Product description, Asset Specificity
and Product Ratings
As web users become more sophisticated,
they are increasingly drawn to new centers
created with content and buying
opportunities designed specifically to meet their
needs. The IT service e-intermediaries
typically face a problem of asset specificity
and product description, since
their services can range from software development
to IT staffing. Their product only
include the services they offer. These portals rely
on press releases by leading IT
Journals to gain client and vendor acceptance and
confidence.
Trust Issues
The concept of trust is crucial
because it affects a number of factors essential to online transactions,
including security and privacy. Without trust, development of e-commerce
cannot reach its potential.
Due to the culture of the IT Services
business where typical transactions are worth a lot of money, it is imperative
for online relationships to develop with an extra layer of security, integrity
and identity verification
The privacy of clients is very important
to the IT service portals and they are committed to protecting the privacy
of the users on their respective sites. For example, IT-radar.com is TRUSTe
certified. TRUSTe is a non-profit organization dedicated to building trust
in the Internet community by havingmember organizations, such as IT-radar.com,
disclose information practices. TRUSTe operates as a third party "watch
dog" by auditing IT-radar.com’s
privacy practices to ensure they are in compliance with TRUSTe's standards.
These sites also build their trust among clients and vendors by providing
security information