Trends 2010: eBusiness Teams Reorganize

Reporting structures are a challenge for any team, and eBusiness is no exception: Finding the right place for eBusiness teams as the Web evolves and grows in importance has been a struggle for most firms. In our latest eBusiness & channel strategy professional research survey, we found that a shift is on in eBusiness organizational models: In late 2008, 42% of respondents to our survey operated teams in a centralized structure, whereas as of late 2009, the shared service model had taken the lead going into 2010. What do panelists believe is the ideal reporting structure? Hint: "Decentralized" barely makes it onto the radar screen. We also learned that, while companies overall seem to really understand the role and relationship of the eBusiness organization to corporate success, support in terms of funding and evangelism is still lacking at most companies, regardless of sales model, industry, or geography.