 eBusiness for Every Business
December, 2007 Vol. 3 No. 3
Stephen Parsons
What's "E" got to do with it?
A few years ago I attended a seminar on eBusiness delivered by a friend and colleague, Raj Sodhi of Transactive eCommerce Solutions. During his presentation, Raj postulated that eBusiness is really nothing more than "Business as Usual" in the 21st century. I tend to agree with him in some aspects, but then the question remains "What does 'e' bring to the value proposition of business practice?"
The part I agree with is that there is little new to the business model that any technology may bring to it - the same functions of business exist as they always have: incoming logistics; business operations/production; client fulfilment; sales and marketing; human resources; finance; and product/service development. These remain the key activities of any business, regardless of whether it uses technology to enable them. However, that's not to say that technology won't have a profound effect on businesses. Consider:
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Many businesses engage in good business practices that could be even more efficient or effective by leveraging technology.
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Technology often fundamentally affects a business to the degree it may re-define itself after implementing an information technology solution.
Agile Business
So what are the aspects of business that may be improved by adding "e"? Although every business problem and every eBusiness technology brings unique values, there are some that are ubiquitous enough to list as essential:
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Access: particularly with web-based solutions, typical eBusiness applications improve acccess between an audience (e.g. clients, vendors, employees, investors) and the applications or information they need - with 24x7x365 availability.
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Efficiency: automation - especially of low-value tasks - can improve efficiency, freeing up valuable knowledge workers to higher-value customer or operational activities.
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Connectivity: networking systems so that disparate functions talk to each other reduces errors, time to market, and redundancy leading to effective cost control and improved customer service.
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Informed Decision-making: Data can be tracked throughout the value chain - providing excellent evidence-based decision-making support, rather than relying on hunches that could waste opportunities.
Let's make this clear - technology can enable significant successes, but can also accelerate spectacular failures if the underlying processes are not sound to start with. That is why the services of an experienced consultant are worth considering before implementing "e" in your business. If you would like to see what eBusiness can do for your business, call Stephen at InnovaIT to arrange a consulting opportunity.
Stephen Parsons is Senior Partner for eBusiness Consulting at InnovaIT Web Services in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
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