1374 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal rather investigates the adoption (or perhaps non-adoption) of this technology by SMEs in Melbourne’s western region. In regard to tech- nological innovation, we argue that it does not matter how good the technology is if no one makes use of it. If the intended users do not adopt the portal, then it will fail. The chapter investigates reasons for non-adoption of the Bizewest portal and outlines the lessons that might be learned from this. Management decisions to implement new technology, in this case, a business-to-business portal, must take account of the likely adoption and use of this technology, and take necessary steps to ensure that it is adopted and used to full advantage; otherwise, time and money will be wasted. Web Portals 7KH WHUP³:HE 3RUWDO´LVUDWKHURYHUXVHG DQG TXLWH GLI¿FXOW WR GH¿QH SUHFLVHO\ WDNLQJ RQ D somewhat different meaning depending on the viewpoint of the stakeholder (Tatnall, 2005). In general terms, unrelated to the World Wide Web, WKH0DFTXDULH'LFWLRQDU\GH¿QHVDSRUWDODV³D door, gate, or entrance” (Macquarie Library, 1981). 0RUHVSHFL¿FDOO\D:HESRUWDOFDQEHVHHQDVD special Internet (or intranet) site designed to act primarily as a gateway to give access to other sites containing information or services. An im- portant notion behind the concept of a portal is that it does not provide much content itself, but rather organises content from other providers. 2WKHU PRUH UHVWULFWLYH WHFKQLFDO GH¿QLWLRQV RI portals are used by some scholars, but we pre- IHUWKHEURDGHUGH¿QLWLRQWKDWVLPSO\HTXDWHVD portal to a gateway. While some aspects of the Bizewest portal, the subject of this chapter, could be described just as Web pages, as the primary purpose of Bizewest was to provide a gateway to information and services that might be useful to the SMEs, we will describe it as a portal. 7KHUH LV QR GH¿QLWLYH FDWHJRULVDWLRQ RI WKH various types of portal, but Davison, Burgess, and Tatnall (2004) offer the following: • General portals: These portals try to be the ³RQHVWRSVKRSV´IRUDOORUDWOHDVWPDQ\ user needs. Many of these have developed from being simple search tools such as Ya- hoo (http://au.yahoo.com/), Internet service providers such as AOL (www.aol.com.au/), or e-mail services like Hotmail – NineMSN (http://ninemsn.com.au/). Many general portals include services such as: free e-mail, links to search engines and categories of information, membership services, news and sports, business headlines and articles, personalised space with a user’s selections, links to chat rooms, links to virtual shopping malls, and Web directories. • Regional or community portals are often set up by community groups in locations such as Canada (webdesign.foundlocally. com/OurPortals.htm) or Launceston in Tasmania (www.elaunceston.com/), or are sometimes set up by people with special or common interests, or based around special interest groups such as older people (www. greypath.com) (Tatnall & Lepa, 2001). • Vertical industry portals are usually tightly IRFXVHGDURXQGVSHFL¿FLQGXVWU\DUHDVDQG so tend to be more specialised, offering their services in one particular interest or industry area ( Burgess, Bingley, & Tatnall, 2005; Lynch, 1998). Examples of vertical industry portals include the timber industry (http://www.timber.org) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer Exporter Associa- tion (www.bangladeshgarments.info). Many vertical portals have services for business SDUWQHUVRU³PHPEHUV´RQO\ • Horizontal industry portals are based around a group of businesses in an industry or 1375 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal a local region. A good example of a horizon- tal portal is the Business to Business(B2B) portal sponsored by the United Overseas Bank in Singapore (http://www.uob.com. sg/). This portal allows small businesses to set up online shopfronts with payments for purchased goods being processed by the bank. Bizewest (Tatnall & Burgess, 2002), the example discussed in this chapter, can be considered to be a horizontal industry portal. A portal can be described as horizontal when it is utilised by a broad base of users across a horizontal market, or vertical when their focus is primarily attuned to a particular audience such as DVSHFL¿FLQGXVWU\RUJURXSRILQGXVWULHV%XUJHVV Bingley, & Tatnall, 2005; Lynch 1998). • Enterprise