Too many hosts in the commercial sector are however offering duplicate files to a small and competitive market. This is pressurising many companies to a large degree and could lead to their being taken over by American based competitors. The larger commercial database hosts are wary of offering small specialist data files. A market scenario where larger and smaller database hosts, each with a defined and well researched mission statement and market niche, interact through integrated networks, would be welcome. This combination could be achieved by combining academic and commercial database facilities.
Industrial users require high quality, validated, information.
The unregulated growth in the number of services and files on offer is making this control as well as the locating of the correct information, extremely difficult. European database and information producers should therefore make every effort to use modern information tools, such as the World Wide Web, to improve the present dissemination of data and information but should also improve the services by developing tools which enable users to reach the data in a structured, authoritative, manner. Furthermore, producers of ancillary information, such as biotechnology resources databases, should also embrace these technologies to enable European users to obtain European products and resources. The meeting concluded that the situation surrounding Networks in Europe required urgent action with the present European telecommunications infrastructure requiring urgent improvement. The only long-term solution to Europe's network problems are better physical links.