Despite the development of infrastructure to support electronic commerce, reluctance on the part of top executives may jeopardise Europe's chances of taking the lead in the developing industry. This is the verdict of a six-month study released last week by Andersen Consulting. The grim prognosis for the future of European e-commerce is based on a survey of 300 European senior executives carried out between December 1997 and July 1998. Only 39 per cent of those interviewed are taking steps to incorporate e-commerce into their current operations and strategies, while a mere 19 per cent regard it as a serious competitive threat to their businesses. Elements of the report, focusing specifically on Irish executives' position regarding e-commerce, are to be released on Wednesday.
Historic Signatures: Bill Clinton and Bertie Ahern made a piece of digital history last Friday when they sealed a US-Ireland communique on electronic commerce using digital signatures. Baltimore Technologies developed the digital signature system and will supply it to both the White House and the Irish Government. The Information Society Commission has warmly welcomed the move which came just weeks after President Clinton's senior advisor on Internet policy, Ira Magaziner, addressed Ireland's leading public and private sector bodies on the importance of e-commerce.
Zero Recall: The US government last week urged a federal judge not to dismiss its antitrust case against Microsoft and accused Bill Gates and other executives of a "particular lack of recall" when questioned under oath. Could that be a case of "insufficient memory to complete this operation", a phrase so beloved of Microsoft users worldwide? In an 89-page submission to the court last Monday, the Justice Department and 20 states repeated the claim that they had substantial evidence that Microsoft had abused its dominant position to thwart Netscape and take control of the market for Internet browsers. This was in response to Microsoft's earlier request to have the suit thrown out.
No Worries Netscape: Undaunted by the alleged nefarious activities of its main rival, Netscape last week announced that its Netcenter registration has processed seven million members. In August the company reported more than 750,000 new members, representing a 93 per cent increase in registration since the new site launched in July. Netscape also reported a surge in downloads of its Communicator and Navigator products with the firm estimating that more than 12.4 million copies of the client software have been downloaded from Netcenter and mirror sites since July. (www.netcenter.com)
Gloomy Surfers: The more people use the Internet, the greater the tendency towards depression and loneliness, according to a study on the social and psychological effects of Websurfing. While participants in the study, carried out by researchers in a Pittsburgh university, used socially interactive features like email and discussion boards more than they used passive Web features, they reported a decline in interaction with family and a significant loss of friends which directly corresponded to the amount of time they spent online. By the end of the study, the researchers found that one hour a week on the Internet led to an average increase of 1 per cent on the depression scale, a loss of 2.7 members of the subject's social circle, and an increase of 0.4 per cent on what they called the loneliness scale.
Cendant Growth: Cendant Software has announced that it is to expand its Dublin operation, doubling employment from the current 65 by the end of the year. Cendant localises over 140 software products, mostly educational and games titles, into 20-plus languages for major US CD-Rom publishers, including Fisher Price and Sierra On-Line. In another development, Cendant is launching teacher resource packs to support primary school teachers in using its products. The packs, developed with the National Centre for Technology in Education, will be distributed to schools from the end of this month. (www.cendantsoft.ie)
Zen Works: Novell has announced plans to cooperate with Greenwich Mean Time, a developer of Y2K software, to integrate Check 2000, its Y2K risk-assessment software, with ZENworks, Novell's directory-enabled desktop management tool. The solution, available later this year, aims to provide a single management console to centrally assess a company's entire network for glitches, deploy remedial software and apply appropriate manufacturers' fixes.
So Long Sap: The chief executive of SAP America has quit the business software company for a Silicon Valley start-up. Earlier in the week Sumitomo Chemical said that it planned to spend about $35 million on a SAP corporate management system.
Swissair On-Line: Within hours of last week's air crash Swissair was using its Website to publish helpline numbers for relatives and open a book of condolences. Updates since include a transcript of flight SR111's communications with air traffic control and new information on the crash as it became available. (www.swissair.com)
All With AOL: America Online announced last week that its Internet service has passed 13 million members worldwide. The company said peak usage now tops 750,000 simultaneous users, compared to 400,000 one year ago and just 5,000 five years ago. There are now one million AOL members on line every 15 minutes, recording more than 1 billion Web hits daily.
In Brief.... . .Yahoo has expanded its pact with Amazon.com, making the latter the premier global bookseller within many of the Yahoo sites that serve users in Europe and Asia. . . Iona Technologies and Symantec, a leading provider of Internet development tools, have announced that Visual Cafe for Java Enterprise Suite will provide support for Iona's Orbix Corba enabling technology. . . Ireland On-Line provided email and other press facilities to Bill Clinton's entourage during last week's visit to Ireland. . . CBT Systems, and RealNetworks last week announced an agreement to collaborate on developing interactive training. . . Delphi Software has announced plans to create 250 new jobs at its software centre in Dublin. . .