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Published in the March edition of 
Computer Link Magazine

With everything that's happened in the stock market and the economy over the last year, more and more people are starting to talk about the end of eBusiness. Colleges are eliminating programs, venture capitalists are staying away from any business with ".com" in their name and businesses are pulling back from investing in the web.
So is eBusiness really dying? While the image of eBusiness may be faltering, practical applications are becoming more and more widespread everyday.

By the late 1990's people were too busy focusing on the newness of the Internet. Companies scrambled to get first mover advantage, spent too much on marketing and paid a premium for High Tech employees.

Who's responsible for your web strategy?

Over the last several years almost every company hired an employee with an "e" at the beginning of their title (as a matter of fact, my own title includes "eMarketing"). Companies adopted an attitude that somehow the Internet was different. It didn't fit the mold of the rest of the business, and needed different staff to focus on it. I personally believe this is one of the primary reasons so many businesses had problems with their web implementations.

Bringing outside experts into a business can provide a fresh look, new capabilities, and rejuvenate the workforce. But what often happened with the web was that the experienced staff, who knew the business and past history often were overlooked in the rapid eBusiness expansion.

In the future, we are going to see a lot less "eCommerce," "web marketing" and other eBusiness specific titles, and see more of these responsibilities being adopted and integrated into existing marketing, IT and management positions.

The responsibility for eBusiness should not lie in the hands of just a few people at the company, but should be spread across the entire company to really take advantage of the benefits of the web. Your web strategy should not be a standalone component, but rather an integrated element of your overall strategic plan.

Successful eBusiness

So where can you find eBusiness success today? By starting with the basics. The Internet provides a whole host of capabilities that can virtually improve any business through reduced costs, expanding markets and improved communication.

A recent article in Business Week highlighted the incredible profits Amazon.com generated in the 4th quarter of last year. How did Amazon pull off this comeback? By focusing on their original business model and the value they could provide by being a web-based company. As the Business Week article states "it earned a profit by getting the basics right: tangible operating efficiencies, heads down cost cutting and savvy partnerships." Amazon took advantage of the low overhead of Internet based retail stores and was able to substantially discount more expensive books, which in part led to their overall profitability.

Amazon is a great example of how to compete in the book (and now just about every other retail market), but let's think about cost savings smaller companies can get from eBusiness. For example, a small local restaurant might never consider an online presence, thinking what good could it do for them? In the big-spending days of a few years ago, you might consider an online reservation system, storing peoples' favorite meals and preferences, or even online ordering. Systems like this can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to build. That might make sense for a national chain restaurant with a lot of stores.

But in our example, the small locally owned restaurant spending like that, just doesn't make sense. In today's economy, you need to focus on the things that can provide real benefits that justify the costs. One area to consider for cost savings is posting your take-out menu online. Through a simple web site like this, you can begin saving costs of printing, updates, mailing and distribution. Not to mention the fact that for those customers that check the menu first, you'll spend less time on the phone taking orders and more time delivering quality food. In addition to cost savings, you in turn also provide enhanced service to your customers who no longer have to search through a drawer full of menus when it comes time to place an order. One of the primary keys to success in the restaurant industry (besides good food) is high-levels of customer service.

So were do we go from here?

I was in a meeting the other day, where a younger colleague pointed out to me that the younger generation doesn't ask, "do you have a web site?" or "do you have eMail?" It's just assumed that the Internet is part of everyday business. The next generation of business leaders will embrace the Internet, know how to take advantage of the capabilities, and that's when we'll all start to see the promise of the Internet. But you don't have to wait, because the question in the future is not going to be about the demise of eBusiness, it will be about the demise of your business if you don't embrace the web.