E-Business Strategy Session 7 - Metrics

Scope of Metrics
In this scope Metrics provide framework system to periodically assess the health of an online business. Metrics are usually specialized by the subject area, in which case they are valid only within a certain domain and cannot be directly benchmarked or interpreted outside it.
The metrics framework is composed of five categories of metrics: market opportunity, business model, marketing and branding, implementation, and customer. These measurements or metrics can be used to track trends, productivity, resources and much more. Typically, the metrics tracked are key performance indicators.
Metrics are important in online business, the suggestion the process for approaching the e-business health and performance:

Performance Benchmarking
The goal is to improve financial and operating performance on e-Business Company. The way how to gain the result is to measure client performance and compare to that of peers and determine competitive industry position for client. The process of Performance benchmarking can be done by revealing and quantifying areas of strength and weakness through comparison of Key Performance Indicators. It is expected that the respective e-Business company can develop strategies that improve areas of sub-par performance while continuing to build upon areas of strength.

Balance Score card
Implementing a Balanced Scorecard is a corporate life-changing event. It should not be viewed as a project initiative, but rather as a way of doing business. Done correctly, the Balanced Scorecard provides a template for business leaders to align day-to-day tasks with overall corporate objectives. It creates direct measurable links between strategies and performance for multiple constituencies in e-business company by evaluating performance from four perspectives: financial, customer, business processes and learning. To develop metrics is critical to success for each perspective and compare to performance standard on a Scorecard. Expected result is the alignment of corporate strategies and accountability for achieving goals in the four perspectives.

Online Surveys
Most research on changes in category performance focuses on historical product movement. Our customized online surveys focus on both historical and projected growth trends, in ways that lead to solid marketing and Profit Improvement growth strategies. Our Goal: Develop market insight, through analysis of collected data that will drive improvements in category marketing strategies, and increase profit potential for retailers and suppliers.
Our Approach: Conduct online surveys that are easy for participants and that will collect sufficient relevant data for insightful analysis.
Our Process: Analyze data with cross-tabulated responses that will reveal marketing strengths and weaknesses of the category and of suppliers’ marketing programs.
Results: Develop management report that presents key findings for tall topics surveyed; report is presented to retail participants and suppliers in roundtable format and/or electronically.

Business Planning
Most companies don’t plan to fail especially e-business company, but often do fail to plan. Over 90% of new business ventures fail within five years, often as a result of inadequate planning for resource and operational needs.
The value of going through the planning process is often as valuable to clients as the plan itself, as it stimulates constructive discussion among the management team. The final product of effective business planning is a plan that is challenging and achievable.
Our Goal: Create optimum success opportunities for clients through structured business planning.
Our Approach: Identify goals and the resources available to achieve them.
Our Process: Develop success measures and systematic approaches for achieving goals.
Results: A written business plan that achieves current goals and positions client firm to achieve future goals.

E-Business Strategy Session 8 - Media Transformation

New Opportunity Media Transformation
There is a fundamental transformation of the media industry that is creating a disruption to traditional media companies and well as creating significant opportunities. A Company should position Know More Media to capitalize on these opportunities.

Decline of Traditional Media Publishing
The majority of traditional media are reporting declines in almost all key growth and profitability metrics. The decline in traditional publishing is in part because of an explosion in the supply of media choices relative to the demand. As I earlier pointed out, supply has increased because the cost to produce and distribute content has dropped dramatically because of the emergence of digital and online content.

Media Convergence
Internet Protocol (IP) is the gateway for media convergence. This standard based protocol speaks widely. According to the theory of media convergence, very soon, there will be no more need for having a television and a computer separate from each other, since both would be able to do the job of the other, ultimately making both extinct and creating a new medium from the synthesis.
In the communication perspective, media convergence aims to bring together all forms of media into one single device. The migration of the various analog media channels and businesses to a common digital platform, with the Internet as its primary driver results in low cost media infrastructure.
Media convergence really refers to the merging of capabilities of each individual media channel. Technology is aiding the deletion of individual devices, but this is not what is referred in this case. Media convergence is the ability for an increasingly diverse range of content to be delivered through a range of media channels (digital convergence). Unlike the traditional delivery of TV programs through TV, we can now receive TV programs on both a TV but also a mobile phone, a computer, an Ipod etc. Convergence is not the reduction of devices but the expansion of channels to content combinations.

E-Business Strategy Session 6 - Implementation Strategy

Factors Involved in Success Strategy Implementation
· Implementation issues considered during strategy development
The issues are usually related to Human resource availability, the organization structural, Business process of the company, the existing system configuration, culture organization, the leadership of the project manager capabilities and partnership with vendors or supplier. Each entity affects the overall implementation success.
· Integration of IT planning and strategy with business strategy
Strategy implementation shall inline with Company strategy. Success implementation shall be sponsored by Company’s executives. Organization structure types considers they a company do the implementation.
· Enablers of and/or inhibitors to IS Strategy success
Vendors/suppliers part as enabler for the implementation positioned as important aspect. They can create innovation of implementation both technically and fulfillment infrastructure.
· Experienced Project Manager implementation
Project Manager is needed to be flexible, fast-moving, adaptive, results-oriented organizations as well as foster innovations and develop new intellectual capital investment.
· Implementation of any organizational strategy that is significantly impacted by IS
Department / Division directly impacted to the implementation shall be involved actively to the implementation success team. As a user of the implemented IS/IT services, they know exactly the business process and Project Manager shall socialize the steps implementation and the changes due to the implementation.
· Research, case studies, empirical studies of IS Strategy
Inputs from vendors/suppliers experiences can be useful for implementation reference.

The Challenges during the Implementation
Learn what support challenges users face after their new systems go live and some of the strategies users can incorporate into their support processes to get the most value out of there IS/IT services.
The challenges for online firm implementation are:
• Higher visibility to errors
Contingency plan for errors should be available for implementation online firms. Outage is not an option for online firms during the implementation.
• Lower switching costs
• Implementation shall deliver low cost for changing the vision for implementation. Never ending disputed implementation strategy shall result uncertainty.
• More dynamic competitive environment
• Competitiveness for online firms is high. Implementation strategy shall accommodate fast-moving implementation strategy.
• More fluid organizational boundaries
Flexible organizational structure offers dynamic project implementation strategy can smoothen the implementation.
• More complex linkage
• Business process shall be defined earlier to simplify the complexity of implementation. The more complex the implementation configuration the more time required for the implementation.