E-commerce: Inside information (transcript), 02/28/00

Edited transcript

"Fast and furious." That's how Nancy Grim, vice president and general manager with American Express Corporate Services Interactive, describes the e-commerce scene. Her peers at Ernst & Young and Staples.com are loathe to disagree.

The three are intimately involved with the e-commerce initiatives at their respective companies. At American Express, Grim helps customers save time and money on travel, expense and purchasing functions. John Quinn, a principal with Ernst & Young's National Health Consulting practice, is in charge of the company's center for health care emerging technologies. He is also technical chair of Health Level 7, a 13-year-old standards organization for health care messaging. Mike Ragunas is vice president of IS for Staples.com, the online office supply and business services company.

We pulled them together for a conversation on topics ranging from how e-commerce is changing businesses to how users deal with problems including integration with existing infrastructure and emerging technologies such as XML. Paul Desmond, vice-president of King Content, a strategic publishing company in Southborough, Mass., moderated the discussion. Drop in on the roundtable.

You can either read the edited transcript via the links below or listen to the participants using RealPlayer G2.

E-commerce's impact internally

Technology challenges

E-commerce's affect on the network infrastructure

XML's role in e-commerce

Technology shortcomings

Security

Non-technical problems

Benefits gained from e-commerce

How to train for e-commerce initiatives

Cross-departmental e-commerce teams

Working with outsourcing firms

Future impact of e-commerce

E-marketplaces

Desmond can be reached at paul_desmond@king-content.com.

Related links

American Express e-commerce center

Ernst & Young e-business page

Staples Business Solution Center

XML consulting and software development for e-business applications
X.Systems

XMLSolutions: - extending your trading universe
XEDI Technology.

Healthcare Electronic Commerce Foundation
It facilitates cooperative development of the electronic commerce solutions throughout the healthcare community. Get information on electronic commerce standards, solution sets, implementation guides, research and cost/benefit analyses, and available technology, services and support for healthcare.

E-commerce Times
Info on products, services; daily commentaries on news, events.
Triad Commerce Group, LLC.