Many predictions have been made about the way e-commerce will evolve. This year's technology slump has confounded most of them.
Speed is everything.
But companies do more than buy and sell, and they are demanding technology that delivers more than speed. For starters, they are demanding that software show measurable payoffs in terms of reduced operating costs or other benefits. Synthesizing information from these sources is tough inside one company, let alone between multiple companies that do business together. Mr. Pflaging's closely held company, based in Brisbane, Calif., makes software that consolidates such information to help company departments and outside partners collaborate online. The middleman must go.