one question. didn't somebody tell these guys about sun rays or javastations. btw, is javastation or is it not, DOA?
Ford Planning Corporate Web Portal
To Wire All Employees in Their Homes
By FARA WARNER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is creating a corporate Web portal as part of a plan to put the Internet in the homes of its more than 350,000 employees, highlighting a trend among companies to use the Web to connect with far-flung workers.
Ford confirmed yesterday it would offer Hewlett-Packard computers and printers and Internet access through MCI Worldcom's UUNET unit for $5 a month to all its employees, including factory workers around the world. Such a system at retail could cost more than $1,000 in the U.S.
The program, including installation and warranty issues, will be administered by PeoplePC Inc., which offers a package of a PC and Internet access to consumers starting at $24.95 a month. All the companies declined to discuss financial terms of the three-year deal. But the program is significant for H-P; 350,000 computers would amount to roughly 5% of its worldwide personal-computer shipments last year. The Ford announcement also is a major vote of confidence in PeoplePC (www.peoplepc.com), a San Francisco start-up founded in October.
In exchange for cheap access to the Internet and PCs, employees will go through the Ford corporate portal to surf the rest of the Web. The company, however, won't stop employees from picking another Internet provider, but they will have to pay for that on their own.
The portal, which will be branded along with the PeoplePC logo, will have its own employees to create content, said Jim Yost, Ford's chief information officer. The home page will be localized, including changes in languages for overseas employees. Employees and plants also will be able to customize the site.
Interest in corporate portals has taken off in the past two years, according to Boston-based research firm Delphi Group. A survey by Delphi of 300 big companies found 55% were working on portals and 25% more were planning ones in the next two years. The sites can help companies cut costs by offering information and services that once had to be handled by people, such as benefits rules and expense forms.
"Ford is a little ahead of this curve," said Hadley Reynolds, Delphi Group's research director. "This extension to remote access for all employees is the future of corporate portals."
But getting employees to use home computers to communicate with the company might not be so easy. Michael Rawson, 43 years old, who works at the Wayne, Mich., plant where the Focus small car is built, received his computer Thursday. He said he is likely to let his two sons use the PC since he already has one with Internet access. "We found out last night, and they already want it in their room," he said.
-- David P. Hamilton contributed to this article.
Write to Fara Warner at fara.warner@wsj.com |
