June 1997 Wladawsky-Berger Kicks Off ICE '97

Since 1970, Wladawsky-Berger has been with IBM, and during his tenure, he has helped designed and implement many IBM software and computer initiatives.

During this time, he has had the opportunity to see people's reactions to the Internet and the questions that have arisen as a result of it.

"People are still asking, 'Where are all of the killer apps (applications) the Internet was supposed to spawn?'" Wladawsky-Berger said. "Killer apps are everywhere. They are helping the customer do what they've always done — only faster, more efficiently and with a global reach."

Two examples of how customers can do business faster and more efficiently are the Bank of Montreal, which allows customers to close mortgages on-line, and the Verona Opera House, which sells tickets on-line.

The driving force behind this new way of doing business is both information technology and communication &endash; what Wladawsky-Berger says is the "heart of the electronic commerce infrastructure.

"When communication declined after the Roman Empire, trade declined. Every advance in the commercial infrastructure has been an advance in technology."

To effectively conduct business electronically, Wladawsky-Berger said there must be an integration of the "bread and butter" information with the new Internet technology.

"Once you integrate transaction systems with the web, you have truly entered the world of electronic business."

Some examples of this successful integration include:

• Caterpilar, Inc.: manufacturer of building equipment. Previously, Caterpilar resonded to its customers via fax. Now, a parts database integrated with the web shows customers up-to-date photographs and information.
• Charles Schwab: National stock company received more than 1,000 orders on-line just six weeks after the web transaction ability was introduced.
• The National Hockey League: Organization currently integrates its enterprise data with website. Soon, fans will be able to get full audio/video of the latest games.

In addition to the integration of the old with the new, Wladawsky-Berger said security is a must. "Without it, electronic commerce is dead," he said, adding that secure payments are far less an obstacle today than they were one year ago.

The invention of the cryptolope is just one example of how companies are trying to make electronic commerce more secure.

A cryptolope is a secure, encrypted "wrapper" that surrounds the information being sent. Only someone else with the technology to "unwrap" the information can uncryptolize it. Despite the technology behind internet commerce and issues that surround it, Wladawsky-Berger said one thing remains true: the imagination.

"Perhaps the real challenge of electronic commerce is not communication, integration or security, but rather the fundamental, basic virtues of imagination," he said.