by Larry Davenport, USA
Exec. VP and GM
The Netplex Group Finally, somebody gets it! The recent announcement that Amazon and Borders.com will be partnering is great news for both companies and consumers. While it may have come a bit late, it is truly the right thing. By partnering together, each can build upon the strengths of the other to provide a valued shopping experience for their clients and eliminate the need to build business models that are not a core competency. Amazon, with its solid warehousing and processing capabilities, brings the proven infrastructure. Borders Books brings a great client base with loyal customers that need customer attention and focus. Together they create the true Brick and Click environment. Companies such as Yahoo! are finally understanding that revenue does not lie in advertising, but in providing services. Yahoo's announcement that it is laying off 12% of its work force, outsourcing some of its operations, and centralizing its businesses on a global level is a step in the right direction. Yahoo! can now focus on what it does best, providing online services. Charging for online services isn't a new concept for the company. Yahoo! already charges for paying bills and filing tax returns and, according to news reports, will soon charge for online stock-quotes. By finding its focus, Yahoo! reduces its reliance on advertising revenues and builds on proven revenue models. At the same time, however, NBCi had other plans. So upset that their Web site, a site they spent millions of dollars to build and maintain, isn't giving them the ROI they predicted, they are dismantling their operations and probably believing they should never have made the investment. Wrong! Internet technology is here to stay. It isn't going away. It will grow and become better and easier to use as each day passes. Giving up is the only failure at this stage of the game. The media inundates us with news about business closings, loss of huge investments made in new Web sites, and dot.com's failing. And we are led to believe it is all because of the "Internet." That the blame lies in the failure of a technology that has done nothing other than improve efficiency and accuracy over the past several years. I believe they are taking the wrong position on this. We should be promoting the Internet for what it really is - a new technology and infrastructure that allows us to conduct business more efficiently. Had investors realized that this so called "Internet" is nothing more than a tool and a different type of technology, they would have made radically different business decisions. I am convinced that had business professionals approached the Internet for what it truly is, there would not have been the huge loss of capital and business, and Internet technology would not wear the veil of negativity that it wears today. The lessons we can learn from Yahoo!, Amazon, and Borders are stay focused on what we do best and use the Internet as a tool to access resources that can do the rest. Technological breakthroughs are inevitable, whether or not the economy is weak or strong. The companies leveraging the technology are the ones who will weather the current storm. Abandoning the Internet will never work. Yahoo!, Amazon, and Border's have set the right tone. It isn't about packing up. It's about focus. As the Internet evolves and integrates further into the business world, it is critical we pair our bricks with the right clicks, leverage the Internet and advanced technology to enhance our business and continue to grow. Feedback!Make your opinion count! Click here for our online feedback form or email us using this link: mailto:feedback@eretailnews.com Other features FREE NEWSLETTER, click here | 