I apologize if this article has already surfaced here...
TLindt, I used one of your extra-cool links to pull this article
in about Price Waterhouse's 750-page (clearly they get paid
by the hour) e-commerce report. It just reaffirms much
of what we already know. Still, the business-to-business
angle is somewhat interesting.
All's quiet in the District tonight...
Price Waterhouse Predicts Explosive
E-Commerce Growth
[March 26, 1998] Price Waterhouse released its annual Technology Forecast this
week predicting a massive increase in business conducted via the Internet.
The consulting firm's leading technology industry experts said explosive growth in
electronic commerce over the next three years will have a significant impact on large
and small businesses, workers, and consumers.
"While Web sites dedicated to consumer sales gain most of the publicity, the real
growth is occurring in business-to-business electronic commerce," explained Terry
Retter, Director of Strategic Technology. "Between 1996 and 1997,
business-to-business trade doubled every six months and this is accelerating to
double every 3-4 months in 1998. By 2002, the value of goods and services traded
via the Internet will increase to $434 billion."
Retter said the world-wide growth in e-commerce is being fueled by a combination
of increased Internet access, user confidence, better payment systems, and rapidly
improving Internet/Web security.
The value of consumer purchases via the Internet is expected to increase nearly
1,800 percent between 1997 and 2002, from $5 billion to $94 billion.
The 750-page study also presents a comprehensive overview of the global
information technology industry, including current and emerging trends, and
forecasts technology developments over the next three years.
The report will be available on demand on the Price Waterhouse Web site
beginning March 30th.
Last modified: Thursday, 26-Mar-1998 11:31:07 EST |
