PWC and Web2.0
PWC and Web2.0
PWC and Web2.0
4. CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................9
5. REFERENCE................................................................................................................................9
LIST OF FIGURES
1. Internet of Services (IoS) Basic Architecture……………………………………………8
2. Institute of Media Communication Management Business Model Framework……………….9
LIST OF TABLES
1. Features of Web 2.0 and SOA……………………………………………………………………..7
1. Introduction
The World Wide Web is getting bigger, broader, and functional than ever before. The prefix
‘e’ has been playing a major role in superseding the traditional business models to the new
electronic-age business model. With the advent of e-commerce, the boundaries between the
companies, partners, and customers are slowly disappearing and the nature of the relationship
is changing. The impact of e-commerce on the world economy can be divided into three
phases (Kalakota and Robinson). In the first phase (1994-1997), the sole motive of the
companies was to have a site on the World Wide Web. It acted merely like a banner with
information displayed about the company on the web page. In the second phase (1997-2000),
e-commerce was about transactions which included buying and selling over the internet. In
the third phase (2000 and above), e-commerce is about collaboration and profitability. The
new e-age business is about utilizing the internet and the electronic media to add value to the
business. Everyday, more and more individuals and companies are linked electronically.
After B2B and B2C, now the e-commerce is about P2C (path to profitability). The business
models are changing to internet-savvy e-business models and the success of it depends on the
efficient and fully integrated ERP system.
PWC (Price Water Coopers Business Model):
PWC business model is about e-business and maximum utilization of the available information
communication and technology. It enables the businesses to have a better vision into the
future. It provides a greater visibility to the companies about where their business is heading
to and gives flexibility and adaptability to change. The four-stage PWC model is about recent
developments in internet and e-business and optimization of business value through
partnership and working collectively. The four stages of PWC Business Model are:
Stage 1 – Channel Enhancement
Stage 2- Value Chain Integration
Stage 3 - Industry Transformation
Stage 4 - Convergence
Web 2.0
According to Tim O’Reilly, “Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of world wide
web technology and web designs that aim to enhance creativity, information sharing, and most
notably collaboration among users.”
Web 2.0 is associated with web applications which provide interactive information sharing,
interoperability, and collaboration on the world wide web. Social networking sites, web-based
communities, hosted services, web applications, video-sharing sites, blogs, wikis, mashups,
and folksonomies are examples of Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 can take the businesses to a new altitude with the characteristics that it has which
includes – promotion of openness and collaboration, empowerment of end users, highly-
focused data management, offering software-as-a-service, harnessing collective intelligence.
Web 2.0 is a shift from internet being a set of applications to a platform that enables
collaboration and combination of applications.
The further sections will explain the influence of Web 2.0 technology at the different stages of
PWC business model.
In e-enabled B2B World, “Channel enhancement means using internet technology to enhance
sales by adding an electronic sell channel and using the same technology to enhance the
corporate buyers ability to buy as one consumer (e-procurement).”
Enhancing the buying/selling channel: The channels are the communication platforms for
different stakeholders. In B2B world, the buyers and sellers are in constant fight for control
over the channels. The sell channel components for transactions include the product catalog,
merchandising, product search and configuration, virtual shopping baskets, tax calculations,
shipping logistics, and secure payment transactions. The large companies are mostly
benefitted by the web-enabled buy channel than the web-enabled sell channel. This is because
web buyers can save on the indirect procurement costs. As a web seller, the costs are saved by
allowing the customers to configure the products online which helps in adopting just-in-time
approach and reduction in inventory costs. The e-businesses have given the companies a
global platform to perform their business. The companies in one end of the world is able to
cater the customers in another end of the world. E-business allows companies’ presence to be
felt globally. However, the growth is comparatively low because of tax, language, cultural,
legal and regulatory barriers.
Web 2.0 technology enables customer self-service. The customers are empowered to deal
with the transactions and the usage with the user-friendly interfaces provided on the internet.
Sales Perspective:
Service Perspective:
Web 2.0 helps to increase the sales and improving customer experiences. AJAX
(asynchronous Java script and XML) is used by web 2.0 technologies that run RIA (rich
internet applications). AJAX is a method of building interactive applications for the web that
processes user request immediately. There are nine common AJAX tools enhances the
customer service.
1. Single page applications that allows single page check outs for internet buyers.
2. Precaching data captures and stores the details which allow the buyers to shop at their own
convenience.
3. Improved interface controls and effects allow viewing different products at the same page.
4. Auto completion of data – for e.g. entering zip code for state and city information.
5. Partial data submission – which does not compel user to complete entry in order to move to
another transaction.
6. Mashups – For e.g. locating the store with maps.
7. Outbound messaging – Building communities to accumulate news and ideas on products
and services.
8. Inbound messaging – Building communities to source ideas and getting feedback from
customers on new products and errors etc.
A value chain is the series of activities that add value to the product provided by business.
