The government is to produce consultation papers this autumn examining the barriers to implementing digital signatures and smart cards in e-business and e-government. The government is thought to be unhappy that the technology has not taken off.

PeopleSoft has launched Strategic Sourcing, a suite of Internet applications to support e-procurement of services, and direct and indirect materials. It covers the entire procurement process, including managing commodity spend, requests for quote and reverse auctioning to awarding contracts. www.peoplesoft.com