information portals serve as the gateway to a corporate intranet. There is a recent trend for larger businesses to set XSWKHLURZQ³LQWHUQDO´SRUWDOVIRUHPSOR\HH use as part of their intranet services (Searle, 2005). An enterprise information portal offers a single point of entry that brings together the employees, business partners, and (possibly) consumers at one virtual place (Turban, Lee, King, & Chung, 2002). • E-marketplace portals: These extended enterprise portals offer access to a com- pany’s extranet services. One example is Covisint (www.covisint.com) developed by the automotive companies, General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and D a i m l e r- C h r y s l e r. T h i s p o r t a l a i m s t o e l i m i - nate redundancies and burdens for suppliers through integration and collaboration, with the promise of lower costs, easier business SUDFWLFHVDQGPDUNHGLQFUHDVHVLQHI¿FLHQ- cies for the entire industry (Turban et. al., 2002). • Personal/Mobile portals: Following the trends towards mobile (or pervasive) computing, personal/mobile portals are increasingly being embedded into mobile phones, wireless PDAs, and the like. Some appliances are also being equipped with personal portals aimed at allowing them to communicate with other appliances, or to be used more easily from a distance. • Information portals: Although information SRUWDOVFDQLQPRVWFDVHVDOVREHFODVVL¿HG into one of the other categories, they can also be viewed as a category in their own right as portals whose prime aim is to provide DVSHFL¿FW\SHRILQIRUPDWLRQ7KHVSRUWV information portal, ESPN (http://msn.espn. go.com/), is one example of an informa- tion portal. Another is Portals Community (http://www.portalscommunity.com/), a portal dedicated to providing information about portals. • Specialised/Niche portals are designed to VDWLVI\VSHFL¿FQLFKHPDUNHWV,QPDQ\FDVHV WKHVHFDQDOVREHFODVVL¿HGDV,QIRUPDWLRQ portals. For example, ESPN (http://msn.espn. go.com/) is targeted towards 18-34 year-old males, while iVillage (http://www.ivillage. co.uk/) is targeted towards women. Other specialised portals provide detailed industry information, often available only for a fee. %HQH¿WVRI:HE3RUWDOVIRU60(V There are many advantages for business and community groups in using portals, and Burgess, Bingley, and Tatnall (2005) describe a revenue model for horizontal portals in which they ex- amine the role of players, strategies, and content. $OWKRXJKSRUWDOVKDYHPDQ\EHQH¿WVWKH\DUH especially important for small business, offering EHQH¿WVWKDWPDNHXSIRUVRPHRIWKHSUREOHPV of being small. These include (Tatnall, Burgess, & Singh, 2004): 1376 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal • A secure environment: Portals provide a secure online environment for small business to set up e- businesses. Portals can include a payment infrastructure that enables SMEs to integrate their accounts receivable and payable to the portal backend systems. • Search and directory services: Search engines that list the portals will automati- FDOO\HQDEOH:HEXVHUVWR¿QGWKHJDWHZD\ to small online shops on the Web via these portals, saving substantially on costs. • New partnerships: E-commerce opens up the opportunity for businesses to sell to new buyers, tap into the cyber supply chain and win new business markets, offer comple- mentary products with other businesses, and procure goods electronically. • Community building and regional rela- tionships: Community building features such as chat rooms, message boards, instant- messaging services, online greeting cards, and other Web services are included in the portal infrastructure. • Strategy, management, and business trust: Portals enable businesses to uptake a common structure for e-business that helps them attain management support, or share ideas with other businesses and attain suc- cess. • Improved customer management: Portals can make deals with Internet retailers that ZLOODOVREHQH¿WVPDOOEXVLQHVVHVWKDWDUH part of the portal. The Western Region of Melbourne Australia is a federation of six states and two territories. The states are segmented into smaller regions or communities of interest to deliver base-level services to the people. These services include things like the administration of build- ing standards, the policing of minor by-laws, the provision of garbage collection services and ensuring