The success of value chain depends on the cost leadership, differentiation, focus, innovation,
growth, and business alliances. Value chain integration is using e-business in order to
integrate the operations of the company, customers and suppliers. The companies use the
internet for implementation of e-SCM and e-CRM. A simple value chain of any company
would consist of product planning, procurement, manufacturing, order fulfillment, and service
and support. A highly integrated value chain creates greater value for the end customer by
delivering products and services more efficiently and effectively to the end customer. Value
chain integration is about agility, speed and visibility. The pressure on the efficiency of
supply chain is mounting because of short product life cycles. In order to adapt to the changes
and improve the efficiency of the supply chain, the companies have shifted their focus on
collaborative planning and forecasting. This has lead to the adoption of outsourcing and
partnership in order to improve the efficiency and compress the cycle time. The collaboration
has lead the companies to form an extraprise. The business models and strategies are planned
collaboratively within extraprise. The two important aspects with formation of extraprise are –
firstly, a well-tuned integrated information system and secondly trust and honesty. An
efficient ERP solution integrates company’s operation seamlessly to that of its partners,
suppliers and customers. With extraprise, each partner contributes skills, market access,
products, and ideas that is used to create a joint product. The collaborating companies market
to a common set of customers. These relationship brings value to both parties.
In industry transformation, the companies change the strategies, organization, processes, and
systems to achieve competitive advantage. The companies that are planning to create industry
transformation business model are aligning their strategies with the core competencies and
outsourcing the noncore area of the business. The value network management process helps
the companies to decide on noncore competency and outsourcing. Outsourcing has lead to the
emergence of ASP (application service providers). Application outsourcing refers to
deploying applications over the internet rather than installing them locally. They offer access
to applications and related services on a rental basis via the internet. The e-partnerships and
outsourcing is getting the companies closer and with the linking of their internal processes
through the internet, new markets, new customers, new opportunities are created.
SITA Air Transports is driving industry transformation via collaboration and new IT
products.
Stage 4: Convergence
The figure shows the basic architecture of (IoS) which is a combination of technologies and
principles from both Web 2.0 and SOA. It allows for resource access via web registered in
platforms and that can be searched, tagged, and mashed up according the requirements of the
users. The host services are provided by arbitrary stakeholders. The channels like PCs and
mobile phones can be leveraged in order to use the platforms. The services provided like
interoperability services allow the organizations carry out real-time business-to-business
transactions. The interconnection between the presentation-layer focused web applications to
the internal SOA implementation would be of great value to the enterprises as this would help
their services to reach the web for further use by customers and trading partners. The
technologies are changing and are focused on empowering the users to collaborate and
integrate the different set of applications available on the internet. The major aim of such
platforms for creating enterprise mashups is to provide businesses with speed, flexibility and
agility. The web 2.0 and SOA unification provides the techniques and design principles that
strongly facilitates the active consumption of web-based resources with its user-friendly
interfaces.
The business models are about business configurations, value proposition and revenue model.
In this digital-savvy generation, web is playing a major role in change and affects the nature of
the business in many ways. Web 2.0 technology has played a major role in bringing the
people, process, and technology together. The e-business concept has brought the businesses
together through partnerships. The major aim of businesses in the present era is working
collaboratively with similar goals of profitability and timeliness.
The MCM business model is one of the web 2.0 collaborative business model.
Societal Environment
Flow of Goods and Services
The above business model is about maximizing the collective intelligence through interactive
exchange of information. Some of the examples for the above business model would include
e-Bay’s user recommendation system and Amazon’s reviewing system.
4. Conclusion
With the Web 2.0 technology, the businesses are changing. The customer are able to make
themselves heard and at the same time able to interact on a many-to-many scale rather than
one-to-one or one-to-many. The Web 2.0 technology has played a major role in the successes
of Amazon and e-Bay. The commercialization of the Web 2.0 offering is still in its initial
phases. Though there are a lot of benefits achieved by the businesses with the Web 2.0
technology, but ‘HOW’ of maximum utilization with gathered information is not yet answered
completely.
5. References
Kalakota, Ravi & Robinson, Marcia, c2001, e-Business 2.0 Roadmap for Success, Addison-
Wesley, New Jersey, USA
Norris, Grant; Hurely, James; Hartely, Kenneth; Dunleavy, John; Balls John, c2000, E-
Business and ERP – Transforming the Enterprise, John Wiley and Sons, Canada
Schroth, Christoph & Janner Till, 2007, Web 2.0 and SOA: Converging concepts enabling the
Internet of Services, IEEE Computer Society, 1520-9202
Price Water Coopers, 2008, Technology Forecast – A quarterly Journal summer 2008 viewed
on October 25, 2009, http://www.pwc.com
SITA Aero, 2009, Delivering Industry Transformation Throught IT, viewed on October 29,
2009, http://www.sita.aero/content
Dion Hinchcliffe , 2006, ‘Creating Real Business Value with Web 2.0’, 22 Feburary,
Enterprise Web 2.0, viewed on 27 October, http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe
Pettey, Christey, 2008, ‘Nine AJAX based tools to improve performance’ viewed on October
22, 2009, http://www.gartner.com