DD Phan/Information Management 40(2003)581-590 challenge, especially in parts of Europe and Asia. must be paid to the reliability of Intel's PC servers. After its deployment, Intel tested connectivity with Rapid improvements in technology and competitive nificantly in different countries, Intel network engi- to market without having thorough inn jiabi n ob. e6 customers in a real production environment on a environment have forced many software vendors frequent basis. Because performance can vary sig- shorten development cycle and rush software prod neers worked hard to help customers keep up their The decline of Windows system ty was network connections. While it was not Intels observed by Larry Constantine responsibility to install high quality connections between value chain partner's sites to local tandem When we look back over the evolut offices and ISPs, helping some partners to upgrade ware, we see fewer clearly defined landmarks, heir connection bandwidth was crucial to Intel,s and what dominates the landscape is the deployment success during the first year. le support and customer train- less reliable systems loaded down with a panoply ing: In order to promote e-business cooperation to of bewildering features of questionable utilit value-chain partners, Intel built an e-business case Ironically, even as hardware has become study website to educate its partners. Intel also increasingly reliable and dependable, software developed on-line training to reduce the number has become far less so. It has been years since I of support calls. Intel engineers also provided basic have had to deal with a disk crash, yet hardly training to its customers in many parts of the world day passes without the operating system and Deploying the best security protections: Despite the application software conspiring to crash one or export ban of the US government, Intel required more of the machines in my office. A 6-year-old 128-bit encryption technology to be used world machine that serves as our firewall sits with its wide from the start, ahead of many US companies disk spinning away 24/7 for years with nary a Along with firewalls, VPN, access restrictions, and glitch, yet Windows goes brain-dead if it is not security audits, Intel provided adequate security, booted at least once a week 3 privacy, and confidentiality to customers and value Second. pc workstations and pc-based networks chain partners in using its e-business system are more vulnerable to security break-in or virus attack Building and maintaining solid e-business archi- due to its relatively simple architecture. Reliability cture: A robust system will allow e-business to nd security are important factors in building trust move ahead quickly. By separating front-end func- from Intel,s B2B partners. A failure of delivery on tionality of the website from back office systems, mission critical products could shut down a factory of applications were developed for customers with Intels customers and cause them to look for substitute frequent updates without being affected by enter- products. An error in the database could cause incor rect parts to be shipped at the wrong time at an Following good e-business project management incorrect price. Therefore, using PCs as servers to strategies: Having clearly defined scopes, goals, support mission critical B2B operations is risk and requirements, and following an iteration Because it is in Intel,s interests to promote the use approach during the development of Intel's e-busi- of PCs it must take extra measures to maintain the ness system helped them to avoid many traditional reliability and security of its e-business servers software engineering problems, such as schedule delays, cost overruns, and failure to meet user requirements. Intel strategies of"build a little, test 4. Conclusions a little and"walk first. run later worked With rapid advances in technology, novel ways 3. 10. Room for improvement business process redesign, which include entering the e-business marketplace have emerged. Organizations Despite the successes, there is still room for today frequently redesign their processes in ways that improvement of Intels e-business. First, attention provide competitive advantagechallenge, especially in parts of Europe and Asia. After its deployment, Intel tested connectivity with customers in a real production environment on a frequent basis. Because performance can vary sig￾nificantly in different countries, Intel network engi￾neers worked hard to help customers keep up their network connections. While it was not Intel’s responsibility to install high quality connections between value chain partner’s sites to local tandem offices and ISPs, helping some partners to upgrade their connection bandwidth was crucial to Intel’s deployment success during the first year. Providing worldwide support and customer train￾ing: In order to promote e-business cooperation to value-chain partners, Intel built an e-business case study website to educate its partners. Intel also developed on-line training to reduce the number of support calls. Intel engineers also provided basic training to its customers in many parts of the world. Deploying the best security protections: Despite the export ban of the US government, Intel required 128-bit encryption technology to be used world￾wide from the start, ahead of many US companies. Along with firewalls, VPN, access restrictions, and security audits, Intel provided adequate security, privacy, and confidentiality to customers and value chain partners in using its e-business system. Building and maintaining solid e-business archi￾tecture: A robust system will allow e-business to move ahead quickly. By separating front-end func￾tionality of the website from back office systems, applications were developed for customers with frequent updates without being affected by enter￾prise-type applications. Following good e-business project management strategies: Having clearly defined scopes, goals, and requirements, and following an iteration approach during the development of Intel’s e-busi￾ness system helped them to avoid many traditional software engineering problems, such as schedule delays, cost overruns, and failure to meet user requirements. Intel strategies of ‘‘build a little, test a little’’ and ‘‘walk first, run later’’ worked. 3.10. Room for improvement Despite the successes, there is still room for improvement of Intel’s e-business. First, attention must be paid to the reliability of Intel’s PC servers. Rapid improvements in technology and competitive environment have forced many software vendors to shorten development cycle and rush software products to market without having thorough integration testing. The decline of Windows system reliability was observed by Larry Constantine: When we look back over the evolution of soft￾ware, we see fewer clearly defined landmarks, and what dominates the landscape is the relent￾less trend toward ever larger, more complex, and less reliable systems loaded down with a panoply of bewildering features of questionable utility ... ... Ironically, even as hardware has become increasingly reliable and dependable, software has become far less so. It has been years since I have had to deal with a disk crash, yet hardly a day passes without the operating system and application software conspiring to crash one or more of the machines in my office. A 6-year-old machine that serves as our firewall sits with its disk spinning away 24/7 for years with nary a glitch, yet Windows goes brain-dead if it is not rebooted at least once a week [3]. Second, PC workstations and PC-based networks are more vulnerable to security break-in or virus attack due to its relatively simple architecture. Reliability and security are important factors in building trust from Intel’s B2B partners. A failure of delivery on mission critical products could shut down a factory of Intel’s customers and cause them to look for substitute products. An error in the database could cause incor￾rect parts to be shipped at the wrong time at an incorrect price. Therefore, using PCs as servers to support mission critical B2B operations is risky. Because it is in Intel’s interests to promote the use of PCs it must take extra measures to maintain the reliability and security of its e-business servers. 4. Conclusions With rapid advances in technology, novel ways of business process redesign, which include entering the e-business marketplace have emerged. Organizations today frequently redesign their processes in ways that provide competitive advantage. D.D. Phan / Information & Management 40 (2003) 581–590 589