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Cybercity gets calmer, but more studious

The air warmed on the second day at NASSCOM's Cybercity conference here. Though the number of delegates fell from yesterday's inaugural 250, the audience sat enraptured, listening to the technology-driven morning and afternoon sessions on Java, Java and more Java!

The first day had tackled the ISP issues and the importance of using cable modems. Today, the focus was on demystify Java, the hottest language of

T O D A Y

• A new mascot • Cybercity gets calmer • Java, Java, Java! • Readying for e-trade

the Internet. There was also some discussion on yet another future - network computing.

Speaking on network computing, Thomas Choong, general manager IBM Singapore Private Limited, said "We're no longer charging to the Internet just because of the temptation to be on it. We're trying to look at options and opportunities by which the technology can work for us."

He felt that unless every user understands the capabilities of the technology they're playing with, the full potential of the medium will go unused.

In fact, this view of the Internet being used in India for just entertainment and advertising was spouted by two delegates: Mohan Das, a software engineer from Parsoft Systems and C V Hariharan of Cyber World, a company that has put up a Web site on Indian companies.

Choong claims that many social structural changes will need to happen before the evolution of a complete network computing. Government initiatives, he feels, will play a big part in making these turns of events. With more ISPs entering the market and offering their services at a cheaper rate, it would be challenging to offer technologies which conduct electronic commerce, he observed.

"You visit a Web site of a company selling apparels today and you find that they link you to other services such as travel-tours data, shopping malls that stock certain products etc. So more than just having a great product on the site, you have to offer some enhanced services including an easy, uncomplicated payment system which reduces time, ensures credibility and security and completes the transaction in a matter of nanoseconds."

One-to-one marketing on the Net, where you constantly have to evolve and experiment with the product that you display is the trend on the Web, he claimed.

Choong listed four examples of companies which have used the technologies available to them to maximise their appeal and profits.

Ever wondered why Encyclopaedia Britanica, the number one dealer and seller of encylopaedias for over 200 years, suddenly fell to the number two position? Who nicked them to second place? It was Encarta which completely overhauled and changed the concept of the encylopaedia. Encarta moved to the number one position and is continuing to deal in huge volumes. Their USP, of course, is hosting a digital marketplace which allows them to penetrate from families to institutions, to providing directory services and varied other services which they feel their customers may need.

American Airlines is another example. It created the concept of a direct bridge between the customer and the booking office. The company managed to become a direct channel and improved the vendor-customer relationship.

Levi Strauss, the legendary jeans company, has scored again. It offered women, who come in all shapes and sizes, to personally place an order for a pair of jeans after sending them their measurements over the Net. These measurements were channeled directly to the factory which acknowledged it, manufactured the garment and had it delivered to the customer for a slightly higher price. The service caught on rapidly and revenue shot up by an astonishing 300 per cent!

This is exactly what India, which does not have infrastructure capability, could do: get customers coming to them and grab a space in the global market.

Peapod is a large department store in the US that has competently analysed the shopping needs of families that come to them via the Net. Every family needs milk, bread, eggs and beans. But imagine cutting all the time wasted in a traffic jam getting to the store, then the time browsing and walking through the store and waiting in a queue to pay with your credit card, when all you need do is just sit at home and surf. Peapod not only offers customised service but conducts banking transactions in a jiffy.

Choong explained that when Singapore had its great annual bazaar and sale this year in August, it put on the Web all the products which were on offer. They conducted an e-sale for an entire month, the duration of the real sale.

Yet another interesting example is of tailors buying merchandise on the Net. Japan has high real estate costs. So, instead of opening up shops, manufacturers simply put their ware on the Net and had the merchants and tailors select and make their purchases online!

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