IT News - Most top companies fall down on the Web test

A shocking 67 per cent of the UK’s top firms have no idea whether or not they have a Web-site on the Net. And 31 per cent of those that did know they had a Web-site were unable to give the address readily.

The damaging statistics were collected by UK multimedia production company Easy i, in a survey of 200 companies in the FT500. Only 2 per cent of the companies contacted were able to give Web-site information immediately.

Marks & Spencer was one of the minority of firms which had succeeded in training all its staff to understand Web technology.

It was not only at the switchboard that companies failed the Web test.

Researchers were invariably passed onto marketing departments, finance divisions, the company secretary’s office, even the IT department, none of which was able to give details on Web-sites, said Easy i.

“We set out to see how effective internal communications were,” said Easy i managing director, Iain McLeod, “but what we found was really worrying.” A typical response to a request for a Web-site address, was, “we don’t give out computer codes over the phone”.

McLeod said that large IT firms also fell victim to internal ignorance of Web-site details. Staff at computer services and consultancy firm, EDS, were among those initially unable to offer help on the firm’s Web-site. “If a firm’s employees do not know a Web-site address, what hope do its customers have?” McLeod said.