From .com to .profit

Until now, all it's taken to build a successful e-business is the right technology. An online storefront goes up and a company's market capitalization goes through the roof, despite low sales and no profits. But now the race to get online is over. As the new economy rapidly becomes the only economy, Internet companies must learn how to create sustainable value if they're going to survive. This book provides the solid business basics companies need to move from the old era of .com to the next era of .profit. Nick Earle, the driving force behind Hewlett-Packard's worldwide Internet strategy, and Peter Keen, a visionary in the world of business and technology, have been anticipating online trends and communicating them to managers for over twenty years. Here they team up to forecast the future of Internet commerce and to lay out the six key imperatives that will determine the difference between successful and unsuccessful e-business in the coming decade. Earle and Keen show managers how to perfect the logistics, cement the relationships, build the brands, transform the capital and cost structures, harmonize the sales channels, and provide the services that are crucial to delivering both value and profits on the Web. Using examples from HP and other top companies around the world, the authors go beyond Internet hype to lay out strategic action in the key areas of technology, finance, and marketing. In the process, they provide all the useful information, timely insights, and practical advice managers need to build business plans for the new economy that really work.