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Inside this Issue:
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Business
News via the Value Framework™ Lenses
Management Perspective
by
Mitchell Levy, Author of the book E-Volve-or-Die.com, Creator of the
Value Framework™
Executive
Producer, VMS3.info
VMS3.info News
Bringing outsourcing back in-house
A brighter
economy means reconsidering your outsourcing needs. With the economy heating up
a bit, many IT managers are probably wondering how they might adjust to an environment
of increased IT spending and necessary investments. Most IT managers became specialists
in contraction (myself included), but should a more expansive environment change
our approach? Tuning A Web Site For Success
Parts retailer uses e-commerce app for greater scalability and better
search functionality. Maybe it's a sign of a recovering economy and loosened-up
IT spending. Or that consumers are increasingly comfortable buying big-ticket
items online. Or that growing midsize businesses are committing to the Internet
more than ever before. Or maybe Dennis Kirk Inc.'s recent $1 million investment
to upgrade its Internet site for easier searching and greater scalability and
move its outlet business to the Web is a sign of all three. MODEL:
TRANSACTIONS Analyst Corner:
Caution on Network Outsourcing
When it comes to developing outsourcing
strategies for voice and data networks, Compass America says CIOs should exercise
a higher level of selectivity when determining what functions should be handed
off to a service provider and what functions kept in-house.
MODEL:
PARTICIPANTS Online Auctions: Another Route
Newell Rubbermaid uses auctions as one phase of dealing with suppliers; lock in
price, then enter into a relationship. Online auctions have been portrayed as
a cynical way for buyers to clobber suppliers over price. As such, suppliers have
sometimes been averse to participating in auction activity, preferring to win
their spurs on such non-price factors as quality, speed of service, etc. But the
strategy currently in place at Newell Rubbermaid demonstrates how both buyers
and suppliers can win from the online auction.
MODEL: INFLUENCES
Wal-Mart's RFID edict ripples
through IT
As the retail giant spells out its RFID requirements, IT staffs
gear up for data and device deluge the other shoe has dropped. Wal-Mart has laid
out requirements for its suppliers to tag all cartons and pallets with wireless
RFID (radio frequency identification) sensors by Jan. 1, 2005. The Technology of the Year: Social Network Applications
In the beginning, there was the Oracle of Bacon. A playful website created by
grad students at the University of Virginia in 1996, the site showed how Kevin
Bacon's relationships with other actors placed him at the center of the Hollywood
universe. Then came a doomed dotcom-era startup called SixDegrees. Launched in
1997, the site invited users to incorporate friends, family, and business contacts
into an online community to help members find jobs and pals. Tech
Industry Runs Risk of Over-Regulation, Symantec CEO Says
Speaking at
the annual Comdex computer trade show in Las Vegas, John Thompsonm the CEO of
Cupertino-based Symantec, said this week that unless computer and software makers
work to improve IT security, governments will likely pass new regulations that
stifle innovation in the sector. "If we don't come together to secure the
networked world, we're likely to see a decline in connected users, and that's
not a good thing for the industry," sad Thompson said. "The alternative
is that if we as an industry don't solve the problem, you're likely to see a rash
of government regulation crop up." Symantec, an Internet security services
company, is widely known for its Norton AntiVirus software. Online
Spending to Sharply Increase During Holidays
Consumers are expected to
significantly increase their online shopping budgets during the holiday season,
according to a new report from Nielsen//NetRatings, a provider of Internet audience
measurement services with West Coast operations in Milpitas, in conjunction with
Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Harris Interactive. During the week ending November
15, 67% of those surveyed said that they had visited an e-commerce site, up from
60% during the same week last year. A separate report by Nielsen//NetRatings found
that the online holiday shopping season has officially started during the past
two weeks, driven by a significant uptick in shopping at toys sites. "Toys
and games got the holiday season started this year, with big spikes in many of
the firms' online sessions," said Robert Leathern, a director and senior
analyst for Nielsen//NetRatings. "Other categories like consumer electronics,
and home and garden have shown strong consistent growth throughout this year,
and continue to grow traffic strongly as the holiday season is kicking off." STRATEGY
DEPLOYED IT Consolidation: 41 Business Units, 9 CIOs, 1 Standard
Textron's IT consolidation effort is a political and leadership challenge of global
proportions. Can the company find the right mix after years of operating independently? Bank
of America and FleetBoston: Dud Deal?
