The 1998 Information Industry Outlook Conference

8:30am - 5:00pm Saturday 7 November 1998 - Canberra

Hosted by the ACS Canberra Branch, In Cooperation with DIST

What's the Hold-up? - Real versus Perceived Risks In On-line Commerce

Anita Smith

Advantra

E-mail: anita_smith@advantra.com.au

• Thesis: legal risks are not holding up growth in on-line commerce for Australian businesses.
• What is really holding up the growth in on-line commerce for Australian businesses? Businesses do not believe the cost savings and growth potential will warrant the initial investment. (i.e. a cost/benefit analysis)
• Why this is wrong: Australia has many of the key "starter" requirements: quality products and services, ability to process multi-currency transactions, multi-lingual support facilities BUT lacks critical mass of participation.
• What can be done about it? Co-operative supply chain management, and suggestions for the development of Federal Government policies.

Anita Smith is an information technology lawyer for Advantra Pty Ltd, a network services company formed in July 1997 through an alliance between Telstra, IBM Australia and Lend Lease Corporation. As a dedicated network services company Advantra designs, develops and delivers network solutions to Australian companies both domestically and internationally.

Anita has been working on developing new business and legal models for Advantra's electronic commerce projects. She is also Legal Chairman of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), which is the largest and most influential IT industry group in Australia. Anita's business acumen combined with an intuitive understanding of technology and international relations puts her in a unique position to produce results that work on legal, social and economic levels. She is an award-winning speaker who can captivate and inform an audience at the same time. Anita is author of The Millennium Bomb Disposal Kit: Year 2000 Legal and Management Success Strategies, and is presently completing her second book, Lex Cybertoria: Cyberspace Law.

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