InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
January 31, 2000
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For example, any company that's growing through acquisition will need to create a common set of infrastructures. IP backbone networks--such as the one Cabela's chose--and Web-enabled browser interfaces are rapidly emerging as standards that can provide this commonality.
But it's not easy. "Creating a common set of infrastructures is normally a big task for a company that is growing quickly through the absorption of different units. So that by itself, is a driver of change," says Gil Marmol, CEO of Luminant Worldwide Corp., a developer of interactive business solutions.
Even if companies are unable to execute on a comprehensive IT infrastructure strategy, taking a holistic point of view based on business objectives can still help determine the direction of more-rapid, as-needed IT infrastructure development.
As Cabela's discovered, the best methodologies for designing and implementing new IT systems take a customer-centric approach. "The strong methodologies really focus a lot on the under-the-covers integration of the various technologies a company employs in its business systems to present a common face to the Internet client," says Jonathan Brandenburg, a senior technical specialist for Luminant.
DoveBid Inc., a 63-year-old brick-and-mortar business-to-business auction house that went online in November, is making huge adjustments to its business strategy as well as its technology infrastructure. The privately held company has conducted more than 3,000 auctions throughout the world--selling more than 10 million items worth more than $5 billion. The greatest challenge facing the Foster City, Calif., company, was integrating its old system with newer, E-commerce applications that run on Windows NT, says Francis Juliano, DoveBid's chief technology officer.
In the past, a desktop PC loaded with a database of item numbers, descriptions, and acceptable prices, would be set up for every auction. After the auction, output had to be transferred from the PC to a back-end accounting system. Now, the Microsoft Internet Information Server front end connects via adapters to an Oracle server on the back end that creates a single view database. Input from the Web is integrated with auction management tools, accounting, inventory, and customer-management applications. "Before, we had two systems that did not talk to each other," Juliano says. "Now, we have seven systems, all integrated and automated, to allow self-service to clients" and smoother transactions.
Looking ahead, "Not only do we have to adapt to new technologies, we have to come up with strategies that allow us to integrate all of that with our enterprise systems and then constantly put out new releases every three to four months," Juliano says.
Successful infrastructures must accommodate two-way communications with customers where browsers gather information and respond to suggestions and input. Interactivity can be measured by brief online surveys, page traffic analysis, and quantitative call-center traffic analysis that breaks down where complaints and kudos originate. "You are going to have to launch and learn," says James Roche, CEO of FortPoint Partners, an E-selling consulting firm in San Francisco.
Of course, getting companies to agree on methodology is easier said than done and there are culture issues to address. Many companies--or departments within companies--have a lot invested in older systems and processes, and see Internet applications as relatively new and untested. Managers must temper conflicting interests, and harness the energy of various elements within the company to create a new IT infrastructure. Success can be as dependent on culture and politics as it is on technical analysis.
"Older corporations get very ingrained in their technology and the ways that they are doing things, so it's harder to move into something brand new," says Cabela's Brauer. Often, a clear business case needs to be developed and then communicated to an interdisciplinary group of employees to yield success. Line managers in charge of marketing, operations, or sales, for example, must work closely with IT to make the new E-commerce-ready enterprise effective.
A collaborative approach can work, too. "There's a lot of synergy these days between the IT side and the marketing side. The IT group knows they can't build a whole new site every month, and they need the help of the business folks who really are the ones looking at the market and knowing when it's going to change," says Ken Volpe, VP of product management and marketing for Art Technology Group Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., provider of customer-relationship management and E-commerce products and services.
Even with tight time frames, Volpe recommends up-front thinking about architecture and platforms.
So while business technology will never stop producing more powerful and more functional applications, companies must set benchmarks for themselves as they continually integrate new tools for their jobs. "There are obviously important objectives and milestones," Marmol says. "You need to focus on those and make sure they are achieved on a timely basis, but remember that these are only steps in a continuing process."
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Illustration by Bob Daly
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