Michael Dertouzos, author of the best-selling "What Will Be," said the world of electronic commerce is already here. But interpersonal skills of selling, craftsmanship and human understanding will still give the edge to those who use the technology to further their business, not control their business.

Dertouzos' remarks came at "Managing the Info Tidal Wave," the 10th annual Insurance Information Services Conference, hosted in Washington D.C. by A.M. Best Co., an insurance ratings and information company.

Dertouzos said the present Internet is still in its infancy and is only the starting point for electronic commerce. He also showed how an interconnecting world of telephone, video, electronic mail and even electronic "body suits," will change the world of business by allowing insurance companies, sellers and customers to maintain the same relationships but cheaper and faster.

His most telling example came when he spoke to an MIT computer by telephone, asking it for weather information in various parts of the United States. Dertouzos pointed to that system as a prototype for other customer interaction systems that can connect people and computers without the burdens of specialized hardware.

About 60% of the American economy is already performed by knowledge workers through what is typically referred to as office work, Dertouzos said. The challenge of technology is to customize products, find new ways to automate the business and new ways to get closer to customers.

Companies and business persons who achieve all three will be the winners, he said.

Dertouzos also made a few predictions, including:
-The number of computers in use worldwide will rise to a half-billion by 2007, up from 70 million today;
-Internet-related commerce will continue to grow from about $1.2 billion today to $3-5 billion next year to $10 billion in the year 2000, to $3 trillion by the year 2020; and
-Competing electronic transmission mediums of phone wires, cable service and satellite service will continue to co-exist. "There won't be any winners, but each will serve their needs," he said.

Meanwhile, businesses shouldn't panic just because they haven't become a devoted citizens of "cyberspace," Dertouzos said. "One hundred years ago, we didn't join motorspace," he said. "One of the biggest myths is that only people with technological knowledge are going to survive."