'Tension rife' between IT and marketers

Tension between marketers and company IT departments is rife, suggests one expert, with marketing managers claiming they never get a full feel for websites due to technical restraints.

Research by Coleman Parkes Research on behalf of SDL Tridion, a web content management company, highlights that half of marketing and communications managers in the UK believe they do not have enough access to their companies' websites to make the changes they deem necessary.

Some 38 per cent of those questioned claim IT departments do not understand the impact of web delays on brand image.

The research also shows that there are differences of opinion regarding who has overall responsibility for a company's web offerings, with 49 per cent of IT managers claiming it belongs to them, as do 41 per cent of marketing managers.

Erik Aeyelts Averink, president of SDL Tridion, comments that these disagreements regarding company websites are leading to offerings which "satisfy no-one".

"The website is the unwitting victim, and the vital communications channel it represents between the company and its customers is suffering as a result," he adds.

Justin Cooke, managing director of Fortune Cookie, recently emphasised the importance of relevant content to a website, suggesting it is often overlooked in favour of page design.