The Road of e-Business Transformation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

The Road of e-Business Transformation - Essay Example Both government and industry experts and leaders are anticipating the time when e-business investments will eventually create authentic and lasting change. E-business is about continuously revolutionizing market spaces and business models, innovating organizations in time to compete, reinforced by Internet technologies, manpower capital, and the search for value. The strength of the transformation is the core of e-business investment, but such has yet to be sufficiently illustrated through the current applications of e-business models (Khoong, 2001). The startup phase transpired between 1995 and 1999. During the onset of e-business, several pure-play startups surfaced, utilizing technology as a critical business driver. The value proposition of the startups was inclined towards the catchphrase 'Content is King!'. The euphoria was compounded by a gold rush - valuation of dotcoms was seen as the way to instant wealth. The reality of the startup phase was that expensive customer acquisition was of little help for weak value propositions, and the big burn rates eventually caused the failures of numerous startups. The first 100 days of business also became the last 100 days for some. The tail end of the startup phase was a B2C shakeout. It was only last year t... The first 100 days of business also became the last 100 days for some. The tail end of the startup phase was a B2C shakeout. It was only last year that e-business investors began to separate the hype from the reality. The NASDAQ crash provided a much-needed correction on the real value of e-business investments. This second phase - the partnership phase - is where we stand today. Partnerships through joint ventures and strategic alliances between old-economy and new-economy firms are seen as the attractive paths to profitability. By focusing on vertical business sectors and leveraging partnerships to provide a ready community of subscribers to e-business services, customer acquisition costs are dramatically reduced and the top-line potential becomes significantly more lucrative. The partnership phase is expected to run for another year or so, by which time the next phase will set in. In the meantime, the market will have to sort itself out, as at the moment a glut in e-marketplaces is looming. The tail end of the partnership phase will be a B2B shakeout. Within the next two years, we expect consolidation in the e-business industry. This will then bring us into the consolidation phase, in which every business is an e-business, and the 'e' qualification becomes totally redundant. Consolidation will mean e-business infrastructure becomes the backbone of huge business networks, supporting end-to-end supply chain integration. The tail end of the consolidation phase - if there is one - may be characterized by a world comprising a few gigantic global e-firms and some very small firms who remain out of the e-loop.