Solution for the files headache

Mulling the viability of imarket is an inevitable preoccupation for the market and its press, however, it has already progressed beyond what initial doubts suggested. Developments in the next 12 months should further answer the critics, explains Jim Noakes

Like any initiative that promises fundamental change in the way a market works, imarket risks raising expectations in theory that it will struggle to match in practice. Doubters point to the small number of integrated products launched so far and conclude that imarket is not delivering. Slow progress breeds frustration and the previous failure of other e-business initiatives encourages scepticism. Yes, we have some way to go but we have already come further than many people realise or ever