Jenny Searle has been fronting the Government's push for UK
e-business progress from a secondment at the DTI, but as it draws
to a close amid stormy waters she is still upbeat about the
position, writes Hazel Ward
The search has begun for a new face to champion the Government's
drive to promote e-business in British industry, UK Online For
Business.
It is not a job for the faint-hearted, weaving a path between
ministers and senior members of trade and industry bodies to
co-ordinate efforts to thrust the UK to the forefront of the
e-world.
The past couple of weeks, in particular, must have been harder than
most, with the publication of a hard-hitting report by the British
Chambers of Commerce (BCC), saying that the Government was more
than likely to miss its own deadline of having a million small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) trading online by 2002.
This assessment was based on figures published at the start of
October in the Department of Trade & Industry's own Business in
the Information Age 2001 benchmarking study, which showed that only
540,000 SMEs were trading online.
In its scathing report, issued early last week, the BCC condemned
the Government's target as a "hindrance and a distraction" which
was irrelevant to business.
Worse still, the report, which was compiled by the BCC's e-business
taskforce, highlighted barriers to the uptake of online trading in
the sector, including the inconsistent quality of
government-accredited business advisers, many of whom are
affiliated to UK Online For Business.
And just days after publication of the report, the DTI announced a
radical restructure of the department after admitting that it was
falling well short of its goals. A number of leading business
figures will take a central role on a DTI strategy board designed
to transform the department into a frontrunner in terms of
productivity and enterprise.
Computer Weekly interviewed Jenny Searle, director of UK Online For
Business, a week before the publication of the BCC report. The DTI
was unable later to comment directly on most of the allegations it
raised, but did issue a statement regarding the alleged
"inconsistent quality" of government-accredited business advisers.
"Technology Means Business was set up in 2000 to provide an
industry-standard accreditation for providers of business and
informtion & communications technology- (ICT) related advice to
small businesses. It is approved by Small Firms Enterprise
Development Initiative and currently all UK Online For Business
advisers are either accredited or going through the process.
Supported by UK Online For Business and the four founding sponsors
BT, Compaq, Intel and Microsoft, the scheme is meeting its
objectives of raising the standard and consistency of ICT and
business advice, and providing small businesses with a more clearly
defined route to it."
Radical changes may well be afoot, but Searle is caught up in a
marketing campaign, launched early this month, and with only five
months left of her tenure, she has her work cut out trying to
co-ordinate government efforts to expand the reach of the UK Online
For Business initiative beyond SMEs to all of UK PLC.
Launched in September last year, UK Online For Business began as a
DTI-led programme to promote e-commerce uptake among SMEs. In its
earliest incarnation, the initiative began as the Government's
Information Society Initiative (ISI), which was aimed at raising
awareness about the benefits of technology among SMEs. In September
2000, it was brought under the umbrella of the UK Online
initiative, and relaunched by Tony Blair as UK Online For Business.
In February, however, the focus shifted with the publication of the
Government's white paper on enterprise, skills and innovation,
which outlined a change in the nature of the programme, and laid
down two clear new objectives: to extend the focus beyond SMEs to
the needs of the wider business community, and to push businesses
further along the road to e-adoption.
Whitehall's vision of change is based on a five-step programme
known as the "e-adoption ladder", which sees a business moving from
setting up basic communication technologies such as e-mail and the
Internet, to implementing an infrastructure which allows mature
e-business relationships with both business partners, suppliers and
customers. Ultimately, the aim is to accelerate new ways of working
online which will move the UK to the forefront of world leader
e-business.
At the helm of the scheme since its launch last year, Searle has
been with the DTI for more than two-and-a-half years, on secondment
from Oracle. Under terms of her contract, she will return to Oracle
in April 2002.
To date the emphasis has been on promoting e-commerce uptake among
SMEs. But now "critical mass" has been reached with the number of
smaller companies that have e-mail and a Web site, intra-corporate
collaboration between all sizes of business is a prerequisite for
e-business to enable new models of working.
Focus has also shifted, with a spotlight falling on deeper levels
of e-business, such as implementing e-procurement systems and
integrated supply chains, and completely transforming everything
about the way a business works through use of information and
communication technologies.
Translating these wider objectives into a strategy is one of the
challenges that faced the DTI, but the way ahead is now clearly
mapped out, Searle says. "The overriding message about how
technology can transform the business remains the same but the
examples we use are becoming much more diverse and increasingly
sophisticated, with a tighter focus on business processes, such as
e-procurement and integrated supply chains," she explains.
This involves approaching larger organisations, both directly and
through groups such as Buy IT, to convey the message. "We're
starting to move into a real networked area and we're increasingly
seeing larger organisations investing in technology that is on the
interface between its customers and suppliers. We would like them
to share the lessons they're learning in implementing
e-business.
"It's often big companies that take risks, so we're using them to
help take this message," she explains.
An increasingly important way of getting this message across is
through the partnership programme. Set up with the aim making SMEs
more aware of the benefits to be gained through technology, the
programme is showcasing best e-business practice, and demonstrating
practical examples of business benefits. "The partnership programme
has two objectives: to bring in resources from the business
community - either sponsorship, or secondees - and to provide a
channel of communication to the business community."
The initiative is taking on a much more sector-specific approach,
she says. "Until now, a lot of our initiatives have been vanilla
flavoured, but we're adding a lot more sector-specific elements and
the advice is becoming increasingly targeted."
To this end, the DTI is trying to work more closely with trade
bodies, and compiling a number of impact assessment studies to seek
a clear understanding of how e-business technologies affect
different sectors. The aim is to produce about 60 studies over the
next three years. "We will be adding an industry-specific dimension
which will pick up over the course of the next year."
In the meantime, Searle has three main challenges to tackle in her
last few months. One is encouraging small companies to think on a
more strategic level about their and the use of information
technologies, while at the other end of the spectrum, she is trying
to encourage larger companies to look outside their own back yards
and turn their attention to the broader picture. "We have to get
larger companies to acknowledge that they have to think about their
trading community, and not just themselves," she says.
"Many larger companies will be implementing ICT strategies that
will require their customers and suppliers to be online, so it's in
their interest to be involved in the wider picture of getting
people online. It's no longer sufficient to focus on what you're
doing within your own organisations.
"If you want to get involved in e-procurement but your supplier is
not e-enabled then your investment is not going to be returned
within the same time scale. And, of course, with both technology
and best practice moving fast, it is a constant challenge to keep
up, Searle adds.
In the middle of an advertising campaign launched at the start of
November, Searle says there are no major new initiatives in the
pipeline, but work in other areas, particularly in the regulatory
field, is continuing. "There are other areas of infrastructure
we're working on, not just technology, but putting in place a legal
framework and an infrastructure of confidence in doing e-business.
We have a long way to go - we're putting the resources in place but
it won't happen overnight."
In the meantime the search is on for a replacement for Searle, who
appears genuinely keen to receive offers. "If anyone's interested
in stepping into my shoes, give me a ring. It's an absolutely
fantastic job."