Net Ready (Hardcover)

~ (Author), John Sifonis (Author), John G. Sifonis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Is your business ready for the Net? Amir Hartman and John Sifonis say it better be, and they aren't just talking about a snazzy corporate Web site when they ask that question in Net Ready. Instead, the two managing directors at Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group are referring to "seamless interactivity" organization-wide, the recognition that manipulating customers is no longer easy--nor, for that matter, desirable--and other realities and requirements in the still-evolving commercial climate they've dubbed the "E-conomy." Their book's opening section offers real-world trends and scenarios as a "framework to which emerging network-based businesses can map themselves," along with a "Net Readiness Scorecard" to measure preparedness in the core areas of leadership, governance, competencies, and technology. The second explores "using the Net to exploit new opportunities" by transforming products and markets, business processes, and entire industries. (They show, for example, how AOL reconceived itself from ISP to media company, how Ford connected with suppliers online, and how Schwab countered competitors by redefining the cyberbrokerage.) The third examines how everything comes together at Cisco Systems, and summarizes lessons learned--in 11 guiding principles. This is a serious book for those serious about doing business in the 21st century. --Howard Rothman

Product Description

TheWall Street Journal Business Bestseller!

CISCO's secrets revealed!

CISCO is the global standard not just for internetworking but for Web sales strategies that work. CISCO has made itself the pre-eminent player in the new global economy. Net Ready shows how this vibrant company has done it and how anyone else can apply its unique strategies to succeed on the Web. It's not a blueprint but a set of flexible strategies for Web success­­a unique toolkit for every company ready to seize the Internet's limitless business potential. Net Ready explores the 12 tactics that have catapulted CISCO to the forefront, including its trademark concept of "informatization," which involves giving away the product and profiting from the information about the transaction.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 314 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies; 1st edition (November 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071352422
• ISBN-13: 978-0071352420
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,270,883 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Net Ready Evangelist!, December 8, 1999

By	Kristy Gaschler (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

I found Net Ready to be extremely helpful in understanding the critical success factors in migrating to the Internet Economy. Working for a large Investment Bank, I am continually searching for better business processes to manage aggressive deadlines and sensitive client information. The book challenges the reader to look beyond technology as the answer to improve efficiencies and focus on identifying the organizational impediments to E-enabling your business, the authors have coined them their 4 pillars of Net Readiness: leadership, governance, competencies, and technology.

For a non-techie business manager, Net Ready is a great reference for how to migrate your business to the Internet Economy. The in-depth Cisco case study highlights the true business benefits that can be achieved across functional areas of a company. The author's have taken their extensive Internet consulting expertise and married that with real-life implementation experience at Cisco Systems to deliver the premier Internet business transformation reference guide!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want to be Net Ready--this book helps, December 6, 1999

By	Anna Beth Payne "abpayne" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

Like most businesspeople, my biggest challenge is to change my business so it can truly exploit the Internet. This book really opened my eyes. I had assumed that my biggest challenge was a technical one. But Net Ready persuaded me that the technological challenges, while important, are not the first ones for me to tackle. To be really Net Ready, the book demonstrates that businesses have to be ready in four dimensions: leadership, governance, competencies, and only then technology. The best chapters were the ones dealing with leadership and governance issues. Also highly useful were the three chapters in part II that define 12 specific e-business inititiatives that businesses can leverage. If you have an existing businesses and really want to take it to the next level, Net Ready is must reading.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE GUIDE for e-commerce, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

Every company in the world seems to have an e-commerce initiative. Most of those are not succesfull. The authors of Net Ready are responsible for establishing the single most successfull B2B site in the world - and it shows throughout the book. This book is THE book to read when it comes to e-commerce. Most interesting to me was the Principles of Prioritization on page 98. What an easy way to determine where the ROI in e-commerce applications is. Kudos to Misters Hartman and Sifonis. This is the single best e-commerce book I have ever read.