Editor's note

Taking lessons in
e-commerce

Many dot-coms fell victim to the correction of the stock market in 2000. Although those frenzied days of the Internet are over, the electronic medium still has its allure and continues to be important in business today. Many firms are taking a more sensible approach, focusing on its business application and not on the technology.

Last December, Internet pioneer Amazon reported its busiest holiday season. The online merchant sold 2.1 million items in a single day, or 24 units per second, reported CNET News.com. Other statistics point to a revival of online shopping. According to research firm Emarketer, business-to-consumer e-commerce revenues for Asia-Pacific will hit US$38 billion this year, up from US$8.2 billion in 2001.

But despite the positive outlook, our writers found that you still cannot put a blanket label on e-commerce. Not all product categories are suitable for the Internet. What works for one may not work for another. Singapore-based FreshDirect shut down its Web site early this month. Co-founder Desmond Lee said transaction volumes had fallen and his customers prefer to phone in and fax orders. Ronald Teng of IT products distributor, Ban Leong Technologies, shared with senior journalist Aloysius Choong the painful lessons of doing business online.

But it is not all doom and gloom for everyone. FarEastFlora.com is expanding, and its head Ryan Chioh is hoping to get a slice of China's market by subscribing to a new Internet direct debit payment solution from NETS.

The theme of this month's special report, Getting the Business Online, looks at several e-commerce issues. For those keen to set up shop online, we show how you can start small and plan wisely. We also highlight your Web hosting options and provide tips for those thinking of setting up a wireless LAN for the office.

In our second installment on software selection, Gartner's Pranav Kumar says many SMBs make the mistake of confusing the operating system with the desktop software selection and tells us why.

If there is an issue that we haven't addressed, write to us. Tell us what you would like to know or if you have an experience to share. And if you're not on our print issue mailing list yet and would like to receive the next edition, drop us an e-mail.