Short Takes: Consultant: Innovation Is More than Web Site

Companies need more than a Web site to position themselves for the future, a computer and financial consultant told attendees at the third annual Congress on Banks and Insurance held in New York last week.

A Web site is only a "door" to the organization, said Thomas J. Kitrick, speaking about the impact of electronic commerce on financial services convergence. He is the director of HumanActive Thinking, a division of Transaction Information Systems Inc., a New York-based information technology consulting group.

To be effective, Mr. Kitrick said, companies need an "electronic organization." That means an Internet presence, as well as an intricate intra-office network. It also means developing an extranet to deliver information to suppliers, vendors, and strategic partners, he added.

"Most Web sites are just putting information out there for people to read" and are arguably ineffective, he told about 60 banking and insurance industry representatives.