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InternetWeek USWeb Expands Outsourcing Efforts

Conser didn't mind paying for their education, he says, as long as the company delivered on its promise. But three months later, the project still wasn't complete. According to Conser, the fault lay in the consultants' decision to use Front Page for the front-end Web-page management, though Microsoft recommends against using that product to edit Site Server Commerce Edition's Active Server pages because of the risk of data loss and problems with site functions.

In the end, Audio Adventures ended the relationship. It's now using an internal developer to complete the project while renegotiating for more favorable terms with the Web hosting company that originally built and maintained its E-commerce site.

But the headaches don't end there-Audio Adventures is being sued by the husband-and-wife team, who believe the company owes them additional fees, and is countersuing them for failure to perform. "These experiences may just be a part of covering a new territory such as emerging enterprise E-commerce solutions," Conser says. He adds that he has learned important lessons for any new projects he hands over to consultants-next time, he'll check with their past clients instead of just reviewing a portfolio, and he'll explicitly link payments to milestones reached.

Still, companies that've had successful experiences with untested consultants prove that these undertakings can benefit everyone. For example, given the freedom to experiment, Pelletier and his staff developed a level of expertise that's paid off for both Trifecta and for Lehigh Valley Safety Supply. Says Codrea, "I don't think there's anyone around here who knows what [Pelletier] knows." Trifecta now charges its growing roster of new clients $135 an hour for programmers and $175 an hour for project managers.

ııMoreover, as Pelletier's skills have matured, Trifecta has become more valuable to Codrea. "Now he knows what to do and what not to do, and how to speed the flow of pages," Codrea says. And the project "isn't taking nearly as much of my time as it did two years ago."

Lehigh Valley Safety Supply's Web site is entering phase three, during which the company will post its remaining shoe styles and include a search engine that lets customers select shoes to view by attributes, such as "brown," "waterproof," "insulated," and "boot." The site also will let business customers tailor it to their needs, so their employees see only the approved styles. The upgrade will cost $30,000 to $50,000, which Codrea calls a bargain considering Trifecta's fees for new clients.