Money is the key to e-commerce. Selling products over the Web -- exchanging products for money -- defines e-commerce. On the Web, money comes in various forms, some as conventional as credit cards and some as unconventional as eBay's Billpoint online payment service. "Web money," if you will, has been the source of much hand-wringing and the focus of much creative thinking.

As I was sitting down to write this month's commentary, an e-mail appeared on my PC. It was Rob Austin's 19 September 2001 Business-IT Strategies E-Mail Advisor on the dangers of a pure profit-maximizing mentality in outsourcing decisions.

As I was sitting down to write this month's commentary, an e-mail appeared on my PC. It was Rob Austin's 19 September 2001 Business-IT Strategies E-Mail Advisor on the dangers of a pure profit-maximizing mentality in outsourcing decisions.

This article is summarized from the forthcoming book, Agile Modeling, to be published in late 2001 by John Wiley & Sons.

The Standish Group's Chaos reports (the 1994 original study and the recent 2001 update) have caused a tremendous waste of IT dollars. Just look at tool site after tool site -- project management, collaboration, software development, modeling tools -- the numbers from the Chaos report are given as a key reason for buying particular products.

As I write, the opening moments of the recent tragic events in New York City and Washington, DC, are barely a day past. The ruins of the twin towers are still smoking. I'm still processing it all, as are many others.

As I write, the opening moments of the recent tragic events in New York City and Washington, DC, are barely a day past. The ruins of the twin towers are still smoking. I'm still processing it all, as are many others.

According to Cutter Consortium, business-IT alignment is better than ever!