American Express and the World Chambers Network are important partners for DNV as it enters cyberspace and offers its EBtrust Mark to Internet users. DNV in Italy has been the driving force behind the EBtrust project, which primarily covers six DNV regions: Italy, Sweden, Norway, Western Europe, India and the USA.
The most important message from them both, however, is clear:
1) The Internet will continue to grow and become increasingly important as a marketplace.
2) Trust, confidence and quality are key words in this development.
3) With its new EBtrust mark, DNV, as a leading risk management company, has a vital role to play in the development of confidence in events taking place on the Internet.
Other sources also support the optimism expressed by American Express and the International Chamber of Commerce. A Gartner Group study anticipates that the E-commerce market will be worth one trillion US$ in 2001. An ever-increasing volume of products and services will be sold over the Internet. Even today, more than 15 million websites exist, and this figure is growing every day.
Companies plot own E-business
DNVs scope is to evaluate companies ability to run their own businesses on the Internet. DNV Regional Manager Italy and the Adriatic countries, Gaetano Trizio, is also the EBtrust Business Development Manager; he emphasises that the Internet is a channel for creating value and running business.
The DNV E-business model has five modules:
1) Ethics
2) Infrastructure
3) Security
4) Process and organisation
5) Web-marketing.
Each of these modules is further sub-divided. Ethics is sub-divided into policy, ethical business conduct, human resources, respect for privacy, and monitoring and review. Security is sub-divided into policies and procedures, logical security, physical security, organisational security, and monitoring and review. Says Trizio, The DNV E-model is flexible enough to be customised according to the life-cycle stage of the E-company. He envisages DNV playing a key role often at a strategic level in the E-business companies DNV is to work with.
The World of Cyberspace
E-commerce doesnt require security as much as it needs trust and confidence. says Georges Fischer, chairman of the World Chambers Network (www.worldchambers.com) and director of the E-developments Department of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The International Chamber of Commerce, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and G7 Chambers of Commerce and Industry are behind the World Chambers Network. Together with DNV, we will make the E-commerce engine run smoothly, says Fischer. There are 15 million websites and this figure is increasing day by day. In the years to come, it wont be enough simply to have good, exciting content. WCN will not just publish information. We will provide checked or validated information qualified information. Even now, our network publishes business opportunities with a star system, and we are going to further develop this. Out of a list of business opportunities, you must immediately know the quality of the information you are getting.
Trusted third parties
As trusted third parties, Chambers of Commerce will make sure, before E-commerce data is published, that there is an existing company and an existing product. DNV will assist in this process, of which credit reports and quality control will be a part. During negotiation periods, the Chambers can provide electronic signature certification. Once under way, they can help with online mediation according to the model with which CyberCMAP Cyber Centre for Mediation and Arbitration of Paris is experimenting. Fischer can foresee unlimited opportunities for E-commerce. The market has moved more slowly than expected. Those that have time and can build on an existing brand name or network have greater advantages. Both Chambers of Commerce and DNV are global organisations with sound networks. They are also foundations without short-term commercial goals. Long-term survival depends to a great extent on how we deal with the challenges surrounding E-commerce.
The Golden Age to come
Says Georges Fischer, Were in the golden age of the new economy. When the railways, electricity, oil, telecommunications, IT and biotechnology were in their infancy, there was similar short-term financial speculation, instead of a medium-term commitment. Both the Chambers and DNV are long-term participants that aim to ensure confidence, trust and quality in the world of cyberspace. Like Fischers WCN, American Express in Italy is focusing on developing confidence in what takes place on the Internet. Our goal is to be the most flexible payment instrument in the world. In the long term, we will work to increase the number of services delivered through the Internet, says Daniela Cerboni, who is responsible for American Expresss commercial operations in Italy. If the trial project is a success, we will implement the same system in all our units worldwide.
A purely E-business company
American Express is committed to becoming a purely E-business company. At AMEXs Italian headquarters in Rome, an entire wall is devoted to the new, blue card that has a microchip and the Yahoo search engines logo, in addition to a magnetic strip. Daniela Cerboni does not hide the fact that AMEX wants to maintain its leadership among the worlds card companies. AMEX is in the top 20 of the worlds leading brands, and, as the largest card issuer in the world, it plans to have the Internet fully integrated into its services. She explains AMEXs many new Internet services. We want to be a payment system with added value and maximum flexibility and security for our cardmembers worldwide. American Express was the first business travel company to be certified in Italy. Says Cerboni, Our focus is on transaction security, trust, confidence and customer protection. All of these are to be found in DNVs EBtrust Mark, which we shall now promote to our affiliates in Italy.
Spring launch
EBtrust was launched in the six selected regions during the Spring. Points out DNVs Gaetano Trizio, It is important for us to appear with an identical message in all our markets. The worldwide web is global, as is DNVs service, though we have chosen to focus on six regions at first. If this is a success, other regions will naturally offer EBtrust to their markets. DNVs website, www.dnv.com, contains a separate site for following up EBtrust. The emphasis now is to get the message out to the market. Then the most demanding period will follow the period when the services are to be delivered. With EBtrust, DNV has taken a step into the future. Adds Trizio, Our operations still have a worldwide focus and goods are still being transported, now no longer just on the seven seas but in cyberspace.