NCC Members have free access to this Guideline on the Principia website.

There are as many different types of e-business as there are businesses, from pure dot coms which live and die by the Internet, to long-established family firms using the Net as just another advertising medium; from multinationals to sole traders; from software companies to builders, from lawyers to farmers. But, while 'one size fits all' certainly doesn't apply, there are considerations common to all.

In this, the first of a series of e-business guidelines from the NCC, we give an overview of the strategic and implementation issues facing IT managers as they embark on an e-business project.

Frequently, the IT function takes a lead role in such projects, and managers may be called upon to assess e-business impact and requirements across the organisation; here we provide the framework for answering the broad questions that will be asked, and identifying the key issues to be addressed.

This first guideline should be viewed very much as a scene setter. Subsequent guidelines will look in more detail at the way in which e-business can impact upon key areas of a business's operation, whilst also considering a range of people, technical, security and legislative matters.