the welfare of the aged. Much of the revenue of local government comes from the imposition of rates and charges on property RZQHUVZLWKLQWKHPXQLFLSDOLW\EXWDVLJQL¿FDQW part of the income comes in the form of grants from the other two levels of government. Local government is extremely vulnerable in that any administration can be dismissed by a state Local Government Minister. Unlike the two upper levels of government, the parliament or council of local government is composed of politicians who are only part-time and are not paid a salary. However, they are paid allowances to compensate them for expenses incurred while performing their duties (Pliaskin, 2004). The Western Region of Melbourne contains around 20,000 businesses and is regarded as the manufacturing, transport, and distribution hub of south-eastern Australia (Tatnall, Burgess, & Singh, 2004). Traditionally, this region had en- compassed much of the industry in metropolitan Melbourne. The Western Region Economic Development Organisation Limited, colloquially known as WREDO, is sponsored by the six municipalities (Brimbank, Hobson’s Bay, Maribyrnong, Melton, Moonee Valley, & Wyndham) that make up the Western region of Melbourne. Traditionally, these council areas had encompassed much of the industry in metropolitan Melbourne and conse- quently had been regarded as areas populated by ³ZRUNLQJFODVV´SHRSOHEXWZLWKWKHH[SDQVLRQ of Melbourne and the desire of professionals to live close to the central business district, much of the demographic of these areas is changing. :5('2LVDQRWIRUSUR¿WRUJDQLVDWLRQDQGLVDOVR supported by major business enterprises operat- ing in the western suburbs. WREDO is charged with fostering economic growth and encouraging investment within the Western Region of Mel- bourne; it is involved in a variety of regular and RQFHRIILQLWLDWLYHVLQRUGHUWRIXO¿OLWVFKDUWHU One of its regular activities is a monthly network- 1377 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal ing breakfast which business leaders in the area attend in order to get to know each other and to listen to a guest speaker (Pliaskin, 2004). :5('2LVDOVRVXSSRUWHGE\¿YHPDMRUEXVL- ness enterprises operating in the western suburbs of Melbourne: Australian Gas and Light Limited, City West Water, McGregor By Road, Powercor Australia Limited, and the Urban and Regional Land Corporation. The chapter describes the creation of the Bizewest Business-to-Business (B2B) Portal, DQG :5('2¶V GLI¿FXOW\ LQ SHUVXDGLQJ ORFDO EXVLQHVVHVWRFKDQJHWKHLUZD\VVXI¿FLHQWO\WR adopt and fully utilise the portal. It begins with WREDO applying for a government grant to set up the portal, without much prior discussion on its purpose or value: it just seemed like a good opportunity. Next we discuss the development problems WREDO experienced in setting up the SRUWDODQG¿QDOO\:5('2¶VDWWHPSWVWRJHWORFDO SMEs to make use of the portal. THE CREATION OF THE BIZEWEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS PORTAL In February, 2000, the Victorian State Treasurer announced a new government initiative known as the Victorian E-Commerce Early Movers Scheme (VEEM). The scheme was designed to provide assistance to local government to allow it to en- courage small to medium enterprises operating within their boundaries to use e-commerce for the purpose of expanding business and to make these trading entities more competitive. VEEM was to provide assistance to local councils in their role as economic development agencies for their municipalities. A cornerstone of the scheme was the ac- N Q RZOH G JH P H QW W K DWL Q V X I ¿F LH Q WQX P E HUVRI VXFK organisations were using new technology to build business and to enhance competitiveness. This was of concern because international experience with WKHLQIRUPDWLRQHFRQRP\LQGLFDWHGWKDWVLJQL¿FDQW EHQH¿WV IDOO WR HDUO\ PRYHUV LQWR HFRPPHUFH (Gallaugher & Downing, 2005), and the govern- ment decided to empower businesses by providing RSSRUWXQLWLHVWRUHDSWKHEHQH¿WVRIEHLQJRQOLQH early. The government addressed its vision for growing the information and communications WHFKQRORJLHV LQGXVWU\ DQG VKDULQJ WKH EHQH¿WV of these technologies across the community in WKH³&RQQHFWLQJ9LFWRULD´VWUDWHJ\VWDWHPHQWRI 1RYHPEHURXWOLQLQJDVLJQL¿FDQWDJHQGD LWHP ³%RRVWLQJ (&RPPHUFH´ WKDW VHW RXW WR ³YLJRURXVO\ SURPRWH HFRPPHUFH´ LQ 9LFWRULD (Brumby, 1999). Assistance under the