Businesses 'may not need web'

JEFF BRASS/Waikato Times

NOT FOR ALL: Not all businesses should have websites, a leading technology entrepreneur has told a small business expo, advising business owners to consider economic benefit.

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Not all businesses should have websites, says a leading technology entrepreneur.

Sir Gil Simpson told the Small Business Expo at the Christchurch Convention Centre yesterday that it was not economic for some businesses to have a website.

"That's probably not something you've heard someone in the computer industry say," the founder of Jade Software Corporation said.

"If you've got a local restaurant, why have you got a website? It's not economically worth you having a website. If you've got product you can sell (on the internet), then that's good, but think carefully about the economic benefit."

When questioned by one of the audience about the constant need for businesses to keep up with technology, Simpson said most people should be on the web, but they should think about it because for some businesses it wasted money.

"You should have a telephone, but not always a website."

He said businesses needed to ask why people were dealing with them. If it was because of their exposure on the web, then that was OK, but people needed to ask the question.

Simpson said it was important websites welcomed people, because shop owners would do that if someone walked into their shops or bought a product.

"Most sites are built by graphic artists. They're not the most civil people in the world. People that run businesses are civil. You say welcome, you say goodbye. It's simple stuff. When you get their credit card details, say please."

He said the software industry was dysfunctional and bizarre, because people were making software but no-one was presenting it to the market.

"There's a whole range of terms to describe that it does not work the way it should," Simpson said.

"I feel passionate about changing that. I've felt that way for 30 years."

Simpson has set up a business, Jolly Good Software, where people can walk in off the street and buy software.

"I'm trying to make it normal to buy software."

- © Fairfax NZ News