Despite a slowing economy around the world, a majority of companies plan to maintain or increase investments in web technology, a survey of business leaders in Canada and the U.S. has found.

The inaugural E-Track Survey by international management and human resource consulting firm Towers Perrin revealed two-thirds of respondents are determined to maintain high-tech investments despite economic uncertainty and pressure to keep costs down.

The online survey this summer also found that less than a quarter of respondents felt their company would decrease their investments, particularly in areas where online technologies could lead directly to gains in efficiency and cost savings. The most popular areas for increased investment were in-house, people-related activities, particularly recruitment and training.

About 235 executives were surveyed across North America, mostly from the human resource, information technology and finance sectors.

It is the first survey in a research program called “tp e-Track”, which polls a panel of executives every two to three months on technology’s impact on companies and their relationship with staff.

The survey found that business leaders believe the Internet is revolutionizing business, with 20 per cent calling it transformational and 48 per cent saying it would significantly change business practices and processes.

No respondents agreed with the statement that changes associated with the Internet are more hype than reality despite the fact the majority of respondents had not yet achieved the desired results from web technologies.

“Many companies have learned the hard way that merely embracing new technologies is not enough to guarantee results,” said Minaz Lalani, leader of the Canadian e-business group at Towers Perrin.

“It takes more than infatuation to make a successful marriage. It takes a clear, comprehensive and well-executed implementation plan to fully realize the potential of web technology.”

About 72 per cent of respondents said the most significant obstacle to success was that other business priorities took precedence over web technology implementation. Just under two-thirds (62 per cent) highlighted insufficient budgets to complete the work as a significant barrier. An identical percentage of respondents cited inadequate internal resources and skills.

The survey found that the biggest growth areas of corporate Web use are:

* Creating a vehicle for employees to transact HR services (38 per cent).

* Automating and streamlining operations (28 per cent).

* Managing customer relationships (23 per cent).

“While uncertainty about the economic future is even greater since the Sept. 11 attacks, technology will likely remain a key component of many companies’ strategy to keep performance and innovation levels high while lowering operational costs,” said Lalani.

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