Strategy Development Manager at Reuters Solutions speaks at Gulf Business Summit

While information technology was previously used to enable business ideas, it is currently deployed to lead business growth and generate profit and revenue, according to Ian Evans, Strategy Development Manager at Reuters Solutions. Reuters solutions is the technology arm of Reuters, a leading provider of financial information and solutions worldwide.

Speaking at the 2002 Gulf Business Summit, organised by the Economist Conferences in Dubai, Evans discussed the importance of "Collaborative Ecosystems" in today's business world.

"It is not simply e-commerce," emphasised Ian Evans, "it really is the creation of a comprehensive business ecosystem that allows the integration of all internal processes of a company as well as the integration of its external suppliers and its customers with these systems. The focus is the customer, who really is 'king' of this ecosystem."

Such total business integration can help companies reduce costs and build market share. Evans believes that the next big wave of opportunity lies in the Demand Chain Management - others may use the term 'Supply Chain Management' instead - which is a product of the B2B concept.

He quoted Intel's Andy Grove who said in 1999 that "in three years there will be no e-business - anyone not in the eWorld will not exist." Ian Evans believes that this has come true. Evans remains a staunch believer in what technology can achieve for businesses despite the dotcom bubble. In fact, he believes that the dotcom crash was a good thing for the IT industry. It has inoculated the survivors who have come out stronger and more level-headed.

However, he says that businesses have not yet exploited the full potential of technology. What they really did so far is replicate their manual processes to web-based processes. "For maximum advantage, businesses need to change fundamentally and use the "Power of Now" or the advantage of real-time interaction that technology offers them. Also, suppliers and customers should become partners. It is a total integration of the chain, from end to end. This will allow businesses to offer customers cost-effective quality products, which are tailor-made to suit their individual needs."

Efficient demand chain management does rely greatly on trust and transparency amongst all members of the chain and within each company in that chain, so there should be a real focus on openness.

His advice to organisations on how to build this collaborative system is to have integration at the data level and to configure their application integration for growth. They should also ensure that the core systems are integrated before moving to the second stage. "Reuters solutions are designed to enable organisations to build sturdy ecosystems that link all the processes by offering them the technology, connectivity and content. This will make their business work effectively by positioning the customer at the heart of that ecosystem," he said.

The Gulf Business Summit has attracted a large number of delegates from across the Gulf in the business, financial and IT sectors, and is directed at addressing the most pressing issues facing corporations and financial institutions from around the region.