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Insights
Mobile commerce (m-commerce), the conducting of any transaction with monetary value via a mobile wireless device, has evolved as a wireless adjunct application spawned by the tremendous success of Internet commerce and its business-to-consumer applications. With wireless market penetration steadily increasing throughout much of the world, industry analysts expect m-commerce to become the next big potential market explosion in this Internet age. Current mobile capabilities allow such services as banking and stock trading, access to travel information and reservation services, and close proximity to vending-machine transactions. But with the increase in location-specific technology looming on the horizon, a new world of location commerce (l-commerce) possibilities will arise. Soon, a wireless user will be able to find the nearest restaurant, ATM, or movie theater along with directions via a personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular phone. However, the path to successful implementation must address currently unresolved issues surrounding viable business models and other hurdles. At the moment, because of both m-commerce's and l-commerce's nascent states, successful business models are in the midst of formulation. During these early stages, l-commerce must also resolve issues about privacy, cost, and technological standards, to name a few. Even in light of these obstacles, m-commerce's and l-commerce's prospects look good. When these issues are clear and location-specific technology and services merge, l-commerce will be one of m-commerce's killer apps. Author: Jee Wook Han. 13 pages. Index Keywords: Communications; Consumer Electronics; Mobile Communications; Service Industries; Telecommunications.
Until recently, data mining was a luxury available only to large Fortune 500 companies. Very few other firms could justify the time and expense of using massive mainframe computers and analytical experts to sift through reams of data in search of meaningful patterns and information. Now, however, data-mining applications are incorporating user-friendly interfaces and are both easier to use and more affordable for the average business. Moreover, information-technology specialists have found ways to spark managers' interest in data mining by making a persuasive business case for the technology. Indeed, the ability to mine company data for insights into customer preferences, sales patterns, inventory patterns, or other elements of business performance is rapidly becoming a competitive necessity. And market predictions bear out the growing popularity of data mining: One estimate suggests that revenue from statistical and data-mining software will grow 23.6 percent per year during the next five years, peaking at $2.2 billion in 2003. More than a hundred companies offer a vast array of data-mining products and services, creating a vast and profitable industry. Market leaders recognize that the ability to incorporate data mining into comprehensive business-intelligence packages will be the key to maintaining a competitive edge as users' appetite grows for sophisticated analytical capabilities. Author: Christina H. Lee. 13 pages. Index Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Computer Services; Data Management; Information Management; Information Technology; Knowledge Management.
Today's knowledge-based economy requires people who can think, participate, speak up, take initiative, and brim over with new ideas. Moreover, competition is fierce among employers to snap up these best and brightest employees--and to retain their enthusiasm and loyalty. Increasingly, workers are telling their employers that compensation is not enough: They want to know that their work is meaningful, that their employers value their talents, and that they can bring their whole selves to work, no longer leaving their best selves at home. Companies, for their part, are beginning to realize that fulfilled employees pay off in concrete ways, though they are coming to this awareness a little later than their employees have. The challenge is to convert good intentions into workable corporate programs. Many companies will have to make structural changes to attain and keep the top talent. In leading companies, command-and-control leadership styles and traditional hierarchical organization charts are giving way to dynamic weblike structures that thrive on connections, relationships, and easy access to all corporate information. These employers are also finding that self-organization--trusting the people closest to the work to make improvements--not only makes for happier employees but also gives rise to dramatic payoffs in productivity, innovation, customer retention, and revenue gains. Author: Conni Peisinger. 25 pages. Index Keywords: Business Ethics; Human Resources; Knowledge Management; Management; Productivity; Social Trends.
