1. The Business Potential of the Internet

2. Evolution begins… Five years ago, the Internet was almost unheard of in business. Soon, for a company not to be connected to this global network will be as unthinkable as for it to be without a telephone line.

3. Characteristics of the Internet Bit Blind Internet is blind to bits, be it music or text. Overabundant Data Truly global. Geography abolished Distance is of no importance. User rules Buyer now controls transactions.

4. Benefits of the Internet Marketing (most natural; dealing w/info) Sales (customers no longer ‘sold to’) Management (creates company transparency) Production (constant flow of information) Accounts (real-time info on receivables and payables and all other transactions and costs) Personnel (online directories; immediate info) IT (unify technology from all departments) Overhead (VPN: Virtual Private Networks)

5. Internet Services Conversation (email) Community (forums) Content (www.) Commerce (e-pay) Internet (video-conf) Intranet (telephony) Extranet (VPN calls)

6. The Evolution of Cost Approximate costs of sending a 10 page document: Cambridge UK to London UK and Cambridge UK to Virginia,USA Post: (1-2 days) £0.38 post (5-7 days) £1.56 Fax: (4 minutes) £0.40 fax (5 minutes) £2.00 Courier: (next day) £27.80 courier (2 days) £29.27 E-mail: (10-60 seconds) £0.15

7. Practical Issues General Bandwidth (overall size of connection) Corporate Current, planned, and past investments in infrastructure Technical Security Other Taxation (moratorium)

8. Future Technologies Digital Electricity Net telephony to mainstream Wireless Connectivity 3G, IMT-2000, DSL Intelligent Information XML (Extensible Markup Language) Software Agents User’s proxy of authority in searching and buying

9. Future Trends The Internet/World The ultimate medium The Intranet/Company Employees always connected The Extranet/Customer W/ XML, customer will always be in touch

10. Conclusion The Internet will inevitably bring about huge shifts not only in business, but also in the social and political realms. If you’re afraid of changing technology, then you’ll feel even dumber than you look!

11. Thank you and Goodbye!