Questioning how well Internet businesses are serving end users, Earley urged all companies to build better sites, ensure long-term success by creating better back end offices, and create better ecosystems to function well in the new environment. Earley said Web sites need to be improved through proven principles such as product testing, human interface testing, and the creation of new design methods. She called for site to increase clarity, be easier to use, work faster, and improve security. Site security is another major concern, Earley said, because many companies don't understand that security is more than digital signatures, firewalls and virus protection, but also better forms of access and authentication. Branding was another issue Earley touched on, saying the rounds of costly advertising hadn't achieved incremental value to individual companies, but had only pumped up Wall Street investors.
Brands are about trust, which takes a long time to build.
Better back offices, including better customer support and improve response time to customer and business inquiries, is necessary as part of the re-thinking of the process which are being built in the online world. Businesses who build intranets into extranets to include remote workers, suppliers and customers will also emerge as winners, according to Earley. The company will also focus on event management, and is now reverse engineering its network to be within one to three miles of the top 100 Web sites in order to build its network to these edges and improve content distribution to customers. She also said that virtual private networks will play an important role as the application service provider market grows, allowing for customer privacy and security within this emerging sector. Corp. All Rights Reserved.