PhotoDisc was formed in 1991 to publish royalty-free stock photography on CD-ROM, and as such provide communications professionals with an easier and more cost-effective way to acquire high quality images. Their web activities began in earnest in October 1995, as a means by which to provide customers with the facility to search quickly through a collection of 60,000 images, seven days a week. Their web strategy quite clearly provides the customer with an easier and faster system, which can meet the ever-tighter deadlines and smaller budgets of today's companies.

Visitors/customers to the PhotoDisc site can be guided through by customer support teams. The site is built and maintained by an in house team of 20 designers and programmers. Primary technologies used include; Oracle database, CONNECT OneServer, Cybercash/Verisigne and a combination of Fulcrum, Erli and Virage search engines. The hardware used is a mixture of Sun and NT servers. For graphic designers, directors and photographers, e-zines provide valuable information. Additional products and services for customers are generated via data and feedback, generated over the Internet. Use of Internet technologies allows the online gallery to be swiftly updated and secure online purchasing technology, relying on encryption techniques, has been implemented to best advantage.

Through the effective use of its online image library, PhotoDisc Europe has succeeded in reducing their overheads, as the production of materials on CD ROM was not only time consuming, but has subsequently proved to be inefficient and costly. They have won more than ten international and regional awards for their online commerce. The volume of their web sales is growing sharply, with 18% of the company's total worldwide sales for 1997 coming from this source. First Quarter 1998 figures, amply demonstrate an increased growth rate. Online sales now represent 33% of the company's total income, up 282% on first quarter 1997. Through the global marketing of photographers' images, additional revenue opportunities have also arisen for participating artists, thus meaning that the site is of benefit not only to the company itself, but to those participating in its creation.