As the Internet emerges as a force in commerce, businesses and consumers are looking for secure ways to conduct transactions online. Recently, the U.S. government passed a new law: the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, or E-Sign. Although the law gives electronic signatures legal effect and validity, it has several limitations. It does not apply in particular areas of commerce, and it is limited in some states with preexisting laws. Companies focusing on their security options need to understand the strengths and limitations of E-Sign, the current electronic signature technologies, and the implications of electronic signatures for businesses. This study examines the strengths and weaknesses of the current technology, public-key infrastructure, by discussing both how it operates and how it compares to other available choices. The study also addresses the value proposition of the firms selling security systems, evaluating what their services and products provide. Finally, this study lists the issues that firms should consider as they decide how best to update and implement a security solution. Electronic signatures are already affecting the pervasiveness of online transactions, and firms must take time now to understand and weigh their options. Author: Carolyn E. Sleeth. 16 pages. Index Keywords: Computer Security; Electronic Commerce; Security Industry.
Through the Scan process, SRI Consulting Business Intelligence alerts companies to early signals of change and provides insight into the potential implications. In the November 2000 Scan meeting in Europe, the ideas that emerged ranged from the new possibilities of networked games to e-payment schemes for children to increasing conflicts in intellectual property rights. This study looks at the possibilities of Internet-enabled games, including new opportunities in games for advertising, for sales and merchandising, and for learning applications. It considers that new intellectual property tends to belong to an employer if it is created "in the course of employment." But as work and leisure blur, "in the course of employment" will become an increasingly contentious phrase and cause problems for intellectual-property rights. The study examines how online purchasing has begun to target children, with electronic wallets and prepaid debit cards now available for 5- to 16-year-olds. The potential is for conflict between parents and e-tailers as children's and adult's finances begin to blur and consumer debt begins at an earlier age. Authors: Samantha Blighe, Rob Edmonds, Robert Thomas. 14 pages. Index Keywords: Innovation; Intellectual Property; Retail Trade; Strategic Planning.
Wild cards are ideas and events well off the current trend lines in the business environment. They are the seeds of innovation, and the Business Intelligence Program (B-I-P) specializes in identifying them with its Scan process. This study reviews topics, trends, and discontinuities in the business environment that B-I-P researchers surfaced at B-I-P's Scan meeting of 15 November 2000. Topics are various: A deregulated business environment provides companies with latitude not only to explore new synergies but also to make mistakes--in the absence of regulations, companies need to be able to gauge public opinion themselves. Advertising opportunities are turning up in the workplace and in the school environment, but risks come with them. The infoglut is taxing consumers' patience, and choice overload can threaten their satisfaction. The scarcest commodity in the attention economy is consumer attention, and some companies are developing strategies to share the consumer's attention rather than steal it from other media. Statistics are emerging on just who garners the most attention on the Internet, but some people are paying no attention to the Net or the World Wide Web (and have no intention to do so). Companies are going to surprising lengths to attract the workers they need in a tight talent market. The boundaries between the university and the corporation, between home and the workplace, and between advertising and information continue to blur as the Internet makes its inroads in all these theaters of operation. Author: Kermit M. Patton. 11 pages. Index Keywords: Innovation; Strategic Planning. News The summaries below describe current activities and programs not included in the B-I-P membership but of potential interest to members. SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, Inc. The Business Intelligence Center of SRI Consulting has become SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, Inc. (SRIC-BI). The new company will continue its 40-year history of focusing on future business opportunities and serving its clients with leading-edge thinking about business, technology, and market demand. SRIC-BI is the latest spinout from the SRI International family. In the new economy, SRI is actively seeking appropriate organizational structures to allow it to create the maximum value to fulfill its charter. SRI has an array of spin-out companies commercializing technology or providing services to institutions worldwide. SRIC-BI is unique within the SRI constellation in that it is owned primarily by its employees. SRIC-BI will continue to provide both consulting services and its premier research programs, including VALS™, Consumer Financial Decisions, Digital Futures, Explorer, Learning on Demand, and the Business Intelligence Program. SRIC-BI is headquartered on the SRI campus in Menlo Park, California. It will also maintain its offices in Tokyo, Japan; London, England; and Princeton, New Jersey. |
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