Internet Business Potential
The Internet is not a hype. It is a technology that will change the way we live, work and
communicate. Manuel Castells, a professor of planning at Berkeley, starts a recent book
with the words:
"A technological revolution of historic proportions is transforming the
fundamental dimensions of human life: time and space [...] The unfolding promise of
information technology opens up unlimited horizons of creativity and communication
[...] challenging our societies to engage in a process of structural change..."
The Informational City, Oxford/Cambridge, Blackwell, 1989: 1
For a large part, this unfolding promise is delivered by Internet technology. Basically the Internet
is a complex web of regional and local computer networks. This infrastructure can be used for a
variety of purposes in several area's:
- communication
- (e-mail, electronic discussions, videoconferencing, workgroup applications, etc.)
- publication
- (product information, magazines, real-time news, databases, etc.)
- transactions
- (shopping, banking, securities trading, package tracking, etc.)
- entertainment
- (gambling, games, comedy, chatting, etc.)
All of these powerful uses are based on existing standard Internet technologies. Some are widely used
on the public Internet, others are used mainly on corporate Intranets or business Extranets.
Internet
The open Internet is mainly used for external communications. With an estimated user base of over 50 millions
world-wide, the Internet is a powerful tool for information exchange.
For local businesses and niche players,
the Internet presents the opportunity to "go global" and extend market reach. And most businesses will
welcome the young, high-educated and wealthy Internet population.
The interactive qualities of the web provide opportunities to engage those that are already interested in your
products or services, and electronic communication provides ways of targeting that were inconceivable before.
Visitors of your web site can be presented with only the information that they are interested in. The same
web site can become a source of valuable marketing data. Simple and cost-effective techologies for one-to-one
marketing are used already by many companies on the Internet.
Electronic push media can be used to create strong relationships with existing or potential customers.
This can be an interesting addition to the media mix of many companies, especially when combined with targeting
of information at the individual user.
Intranet
Many companies use Internet technologies also for internal communications. Internal internets or "Intranets"
are used for many purposes: knowledge management and knowledge sharing; collaboration and communication;
training; ISO 9000 support; etc.
Although other solutions are possible, based on different technologies, Intranets are often implemented because
of cost-effectiveness, independence of platform, and easy of use.
Extranet
Extranet is one of the latest "buzzwords" in the world of the Internet. An extranet is a communications
infrastructure based on standard internet technology that is accessible for selected business partners.
It can be used for various purposes: intercompany co-operation; exchange of product and marketing
information, and even complete process integration.
In short
Internet technology enables new ways of publication, communication, and cooperation. It will strongly affect
the future of both people and organisations. Just remember: the future belongs to those who get there first!
Alcazar Service Offering
ALCAZAR Global Networking is a full service provider. We can assist you with any of the steps that lead to
a succesful Internet presence. We can help you to discover the business potential of Internet technology for
your organisation, and get the most out of it. Ask for our brochure now!
