Competition
The eBusiness engineering market is intensely competitive and faces rapid
technological change. We expect the competition to continue and intensify, which
could result in price reductions, reduced profitability and loss of current or
future customers. Our competitors fall into four major categories:
- internal information technology departments of current and potential
customers;
- large information technology consulting services providers, such as
Andersen Consulting LLP, Electronic Data Systems Corporation,
International Business Machines Corporation and
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC;
- traditional information technology services providers, such as
Sapient Corporation; and
- Internet professional services providers, such as Proxicom, Inc.,
Scient Corporation and Viant Corporation.
Many of our competitors have longer operating histories and customer
relationships, greater financial, technical, marketing and public relations
resources, larger customer bases and greater brand or name recognition than we
have. Our competitors may be able to respond more quickly to technological
developments and changes in customer needs. This may place us at a disadvantage
in responding to our competitors' pricing strategies, technological advances,
advertising campaigns, strategic partnerships and other initiatives. In
addition, there are low barriers to entry into our business because the costs to
provide information technology services are relatively low. We do not own any
technologies that preclude or inhibit competitors from entering our industry.
Therefore, we expect to continue to face additional competition from new
entrants into our industry.
We believe that the principal competitive factors in our business are:
- leading-edge technical knowledge;
- the reputation and experience of professionals delivering services;
- customer value and service;
- the success and reliability of the delivered system; and
- the ability to attract and retain highly skilled, experienced
professionals.
We believe that we presently compete favorably with respect to each of
these factors. The market for our services is evolving, however, and we may be
unable to compete successfully in the future.
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