Idaho Tech Conf

ITECH Showcase

Delta Max President is KeyNoter @ 2000 Idaho Technology Showcase

Robert Swanson addresses Technology Executives ... "Cashing in on E-Commerce"

Boise, Idaho

December 12, 2000 -- "There are 7 things you have to do to build a successful E-Commerce site", said Robert Swanson, President of DELTA MAX today at the annual Idaho Technology Showcase in Boise.

"The steps can be accomplished by the company itself, and the E-Commerce initiative can be managed as any other computer project. But, the company executives, particularly the CEO, must be involved in order to achieve top results consistent with the company's goals.

"If you leave it to the IT Department alone," said Mr. Swanson, "the effort will be reduced to a technology project and not a business project. E-Commerce is a total company market and supply channel rollout, just like opening a new chain of stores or building a new complement of factories or distribution centers. The entire company must be involved for the effort to be successful."

Swanson described the building of an E-Commerce site as, "...not a computer project, but a Marketing and Supply Channel Rollout Project. Its success does not hinge upon brilliant technical choices, but perceptive business decisions. It will not fail because of technical limitations, but may fail because of management myopia in planning and concept realization."

As the over 150 attendees laughed, he described "Ten Things you Don't Really Need to Know", and then displayed an animated diagram which shows how computer projects usually are sold to a company. He made a pointed reference to the fact that, "... unlike traditional business automation initiatives, an E-Channel does not start out in the minds of the IT staff, but instead normally at the CEO or VP of Marketing level vision and thinking process.

In fact, the IT department in many organizations may very well be anti-E-Commerce initiative, due to lack of staff, training, and hardware/software systems knowledge to evaluate properly the effects of E-Commerce on the company's current infrastructure and systems."

Swanson concluded his hour Keynote Address by imploring the attendees to spend the time necessary with the President, CEO, or top executive, to understand and quantify the problems seen and business concerns needing to be addressed from the CEO point of view.

He proposed working with outside consultants, in what he called a "blatant display of crass commercialism", causing more chuckles from the audience, to define those business concerns and problems using a study and methodology such as his company's Business Needs Assessment Analysis.

"When this is done first," he said, "all other project issues are organized and fall into place for a much easier and more cost-effective implementation."

"When this is not done first," he continued, "it still has to be done later, after the project design and/or implementation have been started, and when it is far more costly and time-consuming, to say nothing of being embarrassing and unprofessional. It's kind of a 'Pay me now or pay someone else lots more later' decision."

The Idaho Technology Showcase (http://events.goitec.com/overview/default.asp?ec=BOI02) is Northwest America's top Technology forum, presenting some of America's top-of-the-line technology to business, government and educational leaders.

The Keynote Address was sponsored by IBM, the world's largest computer technology company.

DELTA MAX is a Convergence Consulting company based in Newport Beach, California, with diverse capabilities in computer and entertainment industry-related technologies and systems, as well as entertainment content generation, such as feature films and video presentations.

Robert Swanson is President of DELTA MAX, and the originator of the term "E-Channel", which indicates the design and usage of computer marketing and supply channel business strategy over the Web.

Contact DELTA MAX for more information about this event.