II. Holiday Insight -'Twas The Holiday Season

'Twas The Holiday Season

'Twas the holiday season, when the NASDAQ fell,
Not a tech ticker was moving up, not even Dell.
The options were hung by the chimney with care,
In the hopes that St. Greenspan would be more than fair;

Investors and entrepreneurs tossed and turned in their beds,
While visions of B2B e-commerce stirred in their heads;
And Mark Walsh in his 'kerchief, and Keith Krach in his cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap.

Way back in March, there arose such a clatter,
Investors woke up to see what was the matter.
Away to the laptop investors flew like a flash,
Fired up the ol' Quotron and counted their cash.

B2B stocks took a tumble, and prices dropped like cement,
From all-time highs in the hundreds, to lows in the cents.
Signs of slower adoption and added market volatility,
Only served to challenge the sector's perceived viability;

More than a fortnight since their decent,
Capital markets dried up, VCs wouldn't give out a cent.
IPOs were cancelled, money was tight,
We saw layoffs to trim costs, not an enjoyable sight.

Stock pressures increased with election time woes,
And the economy didn't help, as it continued to slow.
In the meantime, Bush and Gore went head-to-head,
All the while, the Market sank like lead.

The sad sight of the new-fallen tech stocks,
Were like instant enrollment in the school of hard knox.
When, what to my wonderment came to bear,
But the gotoanalysts of Collaborative Enterprise and Business Commerce Software.

Arriving on the scene, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Klein and Ekoniak;
More rapid than a T3 connection, the B2B results came,
And they pounded, and they yelled, and called the leaders by name;

"Now Agile! now i2!, now FreeMarkets and Ariba!"
On Commerce One! On Niku! On Matrix One! Let's See ya!
To the top of the Fortune 500! To the top of the map!
Get going! Get going! To profitability stat!

So, as inefficiencies that before the e-procurement fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
Providing real-time info, and automating beyond the four walls,
Investors in these stocks, look for gains to deck the halls;

The world stood back, and witnessed the execution,
The flexibility and scalability of each e-business solution,
From then on it was clear that B2B would be a success,
With measurable ROI, quality management, and all the rest;

Bolstered by human capital and robust transaction platforms,
Across supply chains, with collaboration, many industries will transform.
For Fortune 2000 companies, B2B is a top priority,
As they seek to differentiate themselves from the majority.

Despite the rough market conditions, B2B has much to gain,
And for those who don't realize it, well, they're likely insane.
By continuing to maintain focus, work hard and improve the business,
Many will undoubtedly emerge, from these times of distress.

The year 2000 has been a long roller coaster ride,
But in 2001 be prepared, for adoption and upside.
Put your worries to rest, B2B's future is bright,
"HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!"



amihumor:)
proxi