VEEM scheme could cover up to 75% of all costs associated with proj- ects, and grants were to be made on a case-by-case basis. The maximum funding was to be $45,000 for any discrete e-commerce enabling proposal, or $15,000 per e-commerce workshop project proposal. Councils were able to put in joint submis- sions in order to obtain a higher level of funding for a project that crossed municipal boundaries. Funding could involve capital, equipment costs, and labour implementation costs, but was not to include ongoing maintenance or operating costs of the project. Projects needed to demonstrate WKDW WKH\ ZRXOGSURYLGHVLJQL¿FDQWOHYHUDJHWR indirectly improve local economies, and that they would reach a level of self-sustainability within the period of their business plan, as no funding was to be provided for maintenance purposes (VEEM, 2000). They also needed to show that they would SURYLGHVLJQL¿FDQWOHYHUDJHWRLQGLUHFWO\LPSURYH local economies and that they would improve one or more of the following situations: • The economic performance of a region; • The business competitiveness of a region; • The level of available infrastructure; and • The ability of councils to perform their economic development role. 1378 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal The guidelines gave a non-exhaustive list of V S H F L ¿F H [ D P SOH VR I SURM H F W V W KDWP LJ KW E H H O L J L EOH for a grant. These included supply chain initia- tives, e-commerce business planning workshops, e-commerce vendor and business networking sessions, regional e-commerce expos, regional business portal implementation, enabling local EXVLQHVVHV IRU RQOLQH IXO¿OPHQW DQG SURFXUH- ment, allowing councils and businesses to adopt electronic commerce for procurement, and setting XSD:HESUHVHQFHIRUWKHIDFLOLWDWLRQRIVSHFL¿F education and awareness requirements. Each participating company within a project must have been operating in Victoria, must show manage- ment strengths, must have been committed to exporting or to import replacement, must have been committed to the introduction of e-com- merce, and preferably should have trading history of a year or longer. The notion of interoperability was strongly stressed, and it was noted that the use of electronic commerce was reducing costs and improving the quality of business-to-business transactions. An important requirement of any grant was to main- tain the greatest possible measure of interoper- ability across all forms of government, including local councils. It was stressed that system interop- erability and consistency in an environment that is seamless for buyers and sellers was essential. It was also to be a condition of the grant that UHFLSLHQWV RSHUDWH ZLWKLQ WKH ³)UDPHZRUN IRU National Co-operation on Electronic Commerce in Government Procurement” in their strategic plan- ning for electronic commerce. This framework outlines and explains a number of issues includ- ing security, authentication, tender management systems, supplier registration, catalogues, and LGHQWL¿FDWLRQV\VWHPV9((0 WREDO thought that this grant was worth pursuing, and after some internal discussions, LWGHFLGHGWRDSSO\IRUIXQGLQJIRUWKH³:HVWHUQ Melbourne Business-to-Business Portal”. The proposal aimed at constructing a business-to- business e-business Web portal so as to provide a tangible regional approach to enable organisa- tions in the Western Region of Melbourne to participate in the information economy (Pliaskin, 2004). Because of the short time-frame allowed for the lodgement of proposals, there was little time for discussion with local SMEs or others outside WREDO, and so the WREDO submis- sion was drawn up in haste in the expectation that it would probably not be accepted (Lindley, personal communication, 2003). Figure 1. WREDO and Bizewest portals—main entry points 1379 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal In its submission, WREDO argued that this B2B portal was to provide a regional approach to enabling businesses in Melbourne’s western region to actively participate in the information economy. It was to be a tr ue B2B por tal with tra d- ing facilities and a payment gateway linked with a major bank. This was to be exclusively regional, and only businesses in Melbourne’s Western Re- gion would be permitted to set up trading on the SRUWDO6SHFL¿FDOO\WKHSURMHFWZDVWR • Create a Web portal