Overview of who uses IT:
 Although their IT gains have not been as dramatic as in the US, since they were at the forefront of this revolution, it is no surprise that almost all of the UK’s firms use IT. Many of them are on the internet. Also it is no surprise the UK’s military uses IT. Not only does the UK military use IT but so does the government.

     The UK has had a history in IT, which was an important part of their economy. They have always been a part of the digital revolution. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, the UK has set up science and R&D parks near universities to create new technological innovations. Many of the innovations during this period were developed for the industrial advancement of production. This was especially true for R&D and science parks in Birmingham and Manchester, which were used to create systems for mainframes and for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) [1] The EDI was used in business and government.  There was also much research in technology for the military. Because this was the period of the Cold War and as an ally of the US the UK helped with much of the technology of IT.

 In the late 1980’s, some of these R&D parks began to change their focus to software and hardware for the personal computer.[2]  The UK was involved in the design and creation of  the early hardware and software for PCs and their software. In 1986, the Cabinet Office Information Technology Advisory Panel came out with a report on how the UK could create an information industry. This study led them to focus on how business can use IT for it's advantage and to increase productivity.[3]

    In the 1990s, the Internet became a way for information to travel not only in the UK but around the world. In the early 1990’s, the universities of the UK set up Super Janet, which was another separate Internet for university research. Also the UK government saw that was the productivity boom that was predicted in the UK was occurring in the US. So when the Tony Blair government came into power they helped  companies exploit the Internet as the US did in the 1990s. They wanted to gain the 2.5% productivity growth that the US had been recording in the late 1990s.[4]  So there was a push to move away from EDI and mainframe technology to PCs and the Internet. Besides trying to advance technology in defense and government infrastructure they are trying to get their citizens to use the Internet and PCs
.

 In the UK there has been increase of PC purchases for households. In 1997, the total number of home PCs was 5,300,000 which increased to 6,500,000 in 1999. The number of computers per 100 inhabitants was11 in 1997 and 49 in 1999. [5]
 In the first quarter of 2000, there were 6,500,000 households on the Internet, which is 25% of all households.[6]  Of this number 59% use the Internet for information, 50% for email, and 24% for purchases.[7]    These statistics show that consumers do not want to use the Internet for shopping. In a 1999 study only 2% of retail sales were done on the Internet in the UK whereas there were 6% sales in the US during the same time period.[8]

 There are several reasons why consumers are not using the Internet for shopping. One is that many consumers feel that the internet is unsafe. Many unsophisticated consumers feel that their privacy will be invaded if they use the Internet even though there are laws protecting their privacy.  The UK has a Data Privacy law that protects a consumer from a company using their personal information unless they allow them to. Also some people feel that the Internet is unsafe for the use of credit cards. They feel that their credit card transactions are subject to fraud.[9]

 Another more complex area that is creating a boundary for E-commerce is the problem of cross border taxes between countries and delivery problems. There are many hidden taxes that a UK customer pays when they are making an Internet transaction. They are different for each country. This has caused confusion for many consumers. Also many are not aware of which country they are buying a product from. Many Internet retailers have sites with domains that are in the UK, but because the company shipping the goods from another country the consumer has to pay the tariff to the other country.[10]

 In the UK, the people who are using the Internet to shop are only buying inexpensive items like books or cds. They are not inclined to trade stocks online or purchase cars online. They also do not like to purchase groceries online as Marks & Spencer found out last year when they reorganized their online venture. This occurred because the UK has a tradition of outdoor markets and many people like to feel and touch their products. Many e-retailers are trying to find ways to entice these types of people to shop on the Internet .[11]

Business and the Usage of IT:

 UK businesses have always been part of the IT revolution. There are many companies that have produced innovative products for the IT industry. Yet the UK has never has companies in the IT arena reach the size of Microsoft or Oracle. Some believe that this occurred because many of these firms sell the rights to their leading products to the US or Japan. David Potter of Psion was quoted as saying “OK, we’ve made a few million, lets go off and be landed gentry with a golden retriever and some horses.” Unlike the Americans who make millions and go on to try to make billions.[12]

 Many UK firms are using PCs and the Internet. There are 22,500,000 PCs installed in businesses within the UK. This works out to 38  business PCs per 100 inhabitants.[13]   More people use a computer at the office than at their homes.  This  shows that more companies are moving to use PCs instead of the old mainframe Systems. Also 78% of business have LAN networks and 52% of businesses have WAN.  In addition, 96% of UK employees that have computers use them and ninety percent of the companies that have PCs are on the Internet.[14]

 Although the UK has a high rate of  Internet use many firms are still using other means of electronic communications. In the UK 41% of large firms in the UK still use EDI as source of communication, while only 12% of small companies in the UK still use EDI.[15]  This is because many large companies in the late  invested heavily in their EDI infrastructure in the late 1980s and early 1990s.While few small firms had the for these types of systems. Also the Internet is relatively inexpensive as compared to the EDI network.

 As EDI use declines the use of the Internet is increasing. In 1997, only 6% of purchasing decisions by large firms were made with the use of the Internet. In 1999, that percentage increased to 24%.[16]This trend has continued in many large firms, with 78% of decisions maker using the Internet for research. Also many firms are using the Internet for communications since 88% of firms in UK uses email as a means of communications. [17]

 The UK military has long  used IT as a way of communications. As a US ally they have always been able to use a limited amount of US IT technology At the end of the Cold War, much of it became outdated. So like the US, it trying to change it's technology. Since the Cold war has ended, the UK military budget has decreased and they have been seeking a way to increase their use of IT technology.

During Purple Dragon 1997 a joint military exercise,  theUK was introduced to the US military use of PCs with LANs and secured WANs for messaging in the field. In 2000, the UK military is taking bids to create this sort of system for their field troops, as well as wireless networks for their Navy ships and certain Aircraft. They are testing these systems with Gr-8 Harriers which is the aircraft used by the royal Marines .[18]

The Government Use of IT:

 The UK is moving away from the use of huge mainframes and “paperless government.” The UK is moving to make the government use more PCs and to have them conduct business on the Internet There is an incentive to make all the UK’s regional governments PC and Internet compliant.

 The UK national government has a website called open government which is a directory of web sites the government maintains. Almost every agency has a web site. Also many of the UK documents are online. They are in the process of developing ways for citizens to use open government to conduct business. They would like more  British citizens to pay their taxes online. Also to get government services online like marriage licenses or driver licenses.

 They would also like the model of UK government to be copied by the regional governments in the UK. Many of regional governments are complying by opening up their governments to the web. Scotland has a very successful open government site. They are following the model set by the national government.

 Much like the US government paperless government, Tony Blair’s E-government encourages the business to government (B-to-G) transactions over the web. This is a new development and many UK firms are trying to comply but they are in a fierce competition with foreign companies.[19]

Conclusion:
 The UK was in the forefront of  the IT revolution. They have made a big contribution to it but the UK has not been able to capitalize on it as well as the US has. However  the UK is one of the leaders in the use of IT. Almost all of the UK companies use computers and have access to the Internet at their offices. Yet it is disappointing that only 25% of the population has access to the Internet. The UK government is trying to encourage both business and individuals to use the Internet by their E-government initiative.
 

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