Increasingly today, the terms "available" and "accessible" to a business mean twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week access to information, products and services. Customers, suppliers and interested parties are less and less satisfied with being restricted to the traditional opening hours of business and will not be impressed if they cannot do such things as order items, book tickets or discover information for themselves in the comfort of their own homes and offices when it suits them.  

The expectations of online audiences will not diminish over time - they will only increase. For example, the increasing ability to provide video and sound online at premium quality and speed is likely to force many businesses into presenting information in multimedia format on their websites. This will raise the bar in terms of delivery methodology, content, structure and quality of online material.  

To fail to be online or to fail to provide a website that is user-friendly, informative, and up-to-date in every respect is to risk alienating web-enabled customers and suppliers and thereby lose their confidence and business.

 e-businessguide Case Study - Freedom Pools (327kb)

Next topic in this section >>