The Internet for BusinessThe Internet for Business

Alex Khassin

am.net, division of

AM Computers

The Big Questions:The Big Questions:

What’s in it for you? How do you go about “getting onto the Net”? What does that mean, anyway?

Introduction to the InternetIntroduction to the Internet

Internet is a worldwide network of computers and computer networks

TCP/IP is the binding protocol (language) of the Internet Servers (Hosts) Clients (Browsers)

What Can the Internet Do for What Can the Internet Do for My Company?My Company?

A leading-edge corporate image Improved service for current customers Increased visibility Market expansion On-line transactions Global information distribution at

extremely low costs

E-MailE-Mail

Lowest common denominator 50-million users worldwide! All e-mail programs can:

Create and send electronic messages Retrieve and read incoming messages Reply to, save and print messages Forward messages to other users

E-mail, continuedE-mail, continued

Mailboxes are stored on a mail server connected to the Internet 24-hours a day

Your computer does not have to be on. You just check your mailbox as often as you want

Your e-mail looks like: joe@am.net or sales@yourcompany.com

E-mail, Advanced ServicesE-mail, Advanced Services

Auto-responders (info@yourcompany.com) One-to-many mailing list An unmoderated list server Moderated List server

NewsgroupsNewsgroups

Tens of thousands of newsgroups Unknown anonymous, non-trackable audience Messages are NOT delivered into your mailbox.

They just wait to be read on a news server Threads Newsgroup Address looks like:

comp.sys.mac.misc or alt.sex.discuss

Newsgroups’ business usesNewsgroups’ business uses

Prospecting and retaining customers Market research Crisis control and prevention Building relationships Publicity Developing an expert image

World Wide WebWorld Wide Web

Multimedia + Hyperlinks = Hypermedia Graphical, easy-to-use -- Surfing Web site is a collection of Web pages Home page is the front page of a Web site Uniform Resource Locator (URL):

http://www.am.net/am/reasons.htm

Static sites vs. Dynamic sites linked to corporate databases

What Can a Web Site Do for What Can a Web Site Do for My Company?My Company?

Provide an information system for employees, customers and affiliates

Allow access to on-line product documentation Publish electronic journals and periodicals Showcase all types of artistic works Sell products and services on-line Conduct market research & collect customer data

What Else Can a Web Site Do?What Else Can a Web Site Do?

“Virtual” showroom Deliver your product instantly right on the

Internet (for software and information) Take orders from customers online Track shoppers and purchasing trends

Internet Business BenefitsInternet Business Benefits

Target a defined customer group with precision and develop continuing dialogue

Transact business electronically and at a lower costs

Communicate directly with end-users or direct them to the nearest dealer

Act quickly by adding products and changing selling propositions at a moment’s notice

Business Benefits, continuedBusiness Benefits, continued

Track the sales interaction, steps and results.

Keep an eye on the competition. Create responsive dialogue with customers. Distribute software and information

products quickly through e-mail and file transfers.

Internet Cuts CostsInternet Cuts Costs

Deliver your product literature with no printing costs and no space constraints

Provide new product release information in a timely manner at low cost

Obtain direct feedback about your products and services, to prevent litigation and improve product/service design

Cost Cutting, continuedCost Cutting, continued

Streamline your procurement procedures Shrink product development cycles Conduct inter-company and intra-company

collaborative engineering

How Do You Get Started?How Do You Get Started?

Levels of involvement: Access to the Internet but not presence on the

Internet (i.e. no Web site) A Web site but no access at the office Both a Web site and access to the Internet

Presence on the InternetPresence on the Internet

Have your own Web Server located on your company’s premises

Have your own dedicated (for your Web site only) Web Server “co-located” on an Internet Service Provider’s premises

Have your Web site “hosted” by an Internet Presence Provider Virtual Web Server Hosting

Access to the InternetAccess to the Internet

Levels of Access: Having no or extremely limited access Having access to the Internet on only one or

very few computers in your office Having your internal network be part of the

Internet -- every computer has access to the Internet

Routers, gateways, firewalls

Access, continuedAccess, continued

Links to the Internet: Dial-up (part-time) Dedicated (full-time)

Required for in-house Web Server

ISDN (10 times faster then a modem) Frame Relay (variable speed from 10 times

to 100 times faster then a modem (T1) )

Who Do You Go to for Who Do You Go to for Internet Services?Internet Services?

Commercial Online Services America Online, CompuServe, Microsoft

Network, Prodigy Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Internet Access Providers (IAP) Internet Presence Providers (IPP)

Web Designers, Internet Programmers, etc. An Internet Services Company

am.net - an Internet Services am.net - an Internet Services CompanyCompany

am.net can assist you in any and all aspects of the Internet. Through partnerships with the leading experts in their respective fields, we have gathered under one roof a one-stop source of Internet solutions. We can consult you on the best Internet (and Intranet) strategies for your company, connect your company (with however many locations) to the Internet, design and host your Web site, or integrate a Web server into your in-house computing infrastructure, and develop and implement an Internet marketing strategy for your company.

Copyright 1997 by am.net

am.net, a division of AM Computers

The Internet Services Company

1040-B N. Dutton Ave.

Santa Rosa, CA 95401

1-800-579-2018

(707) 579-2010

http://am.net