Are you ready for e-business - an analysis piece

By Paul Wellings, Head of Media, with e-commerce financials software house Access Accounting, Colchester, Essex. http://www.access-accounts.com

Firms putting off their move into e-business should be warned - ready or not here it comes.

A recent survey by BASDA (Business and Accounting Software Developers Association) showed that a very representative sample of its members believe the market is growing due to a significant interest in e-commerce.

46% of its members believe that BASDA's eBIS-XML is a major focus of their customer enquiries. Only 5% of respondents showed no current interest in e-commerce, 57% showed some interest with no attributable sales and 38% had shown a significant interest with attributable direct sales.
   
This survey shows that as we enter the 21st Century, e-commerce is rapidly moving from theory to practice. 38% of respondents are enquiring about eBIS-XML initiatives and 48% are enquirying about supply chain implications. The market is moving well beyond the first stage of building a marketing web site. The case for e-commerce is clear and investment in e-commerce systems is growing at a staggering rate, but many SMEs are not quite up to scratch yet.

To really get business moving, SMEs have to address a number of issues. Firstly, they need to outline an appropriate e-commerce business model. This would involve how to run online activities alongside traditional ones.

Secondly, they need to look at investing in skills and technology that supports online activity. They will take the first e-commerce step and start to build a new front end system, to gain a trading presence on the Internet.

Finally, they will then be faced with the challenge of integrating their back office systems with new front office systems. The challenge is how to build a complete solution that is not reliant on levels of investment, new knowledge or skill sets that may be unattainable immediately.

Alistair O'Reilly, Managing Director with e-commerce financials software house Access Accounting said, "Integrated e-commerce is key in our view. Unless you have integration between the front office and the back office, you expose yourself to potential errors and costly time delays in transaction processing and order fulfilment. You cannot reap the full rewards from e-commerce unless you have seamless integration immediately. Access can offer an affordable, integrated solution available now."

A locally hosted e-commerce solution could require an investment anywhere from 30,000 into millions. Fortunately for SMEs there is an affordable alternative, remotely hosted solution that can cost as little as 2,000. E-commerce can now be put into practice by every business.

For businesses, the benefits of e-commerce outweigh the risk. For consumers, e-commerce means better prices, more choices and more efficient service. In addition Media coverage is starting to switch from dot.com to traditional businesses applying e-commerce. It is not e-hype any longer. E-business is here to stay.