On November 27 I was privileged to be able to give a talk at the Silicon Valley World Internet Center. They are the nicest people and they do a great job of creating community and serious business discussion around key Internet topics. Most of the attendees are Bay area folks who are “in the know”. Prior to the event the SVWIC posed a question — “What will the Internet change for you or your company in 2002?”

Given that the attendees are so knowledgeable and live/breath this stuff, it is enlightening to see the range and depth of their responses.

Tuesday, November 27, 2001

CHALLENGE-THE-EXPERT

NET ATTITUDE
By Mr. John Patrick
Vice President, Internet Technology, IBM Corporation

“From IBM’s Internet Guru — A Revolutionary Approach to Instilling a Web-savvy Culture Throughout Your Organization”

RESPONSES FROM AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS

On November 27, 2001, IBM’s Vice President of Internet Technology, Mr. John Patrick, made a return visit to the Center this year to discuss with Silicon Valley executives and technologists the profound implications of adopting an Internet attitude and how it would transform businesses.

Prior to his talk and the interactive knowledge discussion where the audience participants challenged Mr. Patrick’s premises, the participants were asked to answer the following question of which their responses are below:

“The Internet changes everything. What will the Internet change for you or your company in 2002?”

BUSINESS STRATEGY/MARKETING

• Improved remote office capabilities.
• New distribution channel, revenue stream.
• Collapse of demand from first wave has caused disillusionment in future investments.
• It is the end of big companies.
• New market approach.
• Fewer banner ads; fewer subscription-based services; more transactional tracking.
• Expect the Internet to expand in terms of more and more companies having a Web presence, thus providing more sales opportunities.
• Exposure to more people and information.
• A Web presence is an important marketing and sales tool for my new company.
• New market approach.
• A “true” push to eCommerce and a new career.
• Stronger market.
• Internet infrastructure supporting mobile communication will enable our Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)- based calling applications to be deployed.
• Greatly influence our investment decisions.
• Big question! The Internet will be the integral part of how we do business as a company and how we communicate with our users.
• As a service provider, the expanding Internet will provide us with a growing market.
• It really builds a strong service industry as companies move from fat products to customized services
  (Web services).
• It will allow me to have my offices anywhere I want them.
• All GUIs go then; intranets, xtranets become more important, hence, move money; Web services – not yet, but let’s all pay homage.
• It will impact my entire consulting portfolio as a management consultant/business strategist.
• What is the single largest hurdle to deploying mobile commerce solutions? And how do you envision it being overcome?

GLOBALIZATION AS A SUBSET OF BUSINESS STRATEGY/MARKETING

• The Internet will allow my company to cost-effectively do business all around the world while at the same time overcoming previous inefficiency problems.
• Enable a consultant like me to manage projects remotely in Asia and Europe from here.
• It will allow me to expand my customer base beyond the U.S..
• Business globalization.
• Give local branches a global presence.
• The Internet enables our firm to act globally and communicate with clients and strategic partners easily.
• The Internet will change the ability of our company to market itself globally and bring together groups in a collaborative community.
• Globalization of innovation and opportunities.
• It will tie together every product and service across our global enterprise.
• When will U.S. companies start realizing the Net gives them immediate access to the global market place and strategize accordingly?

COMMUNICATIONS

• Communicating rapidly in business and personal lives.
• Access to information.
• Accessibility of information and greater coordination of activities and communication of uses of that information.
• Continually improve ability to connect to information and people.
• Knowledge will be distilled from information.
• The way we share information and collaborate.

COMPETITIVENESS

• Provide more selection, but overall, force more competitiveness.
• The Internet will enable very fine-grained competition and innovation arising from core competencies rather than control of markets.
• Change the economy back to somewhere near pre-March 2001 . . .$$$.
• It will bring a new type of revenues.
• It will bring greater profit. “Realsoft ISP”
• Under deliver on experience; cause sufficient confusion to fuel consulting projects.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/CRM

• It will most likely change my travel schedule. I will need to add several thousand more air miles to see all the new constituents.
• The Internet will connect my business with customers.
• The Internet will allow us to keep in continuous contact with our customers.
• It will bring new types of services.
• Faster feedback regarding customer interests and buying patterns.
• Allows companies to analyze customers’ and markets’ needs and make recommendations to develop business.

EFFICIENCIES/COST-EFFECTIVENESS/PRODUCTIVITY

• Well, we’ve just got to pay for it! $$$
• It will make my primary market research more cost-effective – Web-based surveys via email; Web-based virtual focus groups.
• The Internet will allow our company to become more efficient through mobile and wireless services.
• Streamlines business processes.
• The Internet will improve the speed to perform our tasks, distribution and collaboration.
• Faster and easier.
• More bandwidth; more multi-media, wireless related; social and community interactions; more efficient data mining.
• It will let us implement tele-medicine very economically.
• More, faster, deeper meaning and increasing content confusion.
• Company direction and focus towards integrating technology.
• Increase my business.
• Operational efficiency.
• Combination of mobility and Internet will fully deliver productivity.

LIFESTYLE/COMMUNITY

• It will continue to break down the walls between work life and personal life as more instant chat becomes part of a day. Community of affiliation connected all day.
• Allow me to learn more easily.
• A more rational balance between commercial and non-commercial endeavors.
• Web services will create new Internet economy in 2002, I hope!
• Increase the time I spend in front of my computer reading news, doing investment, paying bills, shopping, communicating . For my company, not many changes are expected, because business needs to digest technology.
• The Internet in 2002 will only change my personal life significantly if broadband finally arrives in a uniform fashion to American homes.
• A big understatement.
• Everything!
• The crystal ball is cloudy; time will tell.
• Yes.
• Customer entertainment and information in cars.
• I won’t really know until 2003!
• Nothing.

LOGISTICS/SCM

• The way we do business; the way we get paid; the type of business we will be; the way we pay suppliers.

SECURITY/PRIVACY

• Need for more robust security to safeguard against viruses and terrorism.
• Privacy: Addressing our customers’ data-handling concerns.
• Interconnectedness and increased complexity driven by the Internet will only increase the need to address security and its management.

Programs at the Center, including Challenge-the-Experts, are possible due to the support of its Sponsors:

Amdocs
Cable & Wireless
Deutsche Telekom
Fujitsu
IBM
SAP
Sun Microsystems

For further information on Center program proceedings, please contact:

Ms. Susan Barich
Director of Communications
Silicon Valley World Internet Center
E: [email][email protected][/email]