Business strategy and enterprise developmentÐ the rise and rise of the Internet
At a recent business convention in America, the Chairman of Intel con®dently predicted that if business organizations do not become Internet companies within the next ®ve years, then they are sealing the fate of their own demise, because quite simply they will cease to exist. This could of course, be pure hype. Another example of the exaggerated and arrogant claims that the information technology industry is notorious for. However, this prediction is being articulated by the corporate leader of the most pro®table and dominant semiconductor ®rm in the world and arguably the most respected organization among US technology companies . Allowing for a little poetic licence, this statement is probably correct.
Depending on the point of view, the Internet could either be over-in¯ated or under-valued. What is in little doubt however, is the capacity of the Web to function as the most amazing and innovative instrument of strategy and enterprise development. The Internet is turning businesses and markets upside down and inside out. It is fundamentally changing the ways in which companies operate almost irrespective of their industry sector, market position or product offering. This goes far beyond the commercial decisions of buying and selling, or the development of e-commerce and deep into the processes, management, structure and culture of an enterprise. The quest for competitive advantage and sustainable, innovative strategic positioning has taken on a whole new dimension.
Many businesses are using the Internet to make direct connections with their customersÐsome for the ®rst time. Others are using secure Internet connections to intensify relations with some of their trading partners, and using the Internet's reach and ubiquity to engage in deals and operations that were previously unheard of. Entirely new companies and business models are emerging in industries as diverse as road haulage and textiles, to bring together buyers and sellers in super-ef®cient new electronic market places. Furthermore, the Internet is enabling organizations to reduce their