IBM Corp. will focus on the growing potential of electronic commerce by using its strengths in the field of enterprise network computing, according to Louis Gerstner, the firm's chairman and chief executive officer.

"The revolution of network computing is often talked about in terms of browsers, in terms of how many people are connected to the Internet," Gerstner said at a press conference during his visit to Tokyo. "What we spend our time talking to our customers about is not a browser war. It's how we build end-to-end solutions that create value for customers on a global basis," he said.

Gerstner predicts that in the near future, electronic commerce will be used in all business areas of everyday life, including banking, shopping, education, entertainment and administrative services, such as renewing a driver's license. "As (companies) get ready for the network world, (we tell them) you can't just buy technology and impose it on the existing system," Gerstner said. "You have to fundamentally change the way you think about your business. These are very critical decisions that CEOs have to make." He also welcomed ongoing deregulation in the global telecommunications market, saying that it will lead to cheaper telecommunications links and facilitate the development of electronic commerce.