Who Owns the Web?

Computerworld - Workers at Excel Switching Corp. spent months studying successful Web sites, mapping out a strategy and implementing their own Internet vision. But the planning couldn't eliminate a common problem: internal debates.

For example, engineers at the Hyannis, Mass., company, which sells hardware to the communications carrier industry, wanted graphics and information to dominate the site, while marketers wanted a more streamlined approach. "There is that push and pull," says Bill Kelly, Excel Switching's director of marketing programs, adding that the company takes a democratic approach in those struggles. "Whoever has the most influential argument, we'll go with it," he says.

Technology experts and business leaders alike say ownership of corporate Web sites is often up for grabs, as departments fight for placement, space and functionality. Marketing uses the Web site for branding, sales uses it to sell, and customer service uses it to minimize inbound phone calls. IT is left to support all the demands—within budget, of course.

But internal bickering comes at a price—lost leads, delayed launches and budget overruns—that can cost the company sales, brand recognition and customer satisfaction.

A 2004 report from Jupiter Research in New York highlights the problem: "Often there is neither an incentive for units to work together to accommodate each other's objectives, nor a governance mechanism to maximize the overall value of the Web site as a corporate asset."

"The Web represents a confluence among different parts of the company," says Jupiter Research senior vice president David Schatsky, who wrote the report. He points to a well-known consumer travel company that also serves businesses. The company's business division wanted to promote its business-oriented products on the Web site, but other divisions thought that would puzzle the company's core clients: individual consumers. "In that situation you need a higher authority who can make a decision," Schatsky advises.

The Cost of Dissension

Jackie DiGiovanni, vice president of marketing and communication for U.S. Group Pensions at Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp., knows how costly those debates can be. When her division redesigned its Web site last year, the internal audit department wanted last-minute changes to the security features. Other departments disagreed with the proposal to assign new numbers and access codes to the 1.2 million participants who would use the site, but audit got its way, DiGiovanni says.

The change was a disaster, prompting frustrated plan sponsors and participants to bombard Manulife's customer service department with calls.

"What internal audit wanted ideally was not workable in the real world," DiGiovanni says. Manulife spent $500,000 and six months resolving the problem.