A vendor that specializes in solutions to support sales over the Internet is not relevant to a company that wants to use Internet technologies for customer service or marketing, or improving the efficiency of its workforce. Similarly, a vendor that's strong in helping companies develop e-commerce strategies is not going to be of much help to a company that needs integration support. Beware of leopards changing their spots. A hardware vendor should be challenged to prove its capabilities as an e-commerce software provider. The Internet is also different from client-server or other software technologies, so it will take time for a vendor in other spaces to master the new domain.
Strangers make bad teams.
A time-tested partnership has more credibility than a new and just announced one. In the months ahead, change is the only certainty. The differences between leading and lagging IT vendors in this arena are neither absolute nor dramatic - there is risk associated with all of them. Some are likely to improve over the next year as they get more experience, add more qualified resources, make acquisitions or form partnerships. As it has before, experience may again drive adaptability in the vendors who have survived previous waves of change.