E-BMC Says The E-Business Enablement Challenge is the New 'Y2K for 2004"

Y2K created an awareness of the growing dependency of business on IT e-business technology and the risks associated with IT e-business enablement if not properly deployed and managed. The reality created by Y2K has contributed to a backlash in IT spending by CEOs who demand risk management and that IT generates real business value. The inevitable dependency of business on e-business technology places CEOs in a position where they must take affirmative steps to become e-business enabled or pay the consequence of lost business and potential failure. E-BMC offers CEOs a methodology to manage risk and put order to the critical e-business enablement process.

Vernon, NJ (PRWEB) January 7, 2004 --Just three short years ago the business world got a wake up call" regarding the risks and problems associated with its growing dependency on information technology (IT). A two digit error in programming threatened to bring all business operations to a screeching halt as the calendar changed from 1999 to 2000. This brief period in the evolution of e-business enablement was referred to as Y2K.

Dr. John T. Whiting, the Managing Director of Vernon, NJ based E-BMC observes Y2K produced several significant consequences that are still being felt three years later. First, Y2K required company CEOs to divert large sums of money from budgeted IT investments to emergency remediation projects to ensure that that the two digit error did not have a negative impact on business operations. Indeed, companies globally spent billions of dollars to identify the two digit coding problem and correct it to the required four digit format. This redirection of IT dollars to Y2K remediation projects marked the beginning of the slow down in traditional IT spending."

Second notes Dr. Whiting, Y2K created an awareness of the negative impact that IT can have on business productivity if not properly deployed, used and managed. This has produced a level of CEO skepticism regarding the IT industrys sales pitch" that historically focused on anticipated, but often unvalidated, outcomes without concern for risks or true business value." Whiting observes This skepticism has produced a backlash which has caused many CEO to freeze IT spending until they are convinced that the risks can be managed and the investment will generate true business value." Dr. Whiting notes It might be argued that the IT industry is paying the price for not being more careful in quality controlling products and offering a more businesslike approach to the sale of their products."

Y2K and other past problems aside, most informed observers concede that the IT/e-business revolution is here to stay. Dr. Whiting notes While it may have been prudent to freeze IT spending until a more businesslike model for integrating IT into the strategic business plan can be found, it is now clear that it is mission critical" for companies to become e-business enabled. It is predictable that those CEOs who ignore this critical reality will find it increasingly difficult to compete, do business with partners and service customers." Indeed, The Gartner Group predicts that many of these companies will fail.

E-BMC believes that e-business enablement is the new Y2K facing CEOs. However the key difference is that Y2K represented an isolated problem, that when solved it ceased to be an issue. This is not the case associated with the challenge to become e-business enabled. Dr. Whiting advises The inevitable dominance of IT in business requires that all companies take affirmative steps to overcome their skepticism and manage the fusion of business and technology through a change management strategy that directs the e-business enablement process in a manner that maps to the strategic business plan based on management by objectives (MBO) and return on investment (ROI) criteria."

E-BMC has been a pioneer in the escalation of IT decision making to the strategic business level, the integration of IT into the strategic business plan and the design of the E-BMC E-Business Enablement Methodology to guide CEOs in the use and management of IT assets across the enterprise based on accepted business management principles. E-BMC has developed an easy to use CEO E-Business Enablement Status Assessment Tool to help the company CEO get a clear picture of where their company stands regarding e-business enablement.

The E-Business Status Assessment Tool is based on a format that asks the user to respond items representing the core e-business enablement components, including strategic business policy components and the full range of technology components. The E-BMC Tool will be useful in helping the CEO identify areas where the company has core components in place, areas of deficiency and areas where components may be outdated and in need of upgrade. The E-Business Status Assessment Tool can be downloaded FREE from the E-BMC web site at http://www.e-businessmanagement.com. If CEOs wish further information about the E-BMC E-Business Status Assessment Process or becoming e-business enabled they are invited to contact E-BMC via e-mail at john.whiting@e-businessmanagement.com or by telephone at 973-764-0375.

About E-BMC
For more information about E-BMC, visit the E-BMC web site at http://www.e-businessmanagement.com. E-BMC provides a FREE e-business assessment form to CEOs to help define the status of IT/business alignment and e-business enablement in their companies. The form is useful in helping the CEO identify areas where the company has core components in place, areas of deficiencies exist, areas where components may be outdated and in need of upgrade and in providing a baseline for building an action strategy to achieve e-business enablement. To learn more about E-BMCs services contact E-BMC via e-mail at john.whiting@e-businessmanagement.com or by telephone at 973-764-0375.
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Contact: Dr. John T. Whiting, Managing Director Contact Telephone: 973-764-0375
Contact E-Mail: john.whiting@e-businessmanagement.com