IDC revealed today the significant role service providers will play in the next generation of e-business projects. With immediate pressure from dot-coms diminished as the market regroups, businesses are moving from a reactionary mode to a more strategic approach when planning their e-business initiatives. IDC predicts companies planning to thrive in the new economy will turn their attention to e-business projects that will yield real returns and will look to services firms for help. But to take advantage of these opportunities, services firms must reinvent their own strategies and tailor their offerings to the needs of emerging and evolving companies.
Traci Gere, IDC`s group vice president for Services research, explained, "Companies are quickly realizing that buying and selling online is not enough. Instead, they are exploring new sales channels and marketplaces, creating holistic customer experiences, sharing knowledge in new ways to increase productivity and retain intellectual capital, and linking back-end processes to gain efficiencies. We are finally moving from e-commerce to what is truly e-business."
The demand for newer, better, faster, more complex solutions that tie the capabilities of the Internet into overall business value is prompting more companies to seek the assistance of outside providers. This demand fuels numerous opportunities in e-solutions services a market IDC expects to skyrocket from $115 billion in 1999 to $430 billion by 2004. "To deliver the kinds of solutions companies need, services firms must be able to not only deliver expertise on technology, but provide advice on developing new businesses, streamlining existing business processes, orchestrating new ventures, and creating sustainable partnerships," said Michael Melenovsky, senior vice president of IDC`s Worldwide Services group. "We`re at the cusp of a do-or-die transition for services firms. Winning services firms must transform to reflect the needs of their clients for a broad array of business services expressly designed for the new economy." At IDC`s upcoming eSolutions Forum: Reinventing Your Services Strategy for Internet Opportunities, IDC will show e-business consulting and integration firms how to survive turbulent times and exploit the newest services opportunities.
Agenda Highlights:
Driving New Business from NetEconomy Start-ups 51% of start-ups would use an incubator or accelerator if they had it to do all over again. IDC will discuss how you can implement your own business accelerator strategy.
Keys to Winning as an eProcurement Solutions Provider 45% of early adopters implementing eProcurement solutions used some type of service provider. IDC will explore the critical success factors in winning a piece of this business.
The Wireless Solutions Market: Assessing the Opportunity 67% of businesses will have implemented wireless solutions within the next year. IDC will discuss the characteristics of the services firms they are looking to do business with.
CRM Solution Hosting: Energizing Your Services Portfolio. This nascent market will grow aggressively in response to companies` needs for more flexible and modular CRM services. IDC will discuss how you can participate in this growth.
The program is geared toward senior executives in charge of marketing, strategic planning, product/project management, and business development for Internet service firms, systems software vendors, integrators, network/telecommunications providers, value-added resellers, application service providers, software/Web developers, and venture capital/investment firms.
The latest IDC research and strategies in this space will be shared at IDC`s eSolutions Forum: Reinventing Your Services Strategy for Internet Opportunities, November 1-2 at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport. IDC`s eSolutions Forum and its co-sponsors Changepoint, GE Global exchange Services, IBM, Sun Microsystems, ITworld.com, Agilent Technologies, Andersen Consulting, Compaq Computer Corporation, Information Technology Association of America, Novient, and WebEx.
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International Data Corporation (IDC)
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BMI-TechKnowledge Group (BMI-T)
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