Research commissioned by Oracle Corp concerning the implementation of electronic commerce by UK businesses shows a division of opinion between information technology and business managers. Results relating to 100 of the so-called top 250 UK companies found business managers, including managing directors, generally wanted to see increased revenue from electronic commerce, while information technology managers were more concerned with the actual technology and its integration. The research was conducted by Jonathan Steel, director at the Bathwick Group Ltd and former Independent Data Corp analyst. He discovered 37% of IT managers believed their company already had an electronic commerce ‘program’ while only 25.5% of business managers thought the same. 51.1% of business managers wanted to implement electronic commerce within six months, while only 28.6% of IT managers felt the same way, with 26.2% thinking 12 to 24 months was more realistic. The research was sponsored by Oracle and Sun Microsystems Inc, and Oracle has said it will be carrying out a series of workshops to help address areas of concern that emerged from the study. Although this study was carried out only in the UK, and Steel admitted it is difficult to compare the results with the rest of Europe and the world, he said The UK is in the top three countries in Europe when it comes to innovation. It is behind the US when it comes to technology, but the thinking is there. Oracle’s UK marketing initiative manager Jenny Edmondson said the company was pushing forward with electronic commerce. Steel said the mass take-up and implementation of electronic commerce comes down to people taking a lead.
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