MEDIA RELEASE

14 April 2000

E-smart businesses can profit from the web

Businesses that understand both the potential benefits and challenges of e-commerce are exploring the 'new technological frontier' with enthusiasm and in the process reaping strong financial rewards.

This assessment comes from national e-commerce expert Anthony Rowley, a project director with the Tasmanian Electronic Commerce Centre, an innovative organisation that has already convinced more than 200 Tasmanian companies of the merits of trading on the Internet.

The group is one of the 22 Australian electronic commerce projects that will share the $1.685 million grants pool announced this week by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston. The grant will assist Tasmania Online to implement a statewide online logistics system to improve the competitiveness of Tasmanian businesses. Consortium Members include Hobart Ports Corporation, Tasmanian Redline Coaches and Sheridan Australia.

Booked as a keynote speaker for the AusWeb2K Conference to be held in Cairns from June 12-17, Mr. Rowley said he would be outlining ways to develop a successful business-to-business marketplace on the Internet, including a review of the various models used to establish e-commerce relationships.

Mr. Rowley will also address barriers to entering the e-commerce marketplace - barriers that might extend from the cost of new technologies to management resistance to change.

"Although there is a sense of urgency over e-commerce creeping into some sectors, many are adopting a wait-and-see attitude," Mr. Rowley said from Hobart today. "You have to be able to offer companies a business benefit in order to convince them to embrace e-commerce."

"However, once people get the information they require to understand Internet trading, and the experience to be able to identify the benefits for their individual firms, they go gang busters over e-commerce," he said.

Mr Rowley will share his enthusiasm and experience of e-commerce, particularly in relation to his project, Tasmania Business Online, with delegates to the AusWeb2K conference that will be held at Cairns' Rihga Colonial Club Resort. The peak annual event for web developers and users will also include a range of specialised yet non-technical workshops aimed at the general public.

Hosted for the sixth year by Southern Cross University, AusWeb2K offers one-day or half-day workshops on web related subjects for a fee of between $100 and $185. These offer rare opportunities for non-specialists to discuss web developments with the conference's highly regarded keynote speakers.

As well as Anthony Rowley's e-commerce focus the speakers include:

• Bob Futernick: Chairman of the Conservation Department of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and designer of its collection management software.
• Paul McKey: Chief Technology Officer of NextEd Limited, a Hong Kong and Australian company which partners universities throughout the world to provide global on-line education systems.
• Professor Bob Hopgood: Teacher of a Masters course at Brunel University, UK who will provide information on the World Wide Web Consortium.
• Brian Fitzgerald: Associate Professor and Head of the School of Law and Justice at Southern Cross University who will discuss the issue of "Law and the World Wide Web."