BT E-Commerce event rated a 'great success'

The BT sponsored E-Conference in the Odyssey Arena has been attended by over 150 delegates from public bodies and private enterprises.

The two-day event, billed as 'clicks & mortar' to complement the business community's 'bricks & mortar' - an e-commerce rebuttal of the 'dot.bomb' image that surrounds the market - entertained representatives from some of the world leading companies.

Businesses and employers from a variety of backgrounds, from the Territorial Army to more hi-tech concerns like Internet Concepts Ireland, exhibited in the adjoining Belfast Giant's arena. Gillian McBride, sales and marketing executive for Internet Concepts Ireland said that the event had been of "tremendous benefit" in terms of raising company profiles.

The highlight of the conference were speeches by Clay Wood, representatives from the US department of commerce, Denis Johnston, futurologist at BT, and guest speaker Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Chris Anderson, Managing Director of AFM, said: "The conference was a great success for businesses from Northern Ireland with 150 delegates representing, local business, central government and international business leaders. There are many people who now know of the benefits of e-commerce."

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Sir Reg Empey launched this 7th BT Northern Ireland E-Commerce show on Wednesday.

At the opening, Sir Reg described the event as "an excellent opportunity for hi-tech businesses to showcase their products and services to the wider business community". For smaller local companies, Sir Reg continued, this would be a chance to assess the competition, consult prospective clients and network with the global leaders in market areas.

"Such partnerships, in particular in the increasingly competitive ICT market, can be invaluable in successfully developing ICT solutions, new products and services," he added.

BT's Hanif Lalani said: "With new technology, Northern Ireland business can compete on an equal footing with mainland European countries as well as main trading areas such as the US and Asia."

The message from the conference was positive for e-business, as Northern Ireland shows healthy prospects over the coming year. However, Deloitte & Touche partner Ed Brown told delegates that of the 51 per cent of businesses in the north with websites, the vast majority had neither been updated nor optimised for users.

Businesses here, had "a high presence" without the corresponding "high transactions turnover" demonstrated in the rest of the country.

He said that businesses should make better use of the technology, which should be tailored and appropriate to their and their customers' needs.

In addition, according to Mr Brown, awareness is simply not enough, businesses require salient e-solutions to remain competitive in a market that has yet to reach saturation point. (GMcG)