Network Computingwww.networkcomputing.com

Account Managers. Every Web business will need a demo, test and production site. Each will have unique product, registration and configuration data, and its own accounts, reporting, settlement and change history. The account manager administers the flow of changes and revenue between sites.

System and Database Administrators. Plan to add at least one staff member from each area for at least the first year, if not for the life of the project. The system administrator will require a working knowledge of the selected OS(es), and be responsible for maintaining the Web server. He or she must know the steps necessary to create and maintain a secure host by hardening each host OS against break-ins.

The system administrator in general maintains an optimal operating environment for the commerce applications in a 24x7 environment. All hardware and OS upgrades and preventive maintenance are the system administrator's responsibility.

All successful Web sites have a successful database, but database administration is an often overlooked skill. In addition to development support, data integrity and transaction control, the moderately progressive e-commerce site will manage database performance as volume grows.

Extensive personalization at your site will require database extensions, custom code and integration with external systems. Data mining and log-file correlation will be required for one-to-one marketing.

Network Group. Customers expect Web storefronts never to close. The network group is largely responsible for 24-hour access, including estimates for network load; ongoing monitoring; resolution of network problems; analysis of load and projections; implementing designs for fault tolerance; and vendor management for ISPs and telco.

Staffing requirements for e-commerce can be overwhelming. Project managers are often torn between two extremes: It is good for the project to pay its own way and fund all the talent necessary for a successful implementation, but it makes economic sense and helps staff development to amortize the cost of talent across other internal projects. There are no formulas; rather, the issue must be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Just don't wait until the last minute to search for talent. No organization can do everything; partnerships need to be engineered and planned in the same way software needs to be evaluated. Leverage all partners, including ISPs, site developers, systems integrators and consultants.

Brian Walsh is founder of bwalsh.com, a networking and communications consulting firm specializing in Internet and client/server product strategies, development and testing, in Portland, Ore. Send your comments on this article to Brian at brian@bwalsh.com or through his Web site at www.bwalsh.com.

Defining the budget

Whereas a site implemented to establish a base online presence may cost, say, $50,000, one designed to provide seamless links to manufacturing and suppliers will run you around $500,000. When you begin writing an e-commerce plan, you need to focus on the realities of your new enterprise. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What type of server can you afford? Will it be enough to keep pace with growth? Exactly how will you forecast growth? No matter the scope of your site, certain fundamental project steps must occur. For our sample budget below, we will assume a medium-size site hosted internally on Unix RISC systems with real-time links to back-end systems.