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February 2002
E-sourcing - the next growth area?
"E-sourcing" could be a big growth area in the next couple of years, according to Mikael Arnbjerg of consultancy IDC. "It's not just about reverse auctions," he told the audience at the January launch of Commerce One's latest e-procurement suite. "It's about finding out all about suppliers. A related growth area would be e-payment, he predicted. "It offers a lot of potential savings. It will make the e-commerce proposition complete." Reflecting on the turbulent progress of e-commerce so far, Arnbjerg admitted that in the year 200-2001 there had been "a profound change of mood" in which people lost faith in ambitious early claims for e-commerce. However, he pointed out that surveys last year had shown that on the "buy" side, 38 per cent of European companies had now procured commodities on the Web, while on the "sell" side 19 per cent of companies had sold product that way. 
"Scepticism is diminishing," Arnbjerg said. "Only 15 per cent of companies now say they will never use e-procurement." However, he felt that in the present uncertain economic climate, IT managers were looking for projects with a short-term return on investment. "So easily understood products that appeal to a wider audience are likely to find quicker take-up."
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