Summary

In a remarkably short time, the Internet has grown from a quirky playground into a vital, sophisticated medium for business, and as the Web evolves further, the threshold for conducting successful business online will move increasingly higher. Online consumers are flooding to the Internet, and they come with very high expectations and a degree of control that they did not have with traditional brick-and-mortar companies. Businesses, too, are rushing to join the Internet revolution, and new, viable competitors are emerging in all industries.

The enticement of doing business online must be tempered by the understanding that when the dust settles, a significant percentage of e-businesses will have failed. The ones that succeed will be those that are able to deliver a satisfying and consistent customer experience online, building brand loyalty and guaranteeing high rates of customer retention.

Although customer experience includes intangible, nonquantifiable aspects, it also includes a wide range of entirely measurable Web site elements. It is necessary for any organization wanting to succeed in e-business to define a broad spectrum of performance parameters, establishing benchmarks for speed, reliability, availability, and accuracy, and to monitor all of those parameters. Nothing works perfectly all the time, and the spoils will go to those e-businesses that constantly and efficiently monitor their Web sites, immediately identifying any glitches that do occur and fixing them promptly.

Moving forward, all businesses will be affected by the global move to electronic commerce. Business operations will change, and new processes will be created. Companies that start learning in this new environment today will be leaders in the future.

Furthermore, as future technologies are developed, the SIP will continue to play a pivotal role in the adoption of multimedia e-commerce. SIP’s simplicity, easy integration, and extensive interoperability ensure its longevity as the preferred multimedia platform.

In fact, SIP pundits speculate that it will pave the way for carriers to roll out the innovative voice services only possible with IP. These services most likely will include Web integration to simplify follow-me services, call conferencing, and ways for users to speak with a live agent just by clicking a Web site button.

Although the road ahead looks clear, there are potential obstacles to the wide-scale adoption of multimedia e-commerce. Users will need new or upgraded equipment to take advantage of SIP technology. Incorporation of SIP into operating systems and in preconfigured PCs will take some time. Some movement is being seen in this area, however, with Microsoft and a number of the third generation (3G) wireless associations adopting SIP as the protocol of choice .^[7]

Note

Third generation (3G) is an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) specification for the third generation (analog cellular was the first generation, and digital Personal Communications Service [PCS] was the second) of mobile communications technology.

With the help of SIP, Voice over IP (VoIP) e-commerce has the potential to change the habits of users by enhancing the way they conduct business communication and transactions over the Internet. As SIP facilitates and completes the integration of communications on the Web, much innovation lies ahead.

So, despite difficult economic conditions and negative sentiment resulting from the e-marketplace catastrophe, much is happening in the e-business world. Nearly every company involved in e-business has expressed interest in improving machine-to-machine communication with customers, suppliers, or service providers. The majority (approximately 74%) increased their e-commerce technology budget in 2003 compared to 2002; and, despite difficult economic times and contracting IT budgets, half of the e-business companies expect the transaction management market (TMM) budget to increase in 2003 compared to 2002.

Java, XML, and related standards are changing the nature of machine-to-machine communication. These technologies are driving down integration costs and improving integration flexibility. As economic conditions improve, these factors will drive increased spending on technologies that interface with the external business ecosystem.

Furthermore, transaction management systems support a wide range of innovative business strategies. Many companies are extending EDI systems to manage more complex interbusiness automation scenarios. Others are rethinking e-commerce strategies and exploring new intercompany transaction cost/benefit scenarios. This trend toward complex interbusiness process automation and transaction management will accelerate as IT budgets expand and Java and XML technologies mature.

Electronic trading network service providers deliver an important and often misrepresented value proposition to an e-commerce solution. Security, reliability, and nonrepudiation are foundational requirements for effective interenterprise solutions.

Most transaction management technology users are not in the business of building and operating secure, reliable, auditable data communications networks. Outsourcing these data communication requirements to a third-party service provider can be an effective way to scale transaction volumes without scaling operation costs, and to avoid plunging valuable business executives into the integration technology morass.

Consistent with the buy low and sell high mantra, now is the time to develop and, if possible, execute e-business strategy. The following e-business actions are recommended for companies interested in automating partner information flow:

• Develop the business case for TMM technology use.

• Leverage existing investments.

• Take advantage of technology change.

Developing the Business Case for TMM Technology Use

You should define business objectives and understand technology capability and limitations relative to automation opportunities. EDI deployments are often driven by very basic cost-savings arguments or by brute-force customer requirements. TMM systems are capable of managing much more than purchase order and invoice exchange process. You should understand your customer (and supply) base and how you can leverage TMM technology to take advantage of these relationships.

Leveraging Existing Investments

Exploring the ways existing systems interoperate can reap significant benefits. For example, you could use a content management vendor’s workflow engine to automate process across both Web site and EDI assets. You should be able to streamline exception management across multiple platforms. You should also be able to provide consistent information to partners, regardless of the partner’s means of access (browsers or machine interface). Systems synergies and cost-savings opportunities abound in the TMM market.

Taking Advantage of Technology Change

Finally, the costs and capabilities of TMM technologies are changing rapidly. Understanding the implications of changing conditions will help organizations make wise decisions today, without creating cost of ownership nightmares for tomorrow. It is also important to understand how individual vendors are reacting to changing conditions. Can a vendor support your architectural strategy and your Web service plans? And if so, how willing will the vendor be to negotiate price to move a new e-business product in a down economy? Well-researched answers to these questions can speed ROI and reduce implementation complexity.

^[7]Vacca, John R., Wireless Broadband Networks Handbook, McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2001.