SMEs let down by e-commerce firms

Electronic commerce suppliers are failing to offer small and medium enterprises (SMEs) products that fully meet their needs, according to the UK minister responsible for small businesses.

Barbara Roche, parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), said last week at the Electronic Commerce conference in London that small firms were the most likely to benefit from using e-commerce. But she added that they were not being given sufficient support and opportunity to take advantage of it.

'Looking at what small companies are being offered in e-commerce, sometimes the products are not properly tailored to the use of SMEs and I think that is a challenge for the IT industry,' said Roche.

Citing a recent DTI comparison of IT in the UK and in four major international competitors, Roche pointed out that, while most UK companies have PCs, only half are using email and more than half do not believe their staff have the training and skills to effectively use new technology.

'Many companies have the hardware but have yet to progress beyond simple word processing,' she said.

She said the government was promoting e-commerce through local initiatives via the Business Links scheme for SMEs, as well as through centralised projects.