Adrian Cox, chief executive of Ask Jeeves UK, explains how XML, broadband and web services affect online businesses.

IT Week: As chief executive of search site Ask Jeeves UK, what do you think have been the most significant events for the development of online business in the past couple of years?

Adrian Cox: On the technology side there are two important events. For the web it has got to be the definition of XML by the W3C. XML has become and will continue to be one of the foundation stones, and together with web services will take the web to the next phase. For the internet it has got to be consumer broadband access. While in the UK at the moment the uptake remains fairly low because of network coverage, it is the single biggest step improvement in the infrastructure that is stimulating higher consumer usage and higher consumer satisfaction with the web.

What were the effects of the boom and bust of dot-coms in the late 1990s?

The rise and fall has in many ways helped shake up the market so that companies with a unique offering can develop, grow and fine-tune their services whilst those players without have had to rethink their offerings. The industry will not see such a dramatic growth again. However there will still be continual growth, just over a longer period of time.

In what ways has Ask Jeeves' business changed in recent years?

Ask Jeeves' business hasn't really seen a dramatic change over this period. The company still derives its revenue from advertising, but in some ways this has altered. The most significant change has been the increase in the number of companies wanting to pay for their position within the search engine listings or to be included in the search results.

Are internet users becoming a lot more willing to make purchases online?

Yes, users are much more sophisticated now. Internet users today have matured in their internet knowledge and appear comfortable using the internet for a variety of tasks, from financial banking to purchasing a holiday, and some of these transactions are of high monetary or personal value. Users are also more confident and require intelligent services. The age range of users on the internet is vast; however, we do still see a gap at the higher age bracket in their usage.

Are new technologies such as web services as significant as some people claim?

The concepts behind web services set the foundation for a more interconnected web and whilst this is definitely getting traction, it will take a few more years to universally tackle the key issues of "trust" and "trustworthiness" that businesses and consumers demand. In addition to the age old "multi-vendor interoperability" issues that the industry continues to wrestle with.

How do you think the online industry will change in the future?

The internet and web will continue to become the information backbone for everything we do, whether it be accessing entertainment, learning new skills, carrying out financial transactions, through to booking hospital appointments. As the web and the internet clearly continue to establish themselves among consumers there is likely to be - and we require - a further period of more controlled startup activity to exploit some of the emerging opportunities that systems like web services and mobile technologies make available, utilising judgments based on consumer and business value and the return on investment.

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