 |
 |
Investing
in Technology
St.
Louis businesses consider effective Internet use their high
technology priority, according to CEO Technology Forum Survey.
St.
Louis area companies feel their ability to implement web
interactivity effectively will be the single greatest technology
challenge facing them, according to a recent survey of 122
St. Louis area business leaders, commissioned by Civic Entrepreneurs
Organization (CEO) in cooperation with the St. Louis RCGA
and Washington University's Olin School of Business.
"CEO's
Annual Technology Forum Event and Survey were initiated three
years ago, with enthusiastic support from the RCGA, to raise
awareness of the growing significance of technology to St.
Louis businesses," says Joe Blomker, president and CEO of
Maryville Technologies and chair-elect for the Information
Technology Network of the Technology Gateway Alliance. "The
RCGA's subsequent launch of Technology Gateway provides an
ongoing vehicle for nurturing the growth of our technology
based economy. In addition, the RCGA's newly-formed Regional
Business Council has determined that support of the information
technology industry cluster in the St. Louis region will be
a key initiative for the group. The attendance at the CEO
event and focus of these civic organizations reinforce that
the region intends to build upon our formidable base of technology
strengths in the new economy."
"Once
again, the Technology Forum Survey results show that St. Louis
organizations plan to invest in new technology and realize
the importance of leading their industry groups," says CEO
president, Tom Campbell. "The good news is that compared to
their competitors, 71% of area businesses consider themselves
innovators in information technology."
The
2000 Technology Forum Survey results show that 91% of the businesses
surveyed will spend more this year on information technology.
About two-thirds of them consider Business to Business e-commerce
an important priority. Also, 90% reported they will spend more
on training their personnel to remain current with new technology.
|
Survey
Snipets
|
| tt |
Strongly
Agree or YES
|
Agree
|
Disagree
|
Strongly
Disagree or NO
|
|
1
|
My
company did NOT have any Y2K problems on or
after 1-1-00.
|
78%
|
19%
|
2%
|
2%
|
|
2
|
The
majority of our total sales are transacted
on-line.
|
3%
|
2%
|
37%
|
58%
|
|
3
|
Our
on-line sales have exceeded our target.
|
0%
|
23%
|
37%
|
40%
|
|
4
|
My
company purchases website banner advertisements.
|
3%
|
11%
|
22%
|
65%
|
|
5
|
Business
to Business (B2B)
e-commerce
is more important than Business
to Consumer (B2C)
|
24%
|
39%
|
26%
|
12%
|
|
6
|
A
majority of our recruiting is
initiated
through a website.
|
6%
|
23%
|
44%
|
27%
|
|
7
|
My
company's employees are using
web-based
distance learning for training.
|
12%
|
35%
|
30%
|
23%
|
|
8
|
My
company is increasing
spending
this year on information
technology.
|
33%
|
58%
|
7%
|
2%
|
|
9
|
The
expenditures on training to
keep
our personnel current with
new
technology will increase
this
year.
|
24%
|
66%
|
10%
|
1%
|
|
10
|
Compared
to our competitors, my
company
is an innovative user of information
technology.
|
25%
|
46%
|
22%
|
7%
|
|
11
|
My
company views information
technology
expenditures primarily as
a means of reducing costs.
|
0%
|
39%
|
42%
|
12%
|
|
12
|
My
company is successful in attracting
people
outside of St. Louis for
employment
here.
|
11%
|
40%
|
34%
|
15%
|
|
13
|
E-commerce
is not a zero-sum activity.
New
aggregate sales are being generated
on-line.
|
11%
|
62%
|
21%
|
6%
|
Businesses surveyed outlined some of their challenges
this year to be providing customers with better
access to information, ability to recruit and
retain human resources, defining web strategy,
integration of all service operations with web
capabilities, and meeting the demand for web applications.
CEO's
National Technology Forum Survey shows that another
priority for area businesses is customer service.
More than half of area companies will increase
spending this year for on-line customer service,
such as Customer Relationship Management and Integrated
Voice Response. Again, e-commerce was stressed,
with 64% of the companies reporting that their
web site has improved customer service. More than
half said that customers are demanding on-line
access to account information, such as inventory
status, pricing, order status, etc.
About
71% of the companies surveyed will spend more
on broadband data services this year. Nearly three-fourths
of them feel they have an effective intranet.
The
study was designed and compiled by Arnie Troy,
Aileen Supena and Amit Khetan, graduate students
of the Olin School of Business at Washington University.
It is the second survey commissioned in conjunction
with CEO's Annual National Technology Forum, which
was held on April 7, 2000 at America's Center
in downtown St. Louis. Keynote speakers were Alan
Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board,
and George Gilder, president of Gilder Technology
Group, Inc.
Civic
Entrepreneurs Organization is a private membership
organization of senior level executives who promote
St. Louis through sponsorship of various special
events. In addition to the National Technology Forum,
CEO also sponsors its annual Economic Forecast,
as well as other special events unique to St. Louis.
|
|
|
|
|
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