for business and local government in Melbourne’s Western Region to provide a mechanism for businesses to engage in business-to-business e-commerce and to encourage business-to-local-govern- ment transactions in the local area. • Initially target 50 businesses from each of the six western region municipalities making up a total of 300 businesses to participate in the pilot project. These businesses were to come primarily from the key and emerging industries in the region in the transport and distribution, manufacturing, and services sectors. • Develop a regional Web-based registry for the businesses involved. This was to include a Website for each business and the provision of a range of e-commerce enabling tools that would facilitate business-to-business transactions taking place. • Increase awareness and participation with emerging technologies. The project aimed at encouraging SMEs in Melbourne’s western region to be more aggressive in their uptake of e-commerce opportunities. It also aimed at working with these SMEs and operating Figure 2. The Bizewest portal 1380 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal in growth industry sectors in the region to ¿QGDQGH[SORLWHFRPPHUFHVROXWLRQV • Create an ongoing program of regional semi - nars and training, both informal and formal, for the pilot businesses involved and for new entrants. Training was to focus on effective trading and exporting opportunities in the online environment and was to be provided through existing programs available in the western region. • Focus on involving the youth of the area in the promotion of new technologies for business. The project team was to work with second- ary schools in the region to involve senior high school students studying Information Technology or Engineering and Design, in the development of e-business solutions for businesses in the region. WREDO conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of the project and included the results of this study in its submission. • The perceived strengths included the re - gional approach that provided a broad base for recruiting participating enterprises. It was highlighted that the focus on key growth industries ensured that employment outcomes for local people were more likely. With its focus on actual B2B application of e-business technologies, the project aimed to ensure that participating organisations would actually engage in e-commerce rather than just become aware of it. The Western Melbourne B2B portal aimed to complement the individual projects proposed by councils in the area. • The perceived weaknesses included the notion that the key growth industry areas in the region, transport and manufacturing, are not naturally business-to-consumer operations. Therefore it was thought that e-business applications would need to be tailored to individual businesses. Generic software products might not be a feasible op- WLRQ,WZDVDOVRIHOWWKDWLWPLJKWEHGLI¿FXOW to convince some operators of small- and medium-sized enterprises to participate. • The perceived opportunities included the opportunity for local enterprises to take advantage of e-business solutions in a sup- ported atmosphere. This was an opportunity WRKDYHD³WHDP´RIQHZEXVLQHVVHVWU\QHZ WHFKQRORJLHVDQGDFWDV³LQSURJUHVV´FDVH studies. The regional focus could act as a catalyst for greater business participation in the project in the short-to-medium term. • The perceived threats included the thought that the project might be too broad to manage in a short period of time. The notion that rapid changes and advancements in technology may impact on the relevance of e-business solutions proposed for business. There was also an idea that the costs of implementation and ongoing maintenance of the project for individual businesses might prove prohibi- tive. In June, 2000, it was announced that WREDO’s submission for a B2B portal had been successful, and that government funding of $247,400 for the project was to be provided for a period of twelve months on condition that WREDO provide an additional amount equivalent to one third of this amount from its own funds. WREDO then al- located the further $88,000 towards the project, making a total project budget of $335,400 for the year (Pliaskin, 2004). BUILDING AND DEVELOPING THE PORTAL After receiving a grant for what it thought to be a large amount of