But the benefits in terms of cost reduction and new opportunities are attainable. North says many people still see this kind of approach as a technology project, and the risk is that “there will be another wave of big, expensive technology failures because, there is no such thing as a technology project, there is only a business project with technology content”.
“Almost always, all of these things are more about changing the way businesses work or the culture or the processes or the interactions with customers, and so failures stem from not fully understanding the degree of transformation that’s required to be able to do it,” he says. “You’ve actually got to recognise that every time you do one of these things you’ve got to not only address the technology dimension but the people and culture that surround it. Something like 75 percent of projects fail, not because the technology is wrong but because the people are wrong.”
It becomes critical not to try and take on too much, and to consider what elements will offer the highest value and concentrate on these, North says. “There are lots of different options for organisations; do I focus on the customer experience; do I focus internally; or do I focus on the supply chain? You need to select the right things to do in the right order.”
“You need to have a view of where the biggest value points in the business actually are, and decide how much value doing this will have compared to doing that,” says North.
“You need to make some assessment of the risks that are involved in delivering these things and you’ve got to make some sort of prioritization based on that. Don’t try and do everything. Just pick a few things and do them well.”
“Failures stem from not fully understanding the degree of transformation that’s required.”
And lastly, of course, is security. As you build greater connectivity with your customers and partners, and capability across the Web, the data flow and exchange can balloon. It significantly enhances questions of security around the data. North says that in his experience these things are very often not formed properly in this type of project where everything from ID protection through to security and data issues must become important.
The steady return of ecommerce to the business mindset is clearly matched by the advantages and benefits that a clever approach can offer. And with a future boasting such things as video streaming and greater bandwidth, the possibilities for richer interactions with customers and between businesses are vast. The scale and size of an organisation will have little bearing on its presence on the Web. There is great potential for smaller organisations to leverage against technology—no longer so expensive to create a comparatively significant presence on the Web.
The next few years to 2008, according to Gartner, will see ecommerce activity continue its steady progress, towards the “plateau of productivity”. But until this time ecommerce will remain a source of innovation and real opportunity for many businesses. Ecommerce, at least for now, is enjoying a stroll up Gartner’s delightfully named “slope of enlightenment”.
Share and Enjoy:
