Transcript E-Commerce Challenges - University of Maribor

E-Commerce
Challenges
Peter Keen
Bled, June 2003
Challenges
Note: Challenges are not “problems” but opportunities
that are difficult and if not may become problems
Challenges reflect a goal and mission
The initial e-commerce mission has been achieved: there
are still plenty of problems – security, building trust
relationships, credit mechanisms (an understudied issue),
designing mobile services people will pay for, etc..
BUT: we have gone way beyond E-commerce, are pretty much
done with E-Commerce, are in e-Commerce and in many
instances Commerce
Where we are TODAY
Welcome to the variable cost economy
Goodbye to the value “chain” – we are in the business of
“scale-free” value networks
Business is now on demand: global co-sourcing of skills,
outsourcing of basic processes, intellectual “property” as
licensing not protection, open sourcing as the basic
substructure of business, branded technology megautilities, modular services instead of systems
“development”, drop-shipment as business model, etc..
The key challenge: your role in the Creative Economy
Some realities
The U.S. and Europe face exactly the same phenomenon in global
outsourcing of low-end processes and of high end knowledge work
as in the outsourcing of manufacturing – except faster, bigger and
with even more radical consequences: the work is where the (best)
people are, not the other way around
Any region or country can now be eBig – without heavy capital
investment
The e-commerce technology base is a substructure, not
infrastructure
Traditional IS is dead
The Challenges
eBig is the single key challenge everywhere: the new Europe
recreates Europe and has a unique historical opportunity
IS must learn about design and collaboration (good luck!!!!)
Educators must ensure they position students to be part of
the creative not commodity skill market: Today’s premium
skills and managerial practices are often tomorrow’s
“Save As…” and XML/SOAP messages
The e-commerce business- organization- and people-centered
community must take the lead in business process design
and face off the new generation BP automators
The challenge agenda
For business on demand users of services: sourcing of
skills, contracting and coordination skills, the processdriven firm, defining roles and players in value networks
For regions and countries: bringing together the actionmakers not just policy-makers in government, business
leadership, community and educators (yes, it can be done:
think Ireland) to build a role in the on demand world
For organizations: solving the dilemmas of demographics
and skill sourcing (and, alas, the painful disruptions of
many labor markets