This first part of the book contains some seemingly arcane financial
considerations. Originally, I'd planned to end with this material, as
it is a disconcerting way to start a book and might put readers off. However,
it soon became clear that the strategies described in the later chapters
only make sense if the fundaments of finance and investment are taken
into consideration.
It is only to easy to get carried away with exciting technological solutions
when working in a vacuum. Too often, great new ideas flourish in the conceptual
and design stages only to founder disastrously when they meet the harsh
realities of the competitive world.
It may be a new economy, it may be an unprecedented technological revolution,
but, this does not change the reality that success and progress is about
doing things more efficiently. Creating clever solutions and highly sophisticated
systems is nothing more than a waste of time, money and human resources
– if the end product doesn't produce value for money.
For this reason, it seems worth while to tackle the financial considerations
first. Ultimately, these will provide the practical restraints that guide
an e-business to profitability. Without these restraints, technology can
easily lead a business into a quagmire of irreconcilable cash flow problems
– from which there is no escape.
Beginning with a little background, the first chapter explains that the
object of the book is to go through the various thought processes that
might be involved in the creation of an e-business.
It is not about techniques, methods or procedures. It is about acquiring
a mind set that can use abstract models to cope with the rapidly changing,
competitive environment of the Internet. In a world where there is too
much information to absorb, it is essential to build up a varied group
of useful contacts to overcome the problem of unavoidable knowledge gaps.
Chapter two looks at the lessons that can be learned from the pioneers
of the Information Age. As the Internet is evolving so fast, there is
little to gain from studying the winners to try to emulate their successes.
The situations they found themselves in were quite different from what
we would now expect to encounter in the newly emerging future. Instead,
we need to learn from the mistakes of the failures, to make sure we don't
fall into similar traps.
The new economy is totally unpredictable. There may be a boom or a recession
ahead and we need to be able to cope with any extreme that emerges. The
only way to do this is have a clear grasp of the fundamentals of business
economics. For this purpose, chapter three provides a basic grounding
in the essentials of funding and finance. Whichever way the Information
Age takes us, it must always be based upon the pragmatic realities of
shrewd financial decision making.