Expenditure on Internet software, services and hardware by UK businesses was worth 6.28bn in 2002, and is predicted to grow to 7.84bn in 2003.

Expenditure on Internet software, services and hardware by UK businesses was worth 6.28bn in 2002, and is predicted to grow to 7.84bn in 2003. If spending on intranets and extranets is included, the total expenditure in 2002 rises to 11.5bn and will further increase to 14bn in 2003.In its current phase of development, the prime focus of Internet activities is to strategically realign the forward facing and internal operations of organisations. Consequently, revenue from e-commerce and advertising is growing rapidly, reaching 139.22bn in 2002.

(PRWEB) September 5, 2003 -- Research and Markets have announced the addition of the "Internet Usage in Business Market Report 2003" report to their offering.

Expenditure on Internet software, services and hardware by UK businesses was worth 6.28bn in 2002, and is predicted to grow to 7.84bn in 2003. If spending on intranets and extranets is included, the total expenditure in 2002 rises to 11.5bn and will further increase to 14bn in 2003. In its current phase of development, the prime focus of Internet activities is to strategically realign the forward facing and internal operations of organisations. Consequently, revenue from e-commerce and advertising is growing rapidly, reaching 139.22bn in 2002.

This report focuses on the business usage of, and spending on, the Internet and also briefly covers related areas, such as intranets and extranets. In particular, the report examines two areas: business expenditure on Internet services and software, and business revenue from the commercialisation of the Internet, which refers to the revenue generated from Internet advertising and e-commerce.

For the majority of large and more advanced medium-sized organisations, usage of the Internet has progressed through the establishment phase (marketing and making initial e-business investment), and is now at the exploitation phase, which involves establishing e-catalogues, e-ventures, extranets, mobile portal (m-portal) solutions, online ordering and tracking. In the next 5 years, the focus will increasingly shift towards the integration phase, which will see the full integration of e-business activities between organisations, suppliers and clients, and will include collaborative planning and product development. The following will characterise business investment in the Internet:

- The focus will move from the front end (outside of business systems such as websites), to the back end (inside of business systems such as electronic payment systems).

- Corporate vanity and fashion will no longer drive the market, meaning that web projects will be scrutinised and will have to be justified in terms of the return on the investment.

- There will be increased attempts to gain as much as possible from existing projects before consideration is given to investment in new projects, meaning that e-business initiatives will be smaller in scale, more realistic in ambition and lower in risk.

Internet connectivity is almost ubiquitous among UK companies and is no longer seen as only a tactical weapon used to improve business communications, but is increasingly being viewed as a strategic weapon used to improve the entire value chain of a business.

We expect rapid growth in both e-commerce revenue and expenditure on Internet hardware, software and services in the next 5 years. The future will see a greater emphasis on the optimisation and consolidation of existing IT infrastructure and a greater emphasis on the building of integrated systems in order to streamline processes and gain efficiency.

For a complete index of this report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/35158

REPORT DATA SUMMARY:
Internet Usage in Business Market Report 2003
Category: Internet & E-Commerce
URL: www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/35158

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