E-commerce future looks brighter still.

Electronic commerce could be worth as much as $380 billion globally

by 2000, according to new figures from IBM and the Wall Street

Journal.

The estimate on the future worth of the market is 50 per cent up on

projections that the computer giant released only six months ago.

The latest statistics were revealed as part of new research which also

shows that two out of three major European firms are already using the

internet for business.

One in five of those companies has reported higher sales as a result and

although web usage is still young, 37 per cent of those wired firms are

using the net to do e-commerce.

This growth in e-commerce makes it a vital market for IBM, according to

Sanjaya Addanki, general manager of IBM Net-working Solutions for Europe,

the Middle East and Africa.

Banking is a key sector for IBM, which is working with financial

institutions worldwide on home banking, online bill payment and reliable

electronic funds transfer.

In the UK, IBM is working with NatWest to create NatWest Business On-line.

The two are currently running a pilot project to target mid-sized business

customers with services such as credit information online, including

reports on over 20 million UK and European companies, as well as reports

on trading conditions in many countries and industry sectors.

NEW LOGO WILL SET THE TONE FOR IBM’S INTERNET MARKETING

IBM has placed ’e-business’ at the centre of its marketing strategy and

has created a unique logo that apes the universal @ symbol. The logo will

appear on all future IBM internet advertising and marketing.

To back its commitment to e-business made in November, IBM launched a

massive $200 million global ad campaign using TV, press, direct mail and

the web, created out of Ogilvy & Mather Paris and New York.

The campaign will shape all marketing activity in 1998 and beyond, and

will highlight IBM’s e-commerce skills and identify the opportunities and

issues in setting up an online business or transforming a business into an

’e-business’.

According to Rachael French, IBM UK advertising manager: ”We want people

who see the logo to think immediately of IBM and what it can offers in the

way of electronic business.”

This article was first published on revolutionmagazine.com