All biz is Net biz

N. Nagaraj

A BOOK on digital transformation? Now? Maybe yes. Now that the dotcom bubble and its spectacular collapse seem very far in the past, the point is that the Internet is here to stay, and no business can imagine its life without it. As Cisco CEO, John Chambers, puts it in the foreword, ''The countries and companies that will survive are those that learn to harness the power of the Internet to create a competitive advantage."

Most people tend to think about e-business as rooted in technology - that technology is the driver, and then they tend to concentrate on the technology aspects of the entire business or process. But that's not so. The key here is value. Technology is a driver to create, add value in a process, but is almost useless on its own, like a work of art.

The point that some of us miss when we read a business book based on a particular company's experience is that what worked for a company in a particular industry may not work for us, though we face the same problems in the same industry. And then we kick ourselves when we realise that if it were that simple to copy the other company's solution, that company wouldn't be that successful. The authors of this book make one point clear: "And we won't advise you to copy any particular dotcom's e-business strategy. That's the prescription for followship, not leadership." After so many dotcoms have been RIPed, an obvious point, seldom kept in mind is, ''Your commitment to e-business should either be profound or non-existent. There's no middle ground.''One of their different observations about the Net is ''The Net is no place for also-rans.'' Of course, there are people who argue that the first mover advantage is over-hyped in case of the Net, but the point is this - if the first mover got things right, there is no place for any other.

Recent failures in the e-business arena and companies that have been mulling over e-business but have been scared stiff by these failures should take notice of one point: ''If you think being 'in e-business' means suturing on an e-commerce appendage to your body corporate, then think again. We promise you that won't work.''

''Who's winning at e-Business'' is a chapter that examines some winners. All the cases harp on three parameters for profits: greater efficiencies, better customer relationships, and increased value.

"The Vision Thing'' chapter focuses on, well, vision. Is it important? If you think it is, you can skip this chapter in the book except for one little gem, but if you think not, you must read this chapter. And yes, the little gem - the book quotes a member of the executive team from Orange, UK, as saying ''We are customer-led - always walking in our customers' shoes. But sometimes (here comes the heresy), we have to take the lead, simply because today's customer does not know what she or he will want tomorrow, and it will be our responsibility to lead them there. Finally, we try to escape the tyranny of product development and, instead, think in terms of services and solutions."

The book delineates e-business in the B2B and B2C arenas and makes it a point to impress on the distinction by providing different viewpoints, priorities and concerns. However, there is a distinct bias towards B2B. The book also raises some interesting points on doing e-business in-house or spinning it off.

"Preparing for the Unpredictable", the final chapter, discusses issues raised by almost daily developments in technology that impact infrastructure, security, privacy and user experience. Prepare for change is a point that comes through in every page of the book. And as the authors put it in the introduction, ''This book is not meant to be an exhaustive, scholarly, precise analysis of all the nuances of e-business strategies and business models. That's because there were already a handful of new nuances the day after the book was published.''

So, should you read this book? If you are a manager with some dotcom experience, maybe not. You'd have learned the points this book makes the hard way.

If you are a brick-and-mortar manager planning or even considering an e-business project, you must read this. Junior and middle-level technologists should read this to get a feel for business, and senior technologists will find it useful to help make some valuable points during presentations to senior management.

nagaraj@thehindu.co.in

(Digital Transformation

The Essentials of e-Business Leadership

Authors: Keyur Patel

Mary Pat McCarthy

Publishers: McGraw-Hill)

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