It is expected, however, that once secure electronic commerce becomes more widespread on the 'net, the retail sector will be more strongly represented. VUsme's aim is to deliver new sets of skills to the small business sector in a way that fits their needs. Although growth in use of the Internet has bloomed during the past few years as new services and applications come on stream, the expansion is not universal. Many small firms have taken advantage of the new technology to revolutionize the way they do business, but many others, however, have used the Internet quietly to supplement rather than replace the ways they do business. It should not be assumed that all businesses must be Internet capable to be competitive or effective market participants.
Many firms have yet to see any advantages of Internet connection.
Costs of connection are a barrier to some, while many others do not benefit substantially from web or e-mail capability. So even with its rapid growth to date, the Internet is not yet at the point that it can be assumed to reach the full spectrum of Canada's SME community. For now, in addition to experimenting with new electronic service methods, governments, financial institutions and other major suppliers to SMEs will still have to rely on traditional delivery mechanisms to deal with this market place.