The power of an integrated network
Robert Metcalfe was working at Xerox when he invented a standard for connecting computers together over short distances. In 1979 he went on to found 3Com, a manufacturer of computer networking equipment.
Metcalfe developed a law that states the usefulness (the utility) of a network equals the square of the number of users. Simply put, the value of a network or any communication system grows when it connects more people.
The Internet is a good example of Metcalfe's Law. If you and a close friend were the only ones with Internet access, the Internet would have little value. If all of your family and friends had Internet access, the network would have greater value. But if the whole world was connected to the Internet, the usefulness, or utility, of the network would be incalculable. The Internet needed to reach a large number of people before it could become the powerful network that it is today.
Today's selling chain is fragmented into the individual silos of Product Development, Marketing, Sales, Sales Support resources, Alliance Partners, and Distributors. Within those individual silos there is additional fragmentation.
The Integrate™ System was rolled-out to our sales channels in North America, Europe and Asia. It established a global communication and feedback system that helped to overcome cultural and language barriers.
For example, each Product Manager typically provides different types of selling information in different formats to the Sales channel. All of the workers in the selling chain - Product Development, Marketing, Sales, Sales Support resources, and Business Partners - typically receive different types of skills training. As a result, there is no common method of creating and delivering selling information to all workers in the selling chain. And there are no common training programs that connect individual workers, cross-functional teams and business partners in the selling chain. In other words, there is not a formalized stable network on the sell side of the customer value chain.
According to Metcalfe's Law, networks become exponentially more powerful when they connect more people. A selling chain system establishes a powerful network because it seamlessly connects - for the first time - all workers in the selling chain.
A "killer app" can be described as a business process or system that that uses technology to disrupt the activities of competitors, and even sometimes entire markets. It establishes a new operating model that helps organizations achieve market dominance. The original killer app was considered to be IBM's Lotus 1-2-3, because it made the IBM-compatible personal computer a must-have in business.
A supply chain management system is another good example of a killer app. Less than 20 years ago; companies competed on a level playing field without a supply chain system. Now, supply chain systems are required just for the opportunity to compete.
Selling chain management systems are poised to become the next killer app. They seamlessly integrate all workers in the selling chain, for the very first time, into an overwhelmingly powerful network. Selling chain systems will establish a new operating model that will help organizations achieve market dominance.
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