September 1997 edition
Contact: Alan
Earls, Editor
Software Publications, Inc.
108 Water St., Watertown MA 02172
617/926-1900 http://www.bosoft.com
Mainspring Communications:
Creating a "Knowledge Center" for Internet Pros
Who, What, When, Where, Why - On the Web
By Charles E. Vermette
Those charged with providing Internet and intranet solutions don't have to be told that objective, quantifiable information is hard to come by. With everyone in a rush to get on the information superhighway, no one has had time to lay out a road map until now.
"I love the vastness and free form of the net as much as anyone," says Mainspring co-founder, President and CEO John Connolly. "But when the CEO is demanding to know when the company intranet is going to be up, you need benchmarks. You need case studies that explain how others in like environments have solved the problems you're facing. You'll want to brainstorm with your peers. And of course, you need a structured environment where you can get the information you need as quickly as possible. If you're involved in the development and deployment of Internet applications, Mainspring aims to be the place you turn to for mission critical information."
Co-founder and Vice President Steven Bayle is, by his own admission, "a serious consumer of traditional media," but he had grown "frustrated with current information media, especially with the coverage of Internet and information technology." Bayle explains that "a month is about a year in Internet time, and the print media simply can't keep up. With the commercialization of the Internet, I saw the rise of a new medium, one that could enable disseminating information in real time. Mainspring doesn't intend to be a news service or to compete with traditional media. Our aim is to be the first to help you understand the implications of new Internet developments for your business. Granted, we're aiming very high, but we've assembled the talent and resources to make our vision a reality."
Bayle understates the case. The company is backed with over $11 million in venture capital, a senior management team of Ziff-Davis and Addison-Wesley alumni, and an advisory board that includes Tim Berners-Lee, the "father of the Internet" and Director of the World Wide Web Consortium. Also on the board is Mary Cronin, noted consultant on e-commerce and Internet strategy who is also the author of the landmark book "Doing Business on the Internet." Cronin's Internet case studies are regularly featured in Fortune Magazine and available in their entirety only on Mainspring. Companies featured include Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, JC Penney, Bankers Trust, First Data Investor Services Group, Microsoft, the New York Times Company, and Merrill Lynch.
All of the original content on Mainspring, including case studies, business solutions, technologies, and discussions, is organized according to business goals (for example, e-commerce, customer service, marketing, and employee communications) that members are trying to achieve in their organizations. Connolly explains that "we've found that Internet professionals tend to have a primary focus on one of these areas. We set up the site so that they can go directly to their area of concern. Original content created by Mainspring's team of editors and analysts is supplemented by outside resources. These outside resources are designed to deliver the highest quality material to supplement and complement our original content. We currently have content licensing agreements with 10 of the leading book publishers, (including Wiley, IDG Books, O'Reilly & Associates, Microsoft Press, and Osborne/McGraw Hill), several major magazine publishers (including Ziff-Davis and Cahners), and nine key market research and advisory firms (including the META Group, the Yankee Group, Patricia Seybold Group, and the Burton Group)."
Direct customer contact is crucial to Bayle. "When I produce a product, I want feedback. As a consumer, I want to get my opinion to the decision maker. In my 17 years as a software producer, I've never gotten product feedback in the volume or time frame I would have liked. As a consumer, I've always been frustrated by the layers of bureaucracy I've had to go through to get to the decision maker - if I got to them at all. The Internet gives producers an opportunity for direct contact with consumers and vice versa. There is no middleman to lose, sugarcoat, or distort the consumer's message. Some traditional businesses may be afraid of this; we embrace it. We want feedback as direct as the information we provide."
Since going online in May, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Corporate members include Lexis-Nexis, Silicon Valley Bank, Price Waterhouse, Ernst & Young and the Boston Globe. David Pearson, the Globe's Technology Manager, says that "the information on Mainspring is insightful, and members engage in real dialogue - without the fluff. Best of all, the content I need is just one click away." John Avallon, a partner and managing director at Boston's Ernst & Young LLP adds: "It's too cumbersome to keep up with all those [information] sources. We're looking at Mainspring as being a definitive source."
Mainspring offers a free 30-day trial membership. Cost for full membership is $49.95 a month or $495 a year, with corporate discounts available. More information can be obtained at http://www.mainspring.com, or by calling 617/588-2300.