'What You Pay Is What You Get'. Exactly!

This is not only a truism for the booming real estate industry in Dubai, but also applies to the services industry.

If you look closely in the Yellow Pages to see how the mix of companies has changed in the last 10 years, for most service related industries you will see a pattern.

In the case of the e-business industry, 12 years back there were around 50 players and even in 2008, there are around 50. What is most noticeable is that only a handful have remained in business, a few have rebranded (old wine in new bottle) and the majority have sunk without a trace (without leaving a forwarding address!)

From a client's perspective, some are suspended in cyber space, the luckier ones have access to their domains and hosting servers while the others are left to fend for themselves.

It is therefore extremely important, that when you are looking for a reliable supplier for e-business services you start by looking at the lineage before you start with any substantive evaluations.

I have personally been at the receiving end of a few desperate SOS calls for help from well known multinational organisations who have been left in the lurch by some unethical and morally irresponsible companies who have taken the Thursday flight back to where they came from.

Protect your investment by ensuring that a 'fly-by-night' operator does not leave your virtual presence hanging in cyber space.

Now what is WYPIWYG all about. In the e-business industry there are outfits who will peddle all web related services bundled as packages for an all inclusive 4 digit figure in Dirhams, (not dollars) and a free lunch thrown as an incentive. Remember, You are going to get what you pay for.

Since your web presence is your face to the world, it is essential that you do a professional evaluation while selecting your e-business partner. Here are a few good questions to ask.

• Where is the company physically located? (Brick and mortar address)
• How many clients does the company have in your line of business?
• How many web designers and programmers does the company employ?
• How much profit did the company make in the last 5 years?
• Does the company follow/or set industry Best Practices?
• Has the company won any awards for the sites that they have designed?
• Does the company provide all internet services under one roof?
• Does the company deliver on time?

If you have done your analysis right, you are on the way to having a good long term business partner who will ensure that you have a profitable web presence.

For more information, contact: Sharad Agarwal, CEO, Cyber Gear LLC

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