Ecommerce held back by company politics

NEWS Nearly three-quarters of IT executives claim to be the driving force behind ecommerce in their businesses, but they are getting increasingly frustrated by company politics, according to a survey by Cambridge Information Network (CIN). The survey found that senior IT personnel are being stymied by a lack of specific business goals and low budgets set by financial directors for ecommerce. Managers are too tied to organisational structures and processes to be innovative, according to 1,800 senior IT personnel. The report shows that 61 per cent of international businesses spend less than $1m (£0.6m) annually on ecommerce. Few spend more than $5m (£3.1m). Left in the hands of IT strategists, ecommerce will be used primarily to improve customer services, and over three-quarters of the IT personnel surveyed said this is more important than making a profit.