Back to the 1997 tech planning survey Includes complete survey results. Emmett is a freelance writer in Wallingford, Pa. She can be contactedat ArielleEm @aol.com.

By Arielle Emmett
Network World, 12/15/97

Respondents are almost evenly divided on Internet-based commerce.While a full 58% said they were exploring electronic commerce opportunitieson the 'Net, the naysayers cited irrelevancy to their businesses andsecurity reasons as the top reasons to stay away.

Of those exploring Internet-based commerce, the majority saidpotential product sales applications are compelling, followed by electronicdata interchange.

Managers are more bullish about using the Internet for other purposes.Nearly half already use Net-based services - e-mail, file transfer andtie-ins to remote locations - as part of their corporate data backbone. Androughly 50% of those who don't use the Internet expect to use it as part oftheir corporate backbone within the next three years. "The potential ismind-boggling,'' says Ron Miskie, chairman of Knowledge TransferInternational, a New York-based IT training firm. "A lot of people want toput more data on the Internet, and there's a growing appetite formultimedia applications, but there's a long way to go with security.''

Indeed, hacking is a big concern for prospective Internet-basedcommerce deployers - 51% said security problems could thwart their plans.

Some network consultants say that very few effective Internet orintranet commerce products exist. "I'd have to say that the e-commerceaspect is hype,'' says Sentient Networks' Jennings. "I'm not seeing a bigexpansion.''

However, timing may have everything to do with future Internetcommerce expansion. The real boom could happen over the next 12 to 24months, notes Deloitte's Cunningham.

His clients are increasingly considering migrating sales and supportto the Internet through systems such as Internet-based call centers. Anyapplication that gives people better, cheaper and faster ways to interactis bound to be successful, he says.

Some consultants argue that corporate intranets and remote accessdevices will become intrinsic to the process. Almost 68% of surveyrespondents already have a corporate intranet, and another 35% plan to haveone within a year.

Remote access requirements within companies also are growing rapidly,according to the majority of managers surveyed. Web utilization and groupcollaboration tools are driving the need for more bandwidth. Already in useat 26% of the surveyed companies, virtual private networks will expeditesecure remote access and also may be just the boost Internet-based commerceneeds.

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