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April 26, 1999

Smaller Is Better

Small Web consulting firms offer speed, flexibility, and a complete Internet focus

By Gregory Dalton

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s electronic commerce becomes more central to the way companies do business, executives and IT managers are struggling not just with technical decisions about which servers and applications to use, but also with questions about strategy, design, and content.

Small Web consulting firms have begun popping up across the country to offer advice on these issues. The best of these outfits are fast, flexible, and focused solely on the Internet. But none of them can do it all, and managing relationships with several boutiques can be tricky.

Senior technology and business managers say the pace of change in the online marketplace creates pressure to put new applications on the Web quickly. One way to do that is to use a consulting firm that specializes in development. But creating a site that's technically sophisticated, easy to navigate, and appealing to the eye requires a variety of skills.

A few companies claim to offer all the expertise needed to develop a successful site, but most focus on one or two of the three broad areas of site development: technology, process management, and creative content. Large IT consulting firms have been trying to build up their Web development expertise, but many companies that have used them say they're often too slow and tend to be stuck in old ways of doing things.

The Net "is a different way of thinking," says Tom Miller, VP of Internet business development at payroll-service company Automatic Data Processing Inc. "The newcomers with little baggage can move quicker and adapt. At this point, the companies that were started specifically for Internet applications have adapted more quickly."

USWeb/CKS and iXL Enterprises Inc. are among the few consulting firms that claim to provide complete solutions. "We like to believe that we do it all, from the technology to the front-end design of the user experience and the strategy," says Jeff Brunnings, client-relationship manager at USWeb/CKS.

Not everyone is convinced. Meta Group analyst Stan Lepeak says USWeb/CKS and iXL have employees with strong skills, but that these workers were acquired by buying different companies and haven't been integrated in a way that lets the companies offer a consistent set of services.

The boutique Web consulting firms--including Fort Point Partners, Inventa, Modem Media, Scient, and Viant--have more limited skills, but they're typically much stronger in one area, such as systems development, as they try to get up to speed on creative content and business strategy. "To believe you can find a one-stop solution provider isn't a good idea today," Lepeak says.

Usha Sekar, who was CIO of Fujitsu PC until she left last month to found her own company, agrees. "Internet solution providers come in different flavors," she says. "At this point, there is no one group that does everything very well."

Fujitsu PC hired Inventa Corp. to develop an application for selling PCs on the Internet. Inventa is also building three applications for ADP, including EasyPay Net, which lets small-business customers manage their payroll over the Web. The EasyPay Net system is already live in the New York area and will be rolled out nationwide later this year.