MERIT Project Surveys E-Business
Expanding its knowledge base of enterprise management issues affecting organizations worldwide, The MERIT Project conducted a comprehensive survey at interBiz World ’99 focused on management issues concerning electronic commerce. The survey will be followed by the creation of a MERIT subcommittee to study e-business and inter-business requirements.
The goals of the 1999 e-business survey include discovering the current level of engagement in e-business, uncovering current and future e-business management strategies, and determining the financial impact e-business will have on businesses in the future. The study also explores how industry standards, such as the new XML protocol (Extensible Markup Language), will be used. XML is a flexible protocol used to create common information formats while sharing the format and the data available on the World Wide Web, intranets and elsewhere.
The initial phase of the survey was conducted at interBiz World ’99, the combined user conference for interBiz Solutions, a division of Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) dedicated to assisting clients in exploiting CA applications to capitalize on e-business opportunities. interBiz World ’99 introduced CA applications product users to the BizWorks framework, an architecture for applications integration designed to support intra- and inter-business collaboration, provide tools to intelligently analyze and visualize information from the extended enterprise, and predict future business events.
According to a University of Texas study, Internet commerce created more than 1.2 million jobs and generated more than $300 billion in 1998. The study also found that annual growth in this burgeoning medium is expected to exceed 170 percent.
"Internet commerce will be a cornerstone for tomorrow’s businesses," says Ken Farber, Director of the MERIT Advisory Council. "To be successful, executives will need to understand the impact the Internet has on the cost structure of their businesses. This in-depth study will give us valuable insight into what buyers and sellers are looking for, as well as ideas on how to maximize the business opportunities afforded by the Web."
MERIT (Maximizing the Efficiency of Resources in Information Technology) is a globally supported initiative that brings together clients, business partners and value-added resellers to promote increased IT reliability, availability, service levels and return on investment. As a charter member, CA acts as the catalyst between its partners and clients to respond to the specific needs identified by the MERIT Project.
The survey was distributed to more than 3,000 visitors who attended interBiz World ’99. Results are expected to be available in November.
For more information, visit www.interBiz.cai.com or www.cai.com.