The rapid development of electronic commerce - or e-commerce for short - is widely perceived as the most significant change taking place in the world of business. There are many who believe its impact will be as fundamental as the industrial revolution: a transformation that is global in scale and colossal in impact. Recent evidence suggests the UK government agrees.

Others are not quite so sure. For those who demand evidence the case is less clear-cut. Definitions of e-commerce and e-business remain uncertain. Examples of businesses that have profitably adopted e-commerce strategies are thin on the ground. The evolution of new technologies is so rapid that many will follow commercial dead-ends and suffer as a result.

Amidst all this uncertainty, one thing is sure. Electronic commerce is far too important to ignore. Though its impact on some fields of business may be relatively gradual, there are none that will remain untouched.

Many tradesmen in the last century turned their back on the industrial revolution. Few survived. Amongst those who tried to adopt the new technologies were many failures. But many prospered and some went on to establish large, successful business empires.

The businesses built in the decades that followed will come under threat in the next decade. Those that adapt to the new commercial landscape will survive. Some may prosper. But those that grow fastest will be businesses flexible enough to seize the opportunities that will arise.

Now we have entered the new millennium, the qualities of innovation and adaptability will become valued in a manner unseen for many decades.