REVIEW:Digital Capital — Harnessing the Power of Business Webs

Internet Business News, June 20, 2000

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Digital Capital -- Harnessing the Power of the Business Webs is not a book for the faint hearted. It is written by three members of the management team of the Alliance for Converging Technologies who have all either written or had input in at least two other similar digital economy books.

And it shows, towards the beginning of the book I found myself having to go back and read several chapters again just to make sure I understood and had got the relevant information I needed out of them. As I progressed through the book, however, I seemed to grow accustomed with the language used. I found myself breezing through and even by page 20 I was familiar with the concept of business webs and how they operate. To this extent I am very impressed by the authors as they have managed to effectively explain and detail a rather complex concept yet they have still kept it within the understanding of the untutored or unfamiliar reader.

Basically the book is dedicated to business webs, or b-webs as the authors have tagged them. It is very distinctly divided up into four very separate parts. The first is simply an overview of just exactly what a b-web is and gets the reader used to the concept. It also gives a number of very well illustrated case studies and a number of quotes and asides just to liven it up a bit and keep our attention.

Examples that are among the ones used are the MP3 industry and all the relevant players in it and the Sony Corporation. A very good example of how the web is changing many aspects of business was given in this section. It compared Elvis Presley to the performers of today. Elvis, in many peoples eyes, was a very pivotal figure in the rock business. There is no doubt in my mind that the music of today would be quite a bit different if 'The King' had not been discovered by Sam Phillips in 1953 and had his music brought to untold millions of people the whole world over. Yet it took him two and a half years to cut his first RCA hits after making his first recording in Sun Records' recording studio in Memphis. Nowadays it is possible for a starting performer to record his first track and have it distributed around the globe in less than a week, thanks to the MP3 phenomena. Whether or not he gets as famous as Elvis is purely down to other factors, but at least the distribution agent is there.

The second part of the book goes on to describe the various different models of b-webs. Ranging from the aggregation b-web, through the agora, value chain and alliance to the distributive network b-web. The differences are well documented and both the plus and minus points are recorded and analyzed. A business example is also included for each different type and care is taken to point out just why that company is a part of their specific b-web. Part three describes the ins and outs of human resources and marketing and part four takes a step into the strategical side of the b-web, outlining just what makes a web successful and also a few hints and tips to the entrepreneur wanting to either set up or join his own b-web.

CONCLUSION: This is, in my opinion, a very good book. It may take a bit of perseverance to get into it but once you have then you will find it was definitely worth the effort. Aimed at management or director types, this book would maybe not set out an exact path to take in b-web creation and regulation but it would certainly give any reader a helping hand. It also goes a long way to illustrate previously unnoticed and almost hidden business webs existing in and between existing corporations and organisations today. After reading Digital Capital I will be sure to keep an eye out for the other digital books written by the three man Alliance for Converging Technologies team.

Title:Digital Capital -- Harnessing the Power of Business Webs Author:Don Tapscott/David Ticoll/Alex Lowy Published by:Nicholas Brealey Publishing ISBN:1-85788-209-1 Price:GBP19.99 Reviewer:Ian Sanderson

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