Telework, teletrade and open electronic networking

Open electronic networking leverages human communications, management, leadership, trading and learning, as well as the growing employment practice of teleworking. The underlying infrastructure is receiving massive investment and attention in the form of the `global telecommunications superhighway´. Meanwhile, little attention is being paid to just how this technology can best be used to enhance business results and to achieve social and economic goals. The USA currently dominates the world market for open electronic networking and USA businesses have a lead over European businesses in exploiting the technology. Following early liberalisation and privatisation of the telecommunications environment, the UK is very well placed to lead Europe in the use of this technology and to become a major world player in the supply of services. Europe as a whole, with its diversity of cultures and industrial and social experience could become the world´s focal point for the broad application of open electronic networking through telework and teletrade. But instead, many of our large enterprises are establishing closed `islands of communication´, while smaller businesses, on which our future growth mainly depends, are largely unaware of the technology and its value. Governments have an important role to play in stimulating the market by adopting the technology and applications, including teletrade and telework, as our largest employers and trading entities. But industry must set the pace, in particular we need suppliers to enter the fray with appropriate added value services and effective marketing and delivery programmes