E-commerce is a slippery business.

On the one hand it is the cheapest, fastest and most personal approach to market, on the other it is the fastest way to burn investment capital known. On the one hand, we haveAmazon.com and Yahoo, on the other we have, or rather had, Boo.com.

For existing businesses, NaMax believes that the Internet offers one of the best available method of reducting costs. Combining the principles of STP and using EAI and CRM technologies, a firm can achieve cost savings, personalisation and flexibility beyond the dreams of conventional firms. But it doesn't 'just happen'.

But we shouldn't think that the Internet is the only, or even the best method of interacting with customers and suppliers. From 'green screen' to EDI and telephone business, we need to consider which is the best channel for doing particular lines of business with particular customers.

Selecting the appropriate channels (and changing them as the public becomes more sophisticated) is, and will be the essence of effective systems deployment over the next few years. At NaMax we endeavour to apply the best technology solutions to our clients' requirements - while being aware that just because "That's the way we've always done it", does NOT mean it is necessarily wrong!

We are currently seeing an evolutionary pattern in established firms:

• Companies with heavy legacy system dependence requiring access to new channels

Many exisitng companies realise that the new electronc channels offer redically reduced costs of operation, but they cannot move overnight from legacy systems to full component architecture. This approach offers a first step on the way to the low cost, electronic channel route...

See: 'Integration in the new world'

• Companies which can begin the migration to new channels now

This diagram shows the full migration process from multiple legacy systems to new channels and component based architecture. The speed at which this is achieved depends on the organisation and its need and desire to take on the new channels.

See 'Electronic channel migration'

• Companies which can begin with a green field

  This is our objective and destination. The legacy systems have been replaced with component based functional elements, there is a consolidated data view across the entire company, and all interaction with the outside world is mediated by dedicated systems which both control the interaction and analyse the data which flows from it.

  See 'Full e-commerce'.