Information Technology Trends in 2000 Show Increase in
E-Commerce Use and Shopping via Internet
IT Strategies International Corporation Says Smaller Businesses
May Have to Make Transition to Compete

(Las Vegas) – With the new century underway, new trends in information technology are quickly emerging that affect both large and small businesses throughout the world.

One of the most common trends is that E-business and E-commerce are continuing to rapidly gain popularity, said Mike Marriott, executive vice president of IT Strategies International Corporation, a Las Vegas-based computer consulting firm. This growing popularity, in turn, triggers increased competition among businesses vying for customers through the World Wide Web. Smaller companies not yet using Internet exposure to sell products and services could suffer because of this.

“Although the owners may be hesitant, more mom-and-pop shops will have to make a transition to conduct business over the Internet in order to compete,” Marriott said. “This will be a necessity as more and more people handle all their shopping needs on their home computers."

As thousands of Web sites continue to be launched, Web surfers are finding themselves purchasing virtually any type of product through the brisk tap of a few keystrokes. Among items increasingly being ordered and delivered via personal computers are clothes, cars, toys, flowers, books, compact discs, prescriptions and groceries.

Marriott said E-business is the way most business will be handled in the future. It is a step beyond E-commerce in that it involves almost any type of external or internal business transaction done with Web/network technology.

He noted that within the next few years, more than 70 percent of all business relationships will be “nontraditional,” meaning handled through the Internet, which will require an infrastructure to manage them.

In other trends: Customer service interaction via the phone will eventually make its way to the Web and e-mail; video and audio use over the Internet will grow; telecommuting will increase with more people working from their homes; and more business partnering with companies interacting with one another will take place over the Web.

IT Strategies International Corporation is a privately held global computer consulting firm incorporated in the State of Nevada in 1996. The company provides expert, cost-effective consulting for both private companies and public organizations that require specialized information technology skills and/or in-house staff augmentation to take strategic advantage of information systems.

Marriott is responsible for the overall business direction for the company, and for consulting and teaching comprehensive strategies. Most recently, he helped launch IT Strategies Europe, the corporation’s first-ever endeavor in a European country.

Prior to IT Strategies, Marriott founded and served as Director for Platinum Technology, where he also worked as a consultant and trainer. Before this position, he served as senior consultant, programmer and analyst for Computer Partners.

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