(from
Left) Amitabh Singal, President, ISPAI,
Arun Tadanki, President & MD, Monster, Asia, and Mahendra
Swarup, CEO, Times Internet Ltd.
Look
back two years down memory lane. Recall what stormed Global
Inc. It was the dotcom bust and the subsequent emergence of
a concept called Disintermediation. ‘Flush out the middleman,’
yelled business world over. Marketers drifted to the good-old
retail business, leaving behind the much-anticipated and equally
thwarted cyber bridge to connect consumers across the world
with a single click.
Business
on the Internet (call it the ‘middleman’) was
set on the ebb.
Revert
to the present. Have we really been able to shed off the middleman?
Can we think of a business day without the Internet? Nah!
Internet is not an intermediary alone; it has emerged as an
indispensable part of today’s business.
A
glance at the e-world of business would take you to the planet
of India’s dominance. As we think of the world of business,
can we forget how significant this domain is in building the
global economy? And, an obvious question needles: is India
poised to grow as an Internet superpower?
Discussions
at the Round Table strengthens the thought as Indian Internet
top brass dwell on the massive potential the business holds
for the days to come. As e-commerce goes all set to leapfrog,
it appears to overshadow the retail boom and revolutionise
the concept of business.
The
Round Table addressed issues relating to business on the Net.
How content could drive the Internet from a B2B system to
a B2C platform was one of the major areas under the focus.
Advertising on the Internet and its potential to gain momentum
as an alternative medium of advertising was assessed with
a meticulous analysis of issues pertaining to the business
on the Net.
exchange4media.com brings to you the issues in focus.
'
Internet has opened a window of opportunity for
subscribers and e-commerce certainly has a bright
future in the country.'
Business
on the Internet will overshadow retail boom: experts
Some two years ago, the very mention of doing
business on the Internet drew words of disbelief from
a wide cross-section of people. The dotcom burst had
indeed erected psychological barriers in the minds of
people regarding the potentials of the medium. But the
last 12 months have catalysed a distinct shift in the
outlook regarding the Internet economy.
The
mood is truly buoyant in the Internet industry, and
experts view that business on the Net will exert a northward
thrust in the next 12-18 months. On this count, the
exchange4media.com iZone Round Table held in Delhi threw
up no contrarian view.
In
fact, Mahendra Swarup, CEO, Times Internet Limited,
categorically stated during the course of the Round
Table discussion that the inflexion point is just 12-18
months away.
e-commerce
all set to leapfrog: experts comment at iZone Round
Table
Internet has come out of the roller-coaster
ride of close to three years with a clear vision of
traversing great distances in the realm of information
and business in the years to come. Expert opinion has
it that the internet would put the telecom industry
in the shade over the next year or two. The positive
sentiment was writ large at the exchange4media iZone
Round Table on ‘Business on the Internet: Real
or Virtual’ – organised in New Delhi on
March 29, 2004.
Mahendra Swarup, CEO, Times Internet Limited, who was
on the panel, said that e-commerce would dwarf the conventional
retail business in the country. “Much as we talk
about a retail boom, there is a lot that needs to be
done in terms of investment in infrastructure which
is essential for growing the retail business. But, for
e-commerce, the infrastructure is already there. It’s
just that business on the net has to gain momentum,”
he said.
'There
are 20 million net users in the country which is
greater than circulation of all mainline English
dailies put together.'
'The
content on the Internet needs to be in sync with technology
and only new innovations can help in generating commerce
for the same.'
Innovation,
interactivity amiss in Internet content
Is
content truly king on the Internet? The eminent speakers
at the iZone Round Table on ‘Business on the Internet:
real or virtual’ said that content on the Internet
would serve no great purpose if it were to be seen an
extension of the print or television. Content drives
commerce and for business to pick up on the Internet,
the content needs a complete makeover, the experts said.
Illustrating
this point, Mahendra Swarup, CEO, Times Internet Limited,
the content on the Internet is voluminous but lacks
good quality. “There is need to bring in greater
interactivity in the content plan,” he said.
Swarup
said that the current search engines throw up huge volumes
of information. “After few years of evolving a
point will come when search for specific purpose will
be available. For example, users looking for information
on games, news, jobs etc will get the specified results
with a single click,” he observed.
