For Subscribers

Get the complete article now!

Eight experts, three analysts and top management from thirty-eight sector firms examine the e-Business sector in this special 190-page e-Business issue from The Wall Street Transcript, available at (212/952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/info/info468.htm.

TWST: Are the revenue models changing for these companies?

Mr. Ekoniak: The overall revenue model has not changed. The prevailing revenue model is a perpetual software license model under which the customer pays one fee and owns the software for life. They have the option of paying an annual maintenance fee, which provides support and upgrade rights. The pricing per user model has changed. When an organization bought client/server software, there were typically a limited number of users within an organization — more of a power user. So, for example, within the ERP world, maybe 8%-10% of an organization’s employees might actually touch that ERP application. This was because the cost of implementing and maintaining the software on each employee’s desktop became prohibitively expensive. Today, with Web-based products, all employees within an organization have the ability to access an application. The application sits on a server so the implementation and maintenance costs are drastically reduced. As a result, organizations may deploy the software to a much larger user base. Therefore the pricing model has changed from a per-user pricing model to a per-server pricing model.

TWST: How has the current economic downturn, coupled with the September 11th attacks, affected the decision making within companies as they look at both the inside and the outside software?

Mr. Ekoniak: The biggest impact has been the economy. As corporate profitability has declined, companies have tended to cut back on their IT budgets as well. This has changed the near-term focus of IT projects. Companies today are looking for small, manageable projects; quick implementation times; low total cost of ownership, which includes the cost of software, customization, integration and maintenance; relatively quick and measurable benefits; and lastly, the ability to leverage their existing investment in past software and IT infrastructure.

TWST: That would be a key less-risk factor: lessen the technological risk and lessen the provider competence risk.

Mr. Ekoniak: Absolutely. As a result, we’re seeing the trend move from larger projects to smaller projects. Companies want to see results before they commit millions of dollars. Also, since every IT dollar is getting heavily scrutinized, companies have become more risk-averse and are selecting larger software vendors that have a history of profitability and a large installed base of referencable customers. Additionally, companies are paring down their list of software vendors and, on the margin, are selecting vendors with whom they have worked in the past.

TWST: Where are your interests in the human capital space?

Mr. Ekoniak: The human capital space, at least the way we see it, is made up not only of a number of private companies, but also some public companies that are starting to get more aggressive. Over the last couple of decades, companies have focused on improving the efficiencies of their factories, their production systems and their capital equipment, yet today the most valuable asset that an organization has is its employees. The human capital management space is an attempt to improve the productivity and efficiencies of an organization’s employees. Siebel (Nasdaq:SEBL) has a product line called ERM, employee relationship management, and is making a very big push into developing new functionality in this area. Tom Siebel personally is spending a lot of time focused on this piece of the business.

TWST: Within the marketing analytics itself, which companies are carving out the leadership positions?

Mr. Ekoniak: The two big public players in this space today are E.piphany (Nasdaq:EPNY) and Siebel. Siebel started more in other areas of CRM and has migrated over the last couple of years into the marketing and analytic space. Both of those companies, depending on what sort of surveys you look at, are probably neck and neck in terms of market share.

1) The Future of e-Business - In an in-depth (2,200 words) Expert Interview, Mick Calder, Analyst at Line56, examines the outlook for the sector.

2) B2B Supply Chain Strategy - In an in-depth (3,000 words) Expert Interview, Rick Andrade, Senior Manager at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, examines the outlook for the sector.

3) e-Business Management Strategies - In an in-depth (2,300 words) Expert Interview, Cathy Spencer, Research Director at Gartner Inc., examines the outlook for the sector.

4) Outlook for CRM and PRM Suppliers - In an in-depth (1,200 words) Expert Interview, Karen E. Smith, Senior Analyst at Aberdeen Group, examines the outlook for the sector.

5) The Continuing Evolution of B2B - In an in-depth (2,900 words) Expert Interview, Thomas M. Koulopoulos, President at The Delphi Group, examines the outlook for the sector.

6) Supply Chain Management Services - In an in-depth (3,400 words) Expert Interview, Jay Holata, Associate Partner of Accenture, examines the outlook for the sector.

7) Investing in e-Business Stocks - In an in-depth (3,100 words) Expert Interview, Robert McCullough, Director for Hurwitz Group, examines the outlook for the sector.

8) Supply Chain Strategies - In an in-depth (3,900 words) Expert Interview, John Fontanella, Service Director at AMR Research, examines the outlook for the sector.

9) E-Commerce Software - In an in-depth (3,500 words) Analyst Interview, Jon Ekoniak, Vice President at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc., examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

10) Outlook for e-Business - In an in-depth (2,400 words) Analyst Interview, William Chappell, Senior Analyst in Equity Research at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

11) Enterprise Solutions in B2B - In an in-depth (1,800 words) Analyst Interview, Robert B. Austrian, Managing Director at Banc of America Securities, examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

12) CEO interviews (average 2,500 words). Top management of thirty-eight sector firms examine the outlook for their firm and the sector.