E-business in our company is based on the excitement, the energy, the disregard for bureaucracy and the ability to make change incredibly fast. When we built things, the first thing on our minds was speed. And although we wanted to do things smart, standard processes and disciplined procedures were an afterthought compared to speed of delivery. That led to legacy apps that don't know how to talk the same language. But it also incorporates some of the characteristics that this separate e-commerce organization brings to it, which is speed.
Speed is one of the critical issues facing IT today.
You originally cut IT out of the process in order to create speed, innovation and thought leadership. Now folding it together into one thing is essential. The IT staff were excited to interact with us and be part of the energy, if you will. They loved it because we didn't impose on them the typical discipline that they were required to follow in their existing jobs. Now our challenge is that our team needs to develop the level of discipline needed to manage and develop systems for the long term.