It's not just about web sites - it's business transformation

When most people talk about e-commerce or e-business, they think of pioneering websites that offer the browser an unbeatable bargain. The buccaneering companies that have initiated such services are riding high on the stock market and the good times continue to roll. However, as you might expect with an industry that evolves on a daily basis, times are a-changing.

At its recent media and analysts conference in New York, Andersen Consulting CEO George Shaheen mapped out the real issues that should be concerning clients in the e-business field.

"It's not about getting a website up. It's not about getting the website to work. It's not about the slickest design. It's how you run your company differently, how you relate to your employees differently, how you relate to every stakeholder you have differently through that e-capability".

Web consultancy has for some time been based around the look-and-feel of sites, as well as the fulfilment of orders. Shaheen chants a compelling new course for those working in this area. He would be the first to admit that Andersen's strengths do not lie in the technical minutiae of website creation, but in its ability to transform and change the way in which businesses work.

Herein lies the real future of e-commerce / e-business. Stop thinking about the web as a separate entity to the way in which the business operates. Traffic on the Internet doubles every 100 days. It cannot be ignored. It will affect employees, employers and customers alike. It is an object of dramatic change. It is beginning to pervade every business function and operation.

Changes in traditional methods of business brought about by the web mean that technology can no longer be ignored, according to KPMG Consulting. To gain the best results, business and IT strategies must be developed together. Many companies are failing to embrace the opportunities opened by web-based technology.

It may be a cliché that the web is changing the business environment, but surprisingly few companies have reconsidered their business strategy in the light of this new environment...many senior managers believe that simply developing a website, even one that enables some aspect of e-commerce is a sufficient response. These companies may get a nasty shock when they find out that their competitors have seen new ways of doing business, indeed whole new businesses, enabled by web-based technology.

Certain industries are under greater technological threat than others. Industries whose products and services have a high information content or can be digitised and companies whose customer groups are significant users of the Internet and those whose sales channels involve several parties. The music and automotive industries have internal business operations that could be replaced by the web. It is only recently that these two industries have realised the challenges that they face.

In order to fight the coming challenges, companies should rethink and revise their corporate strategy. By assessing the opportunities and threats posed by new technology, business leaders will be able to survive and flourish with the new technology.