Bank of America's acquisition of
FleetBoston for $48 billion in stock was the third largest banking merger in history
and will create a mega-bank that will span the country. But though bank executives
promise economies of scale and cross-selling opportunities, investors aren't impressed.
Bank of America shares have fallen and failed to recover. Wharton faculty point
out that Bank of America's CEO, Kenneth D. Lewis, would have been applauded if
he had acquired FleetBoston for $11 billion less.
Amazon
building shopping search firm
The cut-throat competition among companies
vying for the top spot in online shopping searches just got tougher: Online retail
giant Amazon.com has entered the fray, announcing it is building a shopping search
company. STRATEGY:
MANAGED For Rebecca Mathias,
Motherhood Is a Fulltime Job
In 1982, when Rebecca Matthias was pregnant
with her first child and working as an architect, she couldn't find maternity
clothes that were appropriate for a professional woman. Thus was born a business
niche, one that she and husband Dan Matthias went on to develop into Mothers Work,
the largest maternity retailer in the U.S., with 1,000 stores and 2002 sales of
$453 million. During an interview at Wharton, Mathias talked about the growing
pains of an entrepreneurial venture. The Wal-Mart
You Don't Know
The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high
cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business
with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to
the unemployment line? The
Daily Flicks: Morphing ink may bring video to newspapers
Imagine opening
the newspaper and seeing a full-color, video clip of a battle or sports match.
That's the sort of vision that drives developers of electronic paper. Even though
a black-and-white version that can display static images remains in development,
two new approaches offer the prospects of video and bright color. HP Cuts Storage Prices
New, less expensive
solutions for SMBs reflects ongoing mainstreaming of space; industry pricing battle
includes EMC and IBM. In a move that reflects ongoing commoditization of storage
as an e-business area, HP has debuted inexpensive storage solutions targeted towards
small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and priced against IBM and Dell. The
new family, known as HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Array (MSA), begins at under
$10,000. HP is also offering packages consisting of MSA components plus its existing
ProLiant servers at a lower price point. Dell Recalls Tech Support from India After Complaints
In a move that could dampen the tech sector's unbridled enthusiasm for low-cost
outsourcing, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) said it would stop routing some customer-support
requests to call centers in India after customers complained about the quality
of service.
About
the Author: Mitchell
Levy, is President and CEO of ECnow.com (http://ecnow.com),
a management consulting company helping corporations transition from the industrial
age to the Internet age through strategy, marketing, and off-the-shelf and customized
on-line and on-ground training. He is the author of the book E-Volve-or-Die.com
(http://e-volve-or-die.com), creator of
the Value Framework™
(http://ecnow.com/value/),
Executive Producer of VMS3.info (http://VMS3.info),
the Director of the Silicon Valley Executive Business Program (http://SiliconValleyPACE.com),
former Chair of comdex.biz at Comdex Fall, and Chairman of the Pay-per-Performance
PR Agency Media Attention Now TM (http://ecnow.com/mediaattention),
and the CEO Networking organization CEOnetworking (http://ceonetworking.com).
Mitchell was at Sun Microsystems for 9 years, the last 4 of which he managed the
e-commerce component of Sun's $3.5 billion supply chain. Mitchell is a popular
speaker, lecturing on ECM issues throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Read more about Mr. Levy: http://ecnow.com/ml_bio.htm
Public speaking appearances I've given: http://ecnow.com/speaking.htm
Read about ECnow.com's media coverage: http://ecnow.com/media
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