During the next 10 years, e-business will boost the U.S. economy’s output and increase the production of goods and services by 15 percent, according to Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research. Companies will move 27 percent of total U.S. trade?or $6.9 trillion of goods and services transactions?online, and they will benefit from reduced transaction costs and more efficient markets because of more timely pricing, inventory and demand information. Currently, only 5 percent of total U.S. trade?or $910.6 billion?is transacted online, according to Forrester Research. Companies that work now to link disparate internal processes, expand their trading partner connections, and build or rely on standards-based applications stand to increase profitability, improve customer responsiveness and break ahead of competitors.Definition E-business productivityIncremental efficiency gains derived using online technology to coordinate business activities that will have the greatest positive impact on financial services, telecommunications and utilities sectors.Best PracticesExamine your existing processes. Make improvements and adjustments before you move them online. If your procurement process requires many levels of approval, moving that online won’t change much, explains Steven Kafka, former research director of business trade at Forrester Research. Instead, change your business rules or process to manage by exception, like lowering authorization requirements for purchases under a certain amount.Require visible executive involvement. Build a team of both IT and business unit leaders to head e-business projects. Meet regularly to evaluate progress and assess the effectiveness of changes made. Don’t assume you got it right from the start. Pilot a Web services project this year. Start building your e-business foundation now by focusing on one internal business process (such as distribution warehousing or demand forecasting) and one trusted business partner. Document and learn from the technical and business processes. Related content feature The CIO’s new role: Orchestrator-in-chief CIOs have unique insight into everything that happens in a company. Some are using that insight to take on a more strategic role. By Minda Zetlin Dec 04, 2023 12 mins CIO CIO CIO opinion Fortifying the bridge between tech and business in the C-suite To be considered a tech-forward company today, there has to be a focus on tech fluency across the C-suite, which creates a unique opportunity for CIOs to uplevel their roles and expand their footprint across the enterprise. By Diana Bersohn and Rachel Barton Dec 04, 2023 7 mins CIO CIO CIO brandpost Sponsored by G42 Understanding the impact of AI on society, environment and economy By Jane Chan Dec 03, 2023 4 mins Artificial Intelligence opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe