On Saturday April 1st, Bozeman’s 2nd Annual Community Internet Festival was energetically attended by over 1000 interested people, of all ages, from the local area.
It was hosted at the Burns Telecommunications Center on Montana State University. Senator Conrad Burns was present to introduce the keynote speaker, Greg Gianforte, Founder of the enormously successful Internet business, RightNow Technologies from Bozeman.
Five generous sponsors, thirteen prominent exhibitors, and thirty qualified speakers came together. Thirty-four multimedia presentations enthralled the multitude. The planning committee of eleven women and six men worked for a year on this project to bring this event to the people in Bozeman.
Even the mythical Captain Internet and mysterious Wonder Web Woman were there (in costume) to greet everyone. Basic classes for use of email, Web use and Search Engine indexing were filled to overflowing. Great fun; you should have been there.
Kim Obbink, of the Burns Telecommunications Center, said, “The strength of fast Internet influences everyone’s lives, and this event helps educate people in e-business. Many are still interested in very practical hands-on information, trying to get a feel where to start. They love to get involved. Productivity increases will impart the best economic future for our state.”
So much was happening, no one could experience it all. As such, this writer can only comment to a respectably finite presentment of the sessions offered. The universal truth is that the Internet is an inseparable part of business, doubling its capacity every 100 days. Be involved.
Serving the customer is the only business! This is the fundamental emphasis of the festival, with specifics of how-to. Our focus should be upon being the customer’s ally. The efficiency of the electronic delivery is that 80-90% of the knowledge base is provided on the Web, in some way. Consequentially, only 10% of customers need human interaction. If implemented well, this lessens cost, and increases efficiency and speed.
David Barcroft, representative of Cisco, says that his company’s sales is now the largest market in the world, surpassing that of Microsoft. In no other way could this be accomplished as efficiently, quickly, or inexpensively than via electronic channels.
Orders are routed to manufacturing, tested online, and then shipped directly to the customer, just-in-time, diminishing warehousing costs and handling. Customers are auto-notified via email, and funds wire-transferred after the product arrival/customer acceptance.
In the six and half years that the World Wide Web has been in existence, “companies are realizing savings that are greater than revenues! Contemplate this for a moment,” Barcroft said. New terms like Extranet and Intranet are added to our vocabulary. It is physically impossible for any company or individual, in isolation, to simply work harder to succeed.
Our tendency to ignore the crushing title-wave of superior efficiency and expediency, and hold to old ways of doing business, will blind-side us without warning. We must begin to adapt. Being technically-challenged need not be a barrier. Hiring or learning from those who are skilled in this new arena is key and crucial so that we all benefit. Sharing the venture with another company is a popular technique that profits both.
By 2003, an estimated 30-50% of Montana businesses will be dislocated if they ignore the Internet! The best thing for preserving our lifestyle and increasing prosperity will be by way of high-tech networking. High speed connectivity is in place now in Bozeman, Belgrade and Livingston, with competition approaching. Costs are certain to drop and availability increase.
Andrew Beebe, founder of Bigstep.com, defined the difference between e-Business and e-Commerce. He advises that 70% of US small business is service-based; Internet is largely product-based. The bridge is dedication to reaching and responding to customers’ needs. People who give information away are quickly identified as experts and their professional services sought for pay.
The keynote address was given by Greg Gianforte, Founder of RightNow Technologies in Bozeman. He said, “It doesn’t matter where you’re located. Today we can do business electronically from anywhere.”
Gianforte chose Montana because it was a nice place to live. His company pays considerably greater than the local wage, but less than if located in Silicon Valley or elsewhere in Metro-USA.
Greg’s company is investing their money in their employees, $38M spent in Gallatin County last year, all from this one hi-tech company. Revenues from his 600 clients comes entirely from outside the state and internationally. Embracing this trend is going to be largely responsible for Montana’s rise from the bottom of the list of states’ per-capita earnings. It’s beginning.
Gianforte told his large audience that Montanans are hard working with good ethics but lack the specialized skills to do this. Our universities are not delivering qualified individuals, at least not in sufficient numbers, to fill the nation-wide need. Resultantly RNT is spending $1M/year on recruiting, hiring people to come to Montana from elsewhere. Forty jobs are open now, and an additional 100 more employees needed by the end of 2000.
Internet is a clean industry; no smokestacks. The myths are unrealistic fears. Missing is the “spark” to want it. Mr. Gianforte said we have ample bandwidth now, more than adequate financing from qualified investors. Lowering taxes will raise revenues; it’s the consequence that attracts more lucrative businesses.
“Resource extraction, the last gold rush, is now replaced by the
Internet, the next gold rush,” says Gianforte. “Is Montana going to
participate? We’re just making bits flow in the right direction to give
value to someone who is grateful to pay us for it.”