money, WREDO originally intended to develop the portal, possibly with the assistance of a software company, and provide 1381 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal training to locals SMEs itself (WREDO staff, 2001), but it did not really anticipate the size or complexity of the task that it was undertaking. The Bizewest project was divided up into four distinct SKDVHVHDFKZLWKLGHQWL¿DEOHPLOHVWRQHV 1. In the initial phase, it was planned that the project should be scoped, staffed, and equipped. Within the scoping segment, a steering committee would be convened by WREDO. The deliverables in this phase included the establishment of full project outlines and timelines, the commencement of employment of project staff, the purchase and setup of the equipment, and the deter- mination of the Internet Service Provider for the portal. 2. In Phase Two, it was planned that the par - ticipants for the initial stages of the portal would be recruited. A team of students to work on the project was to be recruited by WREDO and, at the same time, WREDO and the Steering Committee were charged with UHFUXLWLQJWKH¿UVWURXQGRIEXVLQHVVHVWR be part of the project. The deliverable here ZDVWKHUHFUXLWPHQWDQGWUDLQLQJRIWKH¿UVW VWXGHQWVDQGWKH¿UVWEXVLQHVVHV 3. In Phase Three, it was planned that the Bizewest portal would be established and become operational. During this time, it was planned that educative sessions for partici- p a t i n g b u s i ne s s e s s h o u l d b e r u n by W R E D O in conjunction with Victoria University. In addition, site pages were to be created and solutions proposed to participating busi- nesses by WREDO, the appointed service providers and the local secondary students recruited for this purpose. At the same time, WREDO and the Steering Committee were to launch the project, to market the project, and consequently, to run a major network- ing breakfast that was to centre on Bizewest and to plan for the long-term sustainability of the project. The deliverables in this phase were the preparation of case studies on the initial 60 participants, the recruitment and introduction of another 240 businesses from the six council areas, bringing the total to 300, and the promotion of the project within the region and within the state of Victoria. 4. The last phase involved the preparation of ¿QDOFDVHVWXGLHVDQGWKHSODQQLQJIRUFRQ- tinuing sustainability for the site. The project commenced and was due to be completed on May 31, 2001. To some degree, each phase overlapped its neighbour, and the Steer- ing Committee was to be responsible for overseeing the project and recommending the progression from one phase to the next. With each phase, the Steering Committee and Project Team were to monitor progress against agreed deliverables and milestones. The deliverables for Phase Four were the establishment and full operation of the whole portal, complete with a sustainability business plan in place. :5('2LVVXHGVSHFL¿FDWLRQVWRERWK7HOVWUD Australia and Cable and Wireless Optus for host- ing the portal, pointing out that they were looking at enabling creation of small business sites of around 10Mb. They requested a price for hosting these sites, but the telecommunications compa- nies did not appear to understand small business requirements; what WREDO received in response K D GQR W K L QJW R GRZ L W KWKH V S HFL ¿F D W LR Q V D QGO LW W OH to d o w it h bu si ne sse s of this si ze (Pl ias kin, 2004). It was clear that more work would also have to be done to identify a software company to assist with building the portal. Negotiations continued, and an arrangement ZDV¿QDOO\PDGHZLWK2SWXVWRKRVWWKHSRUWDO DQGWR¿QGDVRIWZDUHFRPSDQ\WREXLOGLW$W the WREDO networking breakfast in November, 2000, it was formally announced that the Bize- west Steering Committee would work with Cable and Wireless Optus and Infosentials Limited on the development of the portal. Unfortunately, 1382 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal Figure 3. The Bizewest portal—services Figure 4. The Bizewest portal—payment gateway 1383 The Demise of a Business-to-Business Portal in December, 2000, Infosentials was placed in voluntary administration, forcing WREDO to terminate that company’s involvement. Cable and Wireless Optus then sought an alternative provider of services for building the portal, and ¿QDODJUHHPHQWZDVUHDFKHGLQ-DQXDU\ with Optus for the supply of services to build and host the Bizewest portal. Building of the portal was subcontracted by Optus to a company called Batteries Included, who used a product called ReadyHub to construct the portal infrastructure (Pliaskin, 2004). The development of the portal infrastructure and services commenced in late January, 2001, with initial testing beginning in late April of the same year. WREDO soon discovered that what it was doing was anything but straightforward, and that little precedent existed, at the time, for a regional horizontal B2B portal of this type. They also dis- covered that the money they had available did not go as far as they had thought it might. Some of WKHGLI¿FXOWLHVZKLFKWKH\H[SHULHQFHGLQEXLOG- ing the portal have subsequently been discussed by other researchers (Gengatharen & Standing, 2003; Lepa & Tatnall, 2002; Pliaskin & Tatnall, )XUWKHUWRDGGWRWKHVHGLI¿FXOWLHVVRPH internal issues associated with Batteries Included meant that this company eventually split into several bits. The part of the company that was building the portal became known as Kitchen Sink Software, and assumed responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the Bizewest portal. Bizewest (www.bizewest.com.au) became operational in May, 2001, but without a payment gateway. This gateway did not become available until February, 2003, after 21 months of further development. Once the portal was operational, getting lo- cal business online was the next step, and this involved two parts: convincing regional SMEs to adopt the portal, and providing them with suitable Websites to link to the portal. Previously, a single HQWHUSULVHKDGEHHQLGHQWL¿HGZLWKLQHDFKORFDO FRXQFLODUHDDQGGHVLJQDWHGWKH³EXVLQHVVFKDP- pion” for that locality. These business champions played a pivotal role in ensuring that enterprises within their municipal areas were made aware of the Bizewest portal. Through a series of initiatives, Bizewest was promoted to industry in the region. WREDO News featured several articles on the site, and the main WREDO website (www.MelbWest.com.au) dedicated space to Bizewest. The media wrote positively on the project after having viewed dem- onstrations of it, and letters were written to likely prospects. The issue was raised at the monthly WREDO networking breakfasts, and written material was supplied to participants. WREDO also enlisted the help of industry groups and other umbrella bodies in the area. Business breakfasts, workshops, lots of publicity, and no initial costs to the businesses that adopted the portal were part of the considerable effort made by WREDO to convince SMEs that getting onto the portal would be a good idea. To assist businesses to create Web pages to link to the Bizewest portal, WREDO held WZR³:HE$7KRQV´DW ORFDOVKRSSLQJFHQWUHV At these sessions, year 11 students from local secondary schools assisted local organisations to create their Web pages. WREDO also arranged for some of these students to consult with local EXVLQHVVHVRQDRQHWRRQHEDVLVRQWKHLU³ZRUN experience” days to set up their Websites. This had the advantage to these businesses of producing a very cheaply-created Website; the cost of using a ³ZRUNH[SHULHQFH´VWXGHQWLVRQO\SHUGD\7KH simple site was, however, one that would serve their initial needs very well. This arrangement continued for some time. Even though a payment facility for business-to- business e-commerce was not part of the original implementation, the notion was investigated and an understanding was reached that this should become a part of the project. The payment gateway ZDVWREHFRPHWKH¿QDOFURZQLQJDFKLHYHPHQW of the Bizewest initiative. Ultimately, the ANZ Bank was selected to become the provider of this service (McLure, personal communication, . account of the likely adoption and use of this technology, and take necessary steps to ensure that it is adopted and used to full advantage; otherwise, time and money will be wasted. Web Portals 7KH. business and community groups in using portals, and Burgess, Bingley, and Tatnall (2005) describe a revenue model for horizontal portals in which they ex- amine the role of players, strategies, and. into the cyber supply chain and win new business markets, offer comple- mentary products with other businesses, and procure goods electronically. • Community building and regional rela- tionships: