Input from the Web is integrated with auction management tools, accounting, inventory, and customer-management applications. Successful infrastructures must accommodate two-way communications with customers where browsers gather information and respond to suggestions and input. Interactivity can be measured by brief online surveys, page traffic analysis, and quantitative call-center traffic analysis that breaks down where complaints and kudos originate. Of course, getting companies to agree on methodology is easier said than done and there are culture issues to address. Managers must temper conflicting interests, and harness the energy of various elements within the company to create a new IT infrastructure.
Success can be as dependent on culture and politics as it is on technical analysis.
Often, a clear business case needs to be developed and then communicated to an interdisciplinary group of employees to yield success. A collaborative approach can work, too. There's a lot of synergy these days between the IT side and the marketing side. Even with tight time frames, Volpe recommends up-front thinking about architecture and platforms. So while business technology will never stop producing more powerful and more functional applications, companies must set benchmarks for themselves as they continually integrate new tools for their jobs.