During the late 1980s, the Internet was hailed as the most revolutionary technology the computing industry had seen. However, it was not just the IT industry that would be affected by this communication revolution.

Corporations found that the Internet offered them new opportunities to communicate with their clients and their staff and the chance to access new audiences that other methods do not automatically reach. Marketing executives saw the chance to make new, direct contact with a target audience. Gradually the general public has also recognized the potential of fast, informal email communication and Internet resources in both their work and private lives. The growth potential seems endless, and it is now the task of managers and decision-makers to implement this ever changing technology in order to provide effective business solutions for both their clients and their organization.

Innovative companies were the first to explore the possibilities of Internet technology, developing early web sites and employing Internet-based applications within their organizations. In the general business population there was an initial distrust of the world wide web and the potential it could really offer in terms of business benefits and data control. This anxiety led to the majority of companies choosing to watch the innovators and wait to see where the new technology might take them.

The use of web technology still provokes some scepticism, but gradually the association of new media with international brand names, and their successful implementation of commercially viable web sites, Intranets and Extranet developments, has...