The e-revolution has done more than change the way we buy books - it has opened up a whole new delivery channel for software companies selling products and services.

So for the jobseeker, this means that demand for new e-integration skills is booming.

Application service providers (ASPs) lease technology and services in an attempt to tap into a wider range of customers, especially small and medium-sized companies. As a result, software firms embracing the ASP model need to have specifically trained staff.

"ASPs need technologists who are highly specialised," said Clive Longbottom, service director at IT and business analyst Quocirca. "They have to produce a service that's better than the companies could ever provide in-house. There will be a massive market for technologists and consultants who can efficiently integrate new applications into a client's existing system."

In particular, there is a growing demand for skilled systems integrators who specialise in customising applications to cater to a website's needs.

The significance of such systems integrators was brought home by research undertaken by IBM. As many as eight out of 10 ebusiness ventures will fail to deliver within the next 18 months and may have to be liquidated, the study found.

According to IBM, the reason for this is that organisations are likely to implement systems that lack ecommerce functionality or fail to integrate with back-end applications.

Many ecommerce companies were also criticised for spending too much money on marketing, while neglecting back-end systems in the scramble to gain a branded market position. So outsourcing certain functions to ASPs can be a cost-effective option.

Instead of conducting everything in-house, where a 'jack-of-all-trades' IT team is required, ebusinesses are now looking at specialists that can install and integrate applications.

And the outsourcing of functions such as security, customer relationship management, warehousing and auditing adds to work opportunities for specialists. It's not just ASPs that need specialist e-integrators - any ecommerce firm should be looking for staff to fill such roles.

For IT staff in particular, this means developing skills in specific areas rather than spending time resolving more generic but complex website issues.