InformationWeek

But with the Internet, you have automatic communication and networks that are accessible by everyone. You no longer need to have a value-added network that costs a fortune. Then the compatibility, the openness in software, becomes a bigger issue. We see that in some of the software that's coming to market today.

Bell: E-business is infantile in the companies I deal with; and they run the gamut from startups and dot-coms to the largest businesses. The realities that ERP grappled with were these huge implementation issues--integration and process issues about reengineering the business. E-business is just starting to know what it doesn't know and what it doesn't have.

F. Lecoq: Don't you think it's all about the front end? Business now is just in front of consumers. One big issue we felt right from the beginning is that you have to be concerned about the integration of the back-office business, the system that we're working on now where billions of dollars have been invested. What we want to do is integrate and then face the new economy.

Phillipps: The face to the customer has proven to be the part that can be accomplished rapidly by consumer-to-consumer and some business-to-business implementations. People point to Cisco, they point to Dell, and their supply-chain models, and the efficiencies that they can deliver. That takes some reengineering and grappling with some gnarly problems. We believe the next generation--where the Web grows up--means richer integration end-to-end, including integration with better customer care.

Bell: It's very new for large companies, even a company the size of a Bank of America, that are just now organizing around E-business. So, as infantile as the technology is, it's still further ahead than most companies are. A lot of us have only had E-business from the standpoint that we want to at least have a Web page for our customers to get into, and that was kind of where it stopped. Then we said, "we've got the Web page; what else can we do with this stuff?" The smaller companies may even be more agile in doing this.

F. Lecoq: A large company can make its wishes known quickly. But the smaller guy is nimble, so he can integrate very quickly, and if he has a good idea, a good product, a good connection and knows the Web, he can make his mark. It's a win-win situation.

InformationWeek: What do we need for richer integration?

Phillipps: We're working to deliver better integration with point-of-sales, call centers, and the Web site. Better integration with business-to-business and business-to-consumer means that the human element is introduced back into E-business and people are talking to people.

InformationWeek: Are there technology standards that can help here?

Phillipps: Standards like OBI are kind of stalled and floundering. That might be a little harsh, but OBI hasn't progressed. XML is rising up to say, "There's a new thing that will facilitate interaction between all entities," and it's pushing aside a lot of the other, more niche, standards, like OBI. EDI is still there, but it's really quiet because it's not so glamorous.

InformationWeek: Are products such as Cisco's WebLine getting close to the high touch you want on the front end?

Phillipps: WebLine is very close. It's still cumbersome, and users encounter many problems. It's not that difficult a problem to solve; it's just that the browsers are somewhat challenged to get the richness of interaction that the high-touch site is looking for. I admit that as an E-commerce person trying to eke a buck out of the Web, I and others fought against high-touch requirements, and now we don't want to say, "You know what? You were right."

InformationWeek: There's a new breed of tool coming out that's trying to do this. Are the tools helping you to give the high touch we envision?

Phillipps: They're certainly much richer than we're embracing today. Very few sites are delivering the kind of touch that's available and I think there are some cultural barriers.