The contribution that E-Business can make to achieving the corporate strategic objectives is undervalued. Over one third of the companies is not measuring and steering on E-Business results. Many companies fail to fully integrate E-Business in their business processes, E-Business is stuck at departmental level and lacks the necessary top management support. These are conclusions of the Atos Consulting Trends Institute based on the first edition of the ‘E-Business Maturity Benchmark’, a bi-annual research in which over 100 managers of top 500 companies gave their views on the state of affairs of E-Business in the Dutch business community.
If we talk about E-Business, we mean all customer facing using the internet . This can be online sales, online services, but also streamlining processes online. The online interaction with customers, suppliers and strategic partners is becoming increasingly important. “For some time, companies are struggling to embed E-Business in their business strategy. They face the challenge to integrate E-Business in existing business processes and get – especially in the top of organizations – sufficient support, “says Gijsbert van der Sleen, principal consultant at Atos Consulting. “The ‘E-Business Maturity Benchmark’ clariefies for several sectors how E-Business is growing to maturity. It also makes clear that investments in E-Business can be earned back when they are embedded in the corporate strategy. By investing in the measurability of E-Business activities and benchmarking them, organizations are able to steer their efforts and ensure that they fit well in their business objectives.”
Insufficient financial resources:
Although nearly 8 in 10 companies believe that in their industry E-Business will be very important in the coming years, this is not reflected in the current status. The utilites-, telecom- and financial services sectors are leading the way. The pharmaceutical-, chemical- and government sectors are lagging behind. More than half of all organizations recognize that investment in E-Business is a necessity to stay ahead of the competition. Moreover, 53 percent indicate that customers expect them to develop E-Business initiatives. Yet 73 percent said that less than 10 percent of revenue is available for investment in E-Business. And they expect that getting appropriate funding will be one of the biggest challenges in the coming years.
Management support:
The research shows that there is too little support from top management within organizations. For example, E-Business is generally situated at departmental level (most likely Marketing or a central team). Van der Sleen: “E-Business deserves a much greater role in strategic decision making. It is imperative that IT and the business get aligned more closely to ensure that E-Business is fully integrated into existing processes. Top management support is also a precondition to ensure that E-Business is embraced throughout the organization. Investing in communication, competencies and the measurability of E-Business activities are crucial preconditions.”
Key recommendations:
The E-Business Maturity Benchmark of Atos Consulting offers a number of recommendations which companies E-Business can embed in their strategy:
- Ensure top management support through demonstrating the contribution of E-Business to business objectives.
- Provide clear ownership of E-Business in the organization.
- Make sure IT and business are aligned.
- Fully integrate E-Business into existing processes.
- Invest in performance measurement of E-Business activities.
- Benchmark your own objectives with industry and best-practices.
The study was conducted in collaboration with Han van der Zee, Executive Partner of the Atos Consulting Trends Instutite. On Thursday, March 5, 2009, the results of the research will be presented during a seminar at Atos Consulting in Utrecht. You can registern by sending an email to Sigrid Drukker www.atosconsulting.nl/events.
This is a translation of the Atos Consulting press release about the first edition of the ‘E-Business Maturity Benchmark’.
