Douglas Alexander MP - Former Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness
Beyond Bricks Launch
QEII Conference CentreThursday, September 27, 2001 |
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Douglas Alexander MP - Former Minister of State for E-Commerce and CompetitivenessBeyond Bricks Launch |
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| (Left DTI 29/5/02) | |
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be here today to launch the Beyond Bricks portal and to have the opportunity to speak to an audience representing such a broad spectrum of the internet world. This afternoon I would like to tell you about some of what the Government is doing for entrepreneurship and e-business, and how Beyond Bricks will support this work. We are committed to getting not just businesses and consumers online, but getting government online as well. Andrew Pinder, the e-envoy, who spoke at the Beyond Bricks think tank event in July, is ensuring that our drive to make the internet an integral part of government goes hand in hand with the development of e-commerce and e-business. As part of the Internet Mentoring Initiative, Beyond Bricks contributes to developing an environment which helps new and emerging internet companies succeed and reach their full potential. However, equally important is how Beyond Bricks underpins DTI's commitment to foster a culture of enterprise. There are a great many pillars supporting this work, and you'll no doubt be relieved to hear that I don't intend to read out such a long list. The Government's goal however is to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business. Of course it is business - not government - that creates wealth. But Government has a role in helping to ensure that our businesses prosper. Above all, businesses need economic stability. So we will continue to work to maintain the stability established over the last four years. Having established the Small Business Service (SBS) to provide first class help for smaller firms, we are now developing further initiatives to help smaller firms start, innovate and grow, including early growth funding for start-ups and smaller growing firms, to provide business with the finance and advice they need. A large part of the audience for Beyond Bricks is business start-ups. One way in which DTI is working to support these fledgling companies is by promoting Business Incubation. Incubators play an important role in improving the survival rate of start-ups. They provide a supportive and nurturing environment for companies, so that entrepreneurs can worry less about domestic concerns, and concentrate on what's most important - turning their business ideas into viable, successful enterprises. They provide in-house support and help. They are helping to plug the "equity gap", when Venture Capitalists and Business Angels are risk averse. My colleague Nigel Griffiths, the Minister for Small Business, is today announcing that the £75m Business Incubation Fund from the Small Business Service will be open from the 1st of October. This will provide new business incubators and managed workspaces in every region. As part of the Internet Mentoring Initiative, the Internet Incubator Fund is helping in the creation of incubators specialising in the specific needs of internet companies. Next month we will be announcing the first 10 projects receiving funding under the Internet Incubator Fund. So from today, Beyond Bricks will be playing an active part in DTI's work supporting UK industry. In the dot.com expansion, many people rushed into starting a business, believing they were invincible because they were working in the "new economy". For a short while, it actually seemed to work for some. And then the chill wind of reality blew through the market. Many of the weaker dot.coms went to the wall. Investors quickly became disenchanted with many internet companies. Even seemingly strong companies who were meeting their targets could not attract second round funding, and closed. The media backlash was as swift as it was ruthless. But although it has been a painful time for many companies and their employees, some very valuable lessons have emerged. The most important of these would have been considered heresy two years ago. The "new economy" did not mean new rules of business economics. The fundamental concept of supply and demand did not change. Technology has advanced, new industries and types of business have emerged. We now live and work in a global economy. But a company still cannot be successful without a foundation of sound business principles. A company will not survive without a strong business plan. Without understanding the target market, and knowing the competition. Without thinking about who the customers are, what they want, and how best to meet those needs. Many of the better-planned companies formed during the boom are still here, because they knew that innovation and creativity must be tempered with good business sense. Take, for example Lastminute.com, once the public face of dotcoms, who then bore the brunt of the media backlash. With revenues up, and customers numbers up, their most recent results suggest that they are on course for profitability. Two years ago for manydot.coms it was about building a global profile, spending millions of pounds on marketing, undergoing rapid expansion, with the company's listing on the stock exchange as the holy grail. Now, it is all about good planning, good research, and building a viable, profitable business. And once the market can see that internet companies are working towards this, and succeeding, investor sentiment will again be positive, without the frenzy of a bubble economy. Companies need to have the right information available when they need it most - at the vital early stages of development. Stage by stage, what they need to know, helping them to bring their ideas to fruition. They need to be able to talk to their peers, and get advice from people on the ground - those who have been there. And that is what Beyond Bricks is there to provide. A single point of advice for internet entrepreneurs, guiding them towards the help they