Grief in the Dot-Com Era

The unbridled prosperity of the technology and dot-com eras came to a sudden death six months ago. Since then, industries and individual companies have been grappling with the mourning the three stages of grief, if you will.

The first stage of grieving was shock and denial. The first signals of dot-com companies going belly-up drew interest, but denial that anything was wrong. However, as more companies were ravaged by the losses of bottom lines and venture-capital life support, it became clear that the plug was being pulled. The ripple effect was profound, reaching into nearby sectors, including telecom, which had been gearing up and amassing its own dot-com resources and departments. However, the final pronouncement came as signature companies such as Amazon.com laid off employees. Although it promises to turn revenue figures around in 2001, the specter of Wall Street doubt looms.

Intrinsically, the entrepreneurship and imagination of the dot-com era wasn't wrong, merely misguided. Actually, it revealed a nascent creativity that had been held captive by conservative big business and was waiting to bloom. However, there was a cancer underlying that creativity; one that grew darkly as the dot-com artists were erecting their castles on sand. The companies were built on hopes and aspirations, rather than solid business plans.

Following the shock came the second stage: beginning the adjustment process. It came swiftly. Companies couldn't afford to wait for the final shovel-full of dirt to be tossed on the dot-coms. They had to act decisively. They cut staffs with surgical swiftness; they eliminated departments; and they streamlined operations. The adjustment came in the acknowledgment that future eras must find a harmonized balance between creativity and business acumen.

The third stage of grief is the new-life stage, rising like a phoenix from the ashes. The new-life stage will be the wireless Internet. It will be based on the evolved business plans of wireless telecom companies. These companies have navigated the uncharted and unknown as they enabled subscribers to take telecom service to the next level. This history combined with the dot-com experience arms them better than their wired brethren.

The new-life stage was confirmed during last month's Wireless 2001 in Las Vegas where hundreds of emerging wireless Internet companies showed off their products and services. Further validating that the wireless Internet would not stall in fear and uncertainty were two significant 3G announcements by two leading wireless carriers: Sprint PCS (www.sprintpcs.com) and Verizon Wireless (www.verizonwireless.com).

Charles Levine, Sprint PCS COO, confirmed that all systems were go with 3G and its new service offerings. He even went so far as to say that the company was satisfied with its spectrum holdings and felt it could move rapidly with new services through the next decade.

Verizon dramatically and emphatically confirmed its belief in the next stage with its $5 billion deal with Lucent to supply its 3G networks.

Sadly, the havoc wreaked by the dot-coms in the wired Internet world has left turmoil extending beyond unrealized user capabilities. Wall Street and the VC community remain noncommittal in following the same course. However, the wireless Internet is breathing new life into the dot-com dream. After witnessing the demise of the dot-coms, wireless telecom and Internet companies are adamant not to follow the same path to self-destruction and are designing new strategies for the financiers and Wall Street to consider.

What is the vitamin elixir that will prevent wireless Internet companies from succumbing to the same fate as their wired predecessors? Personalization and location-specific capabilities are two key elements that will modernize the Internet and take it to the next level of user resourcefulness.

Granted, there are significant mountains to climb with regard to ubiquity, billing, security, privacy and user flexibility. However, after witnessing the dot-com drama, wireless telecom and Internet providers know the deadly price they could pay and are motivated to act on these issues early and pro-actively.

The grief-management process of the last six months has exacted a price from many. However, the expression, That which doesn't kill you, will make you stronger gainfully applies to this resurrection of the dot-coms in the wireless Internet era.

What's your dot-com post-mortem?
Send your thoughts to rhonda_wickham@intertec.com.