The Net: need or weed?

• Author: Falconi, Robert R.
• Position: Internet

At the risk of sounding like one of those experts who warned Columbus the world is flat, I pose this question: Are companies too passionately embracing some of the latest business technologies, like electronic mail and the Internet?

Before you snap back, get this straight - I'm not computerphobic. I have a computer on my desk. I even use it for more than just writing memos. And I make sure every employee in my department is comfortable with computers. (Believe it or not, some even enjoy reading computer magazines.) Indeed, I owe much of our recent success to the ability of these men and women to develop computer applications that do truly innovative things.

But all of the hoopla over e-mail and "the net" still doesn't compute with me. For example, the Electronic Messaging Association puts the total, worldwide value of e-mail to business users at $12.7 billion (basing the figure primarily on the savings associated with sending a message across the street or across the country at the same price). But $13 billion seems awfully high to me. If we were saving that much, wouldn't it be reflected in billions saved in phone bills, overnight-mail charges, postage or something?

THE BOUQUETS

Of course, after talking with several people who work at firms that use e-mail, I found they've got some very good things to say about it. Like there's no better way to disseminate information to a large audience quickly and cost efficiently. It reduces the need for conference calls and provides a written record of assignments, action plans and so forth. "I thought you said you were going to file that report." "No, I didn't, and I've got a written record to prove it."

I agree that e-mail can be a great resource when it's time to do personnel evaluations, too, because so much of what an employee has accomplished has been recorded. For instance, Lotus Development Corp. uses e-mail to eliminate human-resources paperwork. When hiring, the HR team obtains authorizations from the appropriate managers through e-mail. The company also makes HR information, like summary benefit plans, available through e-mail. It's great for transferring files, and it beats the hell out of a fax machine.

Another fixture in many businesses, the Internet offers a humongous, ever-expanding library with an extremely smart and efficient librarian at your command. And, unlike visiting the library, you don't have to worry about chance encounters behind the short stacks with some geek who wants to...