Canadians must invest in e-business to compete globally

Industry Canada recently held a 2-day conference to recognize the importance of the Internet and e-business to our national economic health and to establish strategic priorities.

“ecommerce to e-economy, Strategies for the 21st Century” was held in Ottawa at the end of September and featured a keynote presentations by eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey. Ramsey presented the results of a recent eMarketer report suggesting that Canadian companies need invest more aggressively in evolving technologies if we are to remain competitive in a global marketplace. According to Ramsey, new technology must be deployed effectively and affordably if the Canadian economy is to reach it’s full potential. And the change must be widespread, involving multiple industries and geographic regions.

The report looked at the challenges facing small (fewer than 100 employees) and medium (fewer than 500 employees) businesses across Canada and asked about recent and planned technology investments. Canadian companies have been sluggish to invest in IT solutions over the past three years and the Canadian e-economy is falling further behind other global competitors.

Recent investment has weighted heavily toward upgrading hardware, with little emphasis on implementing evolving software applications or using technology to effect business or process change. Future trends are promising however, with the total investment in IT spending increasing slightly and movement toward more focused software and applications investment planned over the next four years.

For more information about the conference, visit the official website at www.e-economy.ca.