need. And an online community where entrepreneurs, new companies, business advisors and service providers can get together and talk, do business, and support one another - sharing knowledge and experience for everyone's benefit. Across the UK there are many local entrepreneurial networks, many clusters of companies working in the digital economy, many untapped reserves of talent and expertise. Beyond Bricks, through the online community and roadshow events, is helping to bring them together in a network of networks, with geography no longer a barrier. Beyond Bricks is targeted at companies and entrepreneurs at the forefront of e-business. However, most companies in the UK are at widely differing levels of the e-commerce adoption ladder. As e-Commerce minister I know that it is vital that Government, large companies and smaller firms work together to harness new technologies, and to encourage companies to develop and move further forward in making these technologies integral to their business. One vital element of this is getting the legislative framework right. We have legislation in Parliament at the moment which will enable us to set up OFCOM, the Office of Communications. OFCOM will be a fully converged regulator that will consider broadcasting and telecoms regulation in a converged age - to get the market competitive and to get the market delivering. We will be consulting widely on the full remit of OFCOM when the main Communications Bill is published in draft early next year. We are determined to get the framework right so that the UK can fully exploit the opportunities of the knowledge economy. However, the domestic market is only one part of this work. We are currently working on how best to implement the EU e-Commerce Directive, which will be in place early next year. The directive will give companies working in the knowledge economy a level playing field across all member states, promoting trade, stimulating innovation and competitiveness, and creating sustainable jobs. It will boost the confidence of consumers across the European Union, giving them greater access to goods and services of better quality and lower prices. One of this Government's key priorities is to maximise access to the internet, for businesses and consumers. OFTEL's international comparisons show that UK Businesses and consumers have better access to unmetered tariffs and pay lower prices for narrowband access then in most other countries. The next step forward is to increase the availability of Broadband, so that services are available across the country. There is much hard work ahead as we pursue this course. And while progress is now being made, we challenge the industry to do more to make broadband services attractive, affordable, and available. That's why we've brought together the broadband stakeholder group to hear all the views of the main players in the public and private sector. They are working to ensure that we establish the right kind of market for Broadband. We have already put together a fund of £30m to help stimulate action at the regional level. We are actively examining the scope for further action across the country. Broadband represents a great opportunity - and we intend to meet that challenge. DTI's UK Online for Business has been doing sterling work in making this a reality, raising awareness of the importance of e-commerce and new technology, and providing advice to all who need it. Over 160,000 companies have received detailed advice in the last year alone. But although this is highly encouraging, connectivity is only the beginning. UK Online for Business is striving to encourage companies to climb still further up the e-adoption ladder, to use new technologies which will not only help them to do business more effectively, but will also help them to transform their business. To maximise their competitiveness at the local, national, and indeed global level. And this will be the focus of e-business week, starting on the 8th of October - just over a week away. More than 200 events and activities will be taking place across the UK over the five days. All dedicated to making companies of all sizes and at all levels of the adoption ladder aware of the benefits of incorporating new technologies into their business. And to show how much support and guidance is available to help them achieve it. A central feature of e-business week is the broad range of organisations involved, representing the public and private sector, voluntary and community organisations, charities - from global players such as Oracle and BT to the Willesden New Testament Church of God. During e-business week DTI will also be launching the 2001 International Benchmarking Survey. This will show an ever growing number of companies and consumers are using the internet and e-commerce, looking for goods and services, buying online. Internet-based companies have made a considerable impact on how we do business, how companies approach the market, and how companies engage with customers. They have paved the way for an explosion in innovation and creativity, with many new business models and concepts emerging. They have led to the forging of new business alliances and networks. Dotcoms have promoted far greater consumer choice. Internet businesses play an invaluable role in today's knowledge economy. Not by replacing traditional companies but by working alongside them, enhancing the diversity of commerce. They are explorers and innovators at the cutting edge of e-business. And the work of Beyond Bricks will help ensure that where UK companies lead, others will follow. The DTI is committed to helping UK companies get to the future first. Many of you here are shaping that future. I am sure you will find the rest of today's presentations interesting and stimulating. And I hope that all of you will do what you can to help Beyond Bricks fulfil its potential, helping internet entrepreneurs to fulfil their potential. Thank you very much |
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Other speeches by Douglas Alexander MP - Former Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness
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