How to interpret 开始起步 in IT企业的电子商务也在1999年开始起步? In this sentence, 


  IT企业的电子商务也在1999年开始起步。


How would you translate '开始起步'?
Oxford English to Chinese

Start Out


  1 (begin to do sth.) 开始起步


起步 if we look at it literally it means "pick up" + "feet" (steps really but that doesn't sound as good).

So it usually gets translated as

• start

• begin

• In French it's translated as débuter, which also means start or begin but looks like the English debut.

So here's where you're confused it looks like we have 开始 + 起步 as start + start, right?

But if we take the literal translation of 起步 from uptop we could translate it like "began to pick up its feet".

Going off of the French inspiration I would love to translate it as "made its debut", which sounds a lot better.

Dunno if I'm cutting too much out but I would translate the entire sentence IT企业的电子商务也在1999年开始起步 as eCommerce also made its debut in 1999.