By Joey Gardiner, 16 October 2000 18:30
NEWS The report from the management consultancy claims that while CEOs now regard IT as a company's prime enabler for the first time, actual implementation of ebusiness is still a long way off for most. James Bentley, managing partner of Bourton Group, said: "The driver is coming from the top, and has to come from the top, otherwise investments that have been made will end up in parts of the business that really aren't core." Bentley admitted, however, that despite boardroom backing for ebusiness projects, most companies' ebusiness strategies are still aspirational. "Lots of CEOs are embracing 'e', but when you drill down into businesses you find there's not that much below the surface," he said. The Bourton Group survey contacted 300 UK MDs or CEOs of large companies, on average worth £500m, and mostly in the manufacturing sector. While ebusiness came out top in terms of priorities, less than half of the companies surveyed had a website. Only 15 per cent of firms regularly engaged in procurement or sales over the net. Thomas Power, director of ebusiness consultancy Ecademy, said the results are not surprising. He added: "CEOs will get involved because it is vital for their business. Ebusiness is not a luxury - it's a necessity. If businesses don't embrace it they will die, it's as simple as that. But it is a very difficult process." Martin Bentley, marketing director at Dudley Stationery and head of its ecommerce implementation, agreed that many companies are still a long way behind. He said: "Many don't have the passion and the vision and the talent within their organisation to implement ebusiness. But they will catch up - they'll have to."
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