The limited impact of e-business on traditional companies was underlined yesterday by a survey showing that more than three-quarters of firms generate less than 5% of their sales from e-business.

"At the moment the figure is so low because companies are still at the stage between having a website for information purposes and having a website for trading and doing e-business", said Nigel Hickson, head of e-business for the CBI.

The survey, conducted by the CBI and KPMG Consulting, shows optimism about the internet's future role for business. "The revolutionary aspect of e-business has been over-hyped but despite the hype real businesses out there are optimistic about using e-business technology for generating revenues in the years to come," Mr Hickson said.

According to the survey, 58% of firms expect to derive at least 10% of their revenues directly from e-business within the next two to three years and 99% of the 1,000 British companies surveyed expect e-business to have some impact over the same period.

"This report undermines some of the pessimism that is being talked about in the e-market place," Mr Hickson said.

According to the report, the internet revolution is much slower than first expected but it has not ground to a halt. Telecoms and retail companies are the most advanced at incorporating e-business into their strategies, managing customer relationships and supply chains over the web.

There are, however, barriers to integration, including fears surrounding internet security, a lack of co-operation from customers and suppliers, the high costs of technology and a lack of internal internet culture or awareness of the potential benefits.