Most companies today are in information mode and that's where the World Wide Web can help to revolutionize their business.

"The Web is a virtual TV to your company or corporate identity," says Gregory Price, a shareholder at the Leading Edge accounting firm PKF Texas in Houston. "It's often used as an electronic newsletter or brochure and it's easy to maintain. But you have to keep it fresh or the ratings will drop."

Web sites are part of those critical first impressions. Price says many companies threw something up a few years ago simply to have a presence, but that presence is irrelevant if the site is not kept current.

Another tool in the box

Companies are also using the Web for sales and purchasing. "The Web can be leveraged over a wide variety of customers. It's another tool in the selling toolbox," he says. Using the Web to order supplies is becoming more and more commonplace. (See sidebar on eBay.)

One example is a reverse auction. "If you're an auto assembly plant and you need 25,000 barrels of grease annually for your assembly line, you can put that item on your Web page and have your vendors bid. Simply establish a vendor sign-up, which you authenticate offline that is separate from your main site. Since the process is open, vendors are competing against one another and may try to outbid each other. This affords the company the best bid while stepping away from the process until bids are closed," he says.

Purchasing requests for proposals are also increasingly posted online. "It used to be that you never knew who won the RFP, unless you won. But with a more open online process, as a bidder you are in the position to offer more flexibility and still benefit the company seeking the proposals."

Some companies also have the ability to track the status of their orders. "Amazon led the way on this, but the rank and file are now following. We're squeezing the supply chain, not carrying as much inventory since that eats up our working capital," says Price.

Many more products are made-to-order since companies are able to do a better job of managing and tracking requests from customers, suppliers and vendors.

But is the Web safe?

Stability is still an issue with the Web, although Price admits that it is better than it was a few short years ago. "There's a lot of lip service, but not a lot of attention being paid to securing your system. Ask yourself how much insurance you want to buy. Most companies opt for less. Once something happens, they admit that was a dumb decision, but it's too late. Network security should be a part of the process, a common element of technology planning," he says.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recently listed network security as the number one IT issue. "Many companies don't want to incur the cost (from $50,000 to $60,000). It's not that expensive when you consider the alternative. There's no return on investment. It's not a payback. It's a process you go through and security needs to become part of the technology landscape," Price says.

Are companies spending money on IT these days? "Yes and no," says Price. "Certainly not at the pre-9/11/01 and pre-Y2K levels. Those moments were probably an aberration on the high end.

"When the pain reaches a certain threshold, people will spend," says Price.

Spending for the right reasons

Price had a client who was able to reduce time spent on a billing run from three to four days to less than 20 minutes using improved technology and software. "Implementing this new system cost less than two full-time equivalent employees and allowed them to get bills out more quickly, analyze information better and save the full-time employee's productivity for other things," he says.

Price says the key is not to believe the world will change every time you spend money on IT. "Most companies ask how much will it cost and how long will it take. Those are the wrong two questions. You should ask, 'What processes do we hope to improve and what benefits do we hope to achieve?'

"This is not an event, it's a journey," he says. New technologies, including Web-driven software, allow you to better analyze your company's efficiencies, or lack thereof.

"Your largest customer could also be your biggest pain in the butt. You end up spending more time and making less money. You may have another customer who uses your services three times per year, but you make 200 percent profit. You want his business and about three or four more like him. Knowing that information may cause you to put your largest client on your internal B list," he says.

The next big thing?

What technology should businesses keep an eye on? Price says there are several services available today that, depending on your company size, budget and complexity of transactions, can make your business run more efficiently.

Web services—This is a great tool that lets you rent vs. buy certain types of software, such as accounting systems for a two- or three-person company. It may make more sense for a smaller company to pay a $50 per month user fee vs. the $700 it takes to load up Peachtree Accounting without any tech support.

Host-it Solutions—For slightly larger companies, say 10 or more employees, host-it solutions allow access to a more sophisticated accounting system, such as Navision, but does not require a roomful of computers and two full-time IT guys. "If you can afford the $700 for the software and have a DSL line, financial service firms can provide you with the ISP and tech support," says Price.

Wireless—It's better today than it was a year ago and it will continue to improve. Your decision to go wireless depends largely on the volume of transactions and the complexity of those transactions. "There are still issues with security, but those will improve with time," says Price.

Online procurement—Some people like paper, but does it really make sense to have three people push four forms for an order of five light bulbs that takes one week to deliver? Price predicts the cost will eventually eat them up. "The more you can squeeze out of this process the better your bottom line."

And that's the bottom line. e