Love it or loathe it the Internet has created a world where mundane tasks like shopping and banking can be completed all from the comfort of our own home. The world is now at our fingertips, and according to the technocrats, this global accessibility is proving brilliant for business.
But what can access to the Internet and e-mail actually do for commerce and why does every organisation from RTE to the local flower shop appear to have a site on the Net?
Mr Sean Moroney of Internet Service Provider (ISP) Indigo says that for smaller companies the initial attraction of being online is the reduction in costs and the increase in productivity.
"E-mail reduces faxing costs and lowers phone bills. There is less time spent waiting and orders can be received much faster from the desktop," he says.
Indigo has 15,000 subscribers to its service of which 3,500 are businesses. These include Bank of Ireland International, BMW and Chivers as well as small solicitors and accounting firms.
Many of these are satisfied simply with e-mail and access to the World Wide Web but some go further and want to claim their very own patch of cyberspace.
But despite the obvious possibilities of an estimated global audience of 100 million, displaying your wares on a Website is not a guaranteed way to get rich quick.
Mr Moroney estimates that by the year 2000 electronic commerce will be worth billions. "But 80 per cent of this wealth will ultimately be controlled by around 15 firms," he says.
Firms like Amazon Books, also known as Earth's biggest bookstore which was established on the Internet two years ago.
Founder Jim Bezos recently sold a book to his millionth individual customer and Amazon, after its recent floatation on the US stock exchange, is currently worth $400 million.
For every glittering business success on the Internet there are hundreds of dismal failures.
When IBM decided to open the first cybermall complete with clothes and jewellery shops it lost millions: "They had modelled it too much on a real-life mall instead of viewing the Internet as a totally unique channel," says Moroney.
The State's largest ISP, Ireland on Line (IOL) currently boasts 34,000 subscribers, of which 68 per cent are paid for by businesses. There are almost 2000 IOL Websites from banks to building societies to florists and record stores.
"There are a number of reasons why companies choose to get online," says IOL Managing Director Colm Grealy. "They want to communicate with clients in an upto-date way, tap into new markets and promote themselves to a whole new audience."
Electronic mail is becoming an integral part of business life with IOL dealing with around 250,000 e-mails each day. The fact that almost three quarters of these transactions take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. supports the theory that the Internet has made a significant inroads into the commercial world.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in financial services. Bank of Ireland introduced Internet banking last year and according to Mr Conor O'Toole it gives the customer "more and more options".
"It's another way to do business, and the real measure of the Internet will be when people discover how to contain it," he says.
Other commentators also warn against the mecurial nature of the Internet and how legislating for this vast pool of information is proving difficult.
But says Mr Brian Donohue of the Allied Irish Bank which also provides banking online, the Internet is an essential market to tap.
"We have seen how it has grown in the US, how core it is to their culture, and while it may not be like that here now, we have to be awake to the possibilities," he says.
Commercially it makes sense for banks as delivering a service over an existing channel like the Internet can be less costly than other traditional channels. But it is customer demand that will direct any major business moves on the information superhighway.
Waterford Crystal set up its Website early last year in a bid to "drive store traffic".
Mr Barry Nolan, senior brand manager with the company says: "Our site aims to attract people into the big US stores that sell Waterford Crystal like Bloomingdales in New York. Hopefully potential customers will be stimulated by the site and it will help them in their purchase."
Collectors of the famed Irish crystal will also be aided by the site which lists and displays almost the entire catalogue of Waterford collections.
Many retailers which stock Waterford Crystal are also advertising on the Internet is also a boost to the company.
"Customers can purchase stock straight from the Internet so we are very much involved in ensuring that our product is portrayed to the correct standards and that pricing is monitored," says Mr Nolan.
According to Mr Justin Cullen, media manager with Ireland International Advertising (IIA) the Internet has attracted the business community for different reasons:
"If you are in the computer industry you absolutely have to be online," he says. "Other companies are involved not for immediate commercial reasons but so they can be seen as forward-thinking. There is no point selling yourself as a fresh, innovative organisation without being online."
IIA offers a consultancy service to companies who want to get involved in the Internet. Clients include Budweiser and Kilkenny beers, companies anxious to infiltrate a world largely occupied, research indicates, by a young affluent males.
A survey carried out last year showed that the vast majority of users in the Republic are male, city dwellers with above average incomes and good education.
The Irish Internet Association (the representative body for Internet businesses) said that its most significant finding was that 40 per cent of users had already shopped for goods on the Net.
Its spokesman, Mr Gerry McGovern, believes that for Irish companies "selling products or services to this kind of demographic group, the Internet is certainly a new market channel to be develop. Business to business commerce is likely to increase at an explosive rate."
