set some ambitious targets, but they require some context,” says Microsoft’s small business manager John Coulthard. “The targets were set when everyone was making enthusiastic claims for the potential of online trading.” In addition to many other Governments setting equivalent targets, many of the hurdles – such as the slow uptake of broadband – appeared possible to overcome.
“The targets weren’t set high enough when compared to other leading countries,” believes Stephane Huet, the CEO of the European ISP Tiscali. He says the failure was based on a mis-reading of the broadband situation. “This mistake was reiterated throughout, not just by the Government, as many suppliers of broadband also believed the orders would start flying in,” he says.
Of course, the problems relating to broadband access and uptake are yet to go away. “Even now, only 66 per cent of the UK is broadband enabled, and there are one million residential subscribers (according to the UK Broadband Taskforce). The process to get enabled is slow and painful, and fraught with difficulty and administration,” says John Griffith, the consulting director of computer company CompuSys, who has actively petitioned for broadband enablement.
Yet, broadband was far from the only problem. Fears over e-security have remained high, and negative attitudes proved hard to shake. “Despite the two-pronged approach taken by technological organisations to demonstrate the benefits of e-business, and by the Government to educate them, SMEs have remained sceptical about what’s actually in it for them,” says IBM’s small business principal, Alun Rees.
Many believe that despite the Government’s best intentions more could have been done. Indeed, the countries that have seen the most rapid e-commerce growth, such as South Korea and Finland, have also seen heavy Government investment.
“The Government, and specifically the DTI and the Office of the e-Envoy cannot limit their involvement in e-business uptake to regulation and pontification,” says CompuSys’ Griffith. “They must act and spend the taxpayers money to drive the benefits through industry.”
Griffith is not alone in criticising the Government’s previous reluctance to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to e-commerce. Furthermore, the attempts the Government has made to provide advice, through its UK Online For Business service, have been criticised for pouring money in to the wrong pot. “How could a civil servant possibly be able to advise a business and IT strategy?” asks Michael Winterson, vice president of international sales and marketing at hosting company IXEurope.
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