Arranged Marriages to rule eSpace

1999-05-11

There has been a proliferation of recent announcements about company tie-ups, for example Microsoft and AT&T, IBM and C&W, and HP, SAP and Qwest. As can be seen, these alliances are cross-sector, normally involving a hardware company, a software company and a communications company. As the alliances have been formed to take advantage of the expected trends in business use of technology, they are a fair indication of the vendors’ opinions on what is likely to happen over the next couple of years.

There are several “givens” here. First, that a significant amount of business will be conducted using the internet as a medium. This will be both business-to-consumer, via a Web browser, and business-to-business, for example using email as a transport for inter-business information such as purchase requests and invoices. Second, that computer systems in different companies will communicate with each other directly, avoiding the need for human interaction and speeding up the supply chain.

The question is, what are us Europeans doing about it? Recent surveys, such as the poll by PhoCusWright of major European airlines, indicate that us europeans are behind the curve. Now we have a choice here. Either the future of business is on the Web or it is not. We at Bloor believe it is and there is substantial evidence to support the fact that businesses which do not embrace new technologies will be at a disadvantage, in terms of both efficiency and cost. In the UK, consider LIFFE, which has only been able to turn around its fortunes by endorsing what it previously rejected. LIFFE’s near-demise was blamed on complacency; others will claim ignorance. In either case, though, for some businesses that do not take on board the internet (together with the new opportunities it offers), the result will be the same.

I know, I know. Here we are again, harping on about eCommerce. A question for you then – are we exaggerating the situation? Or are you well aware of the threats and opportunities posed by the Web? How are you planning to take advantage of these “new media”? We’d love to hear your feedback.

(First published 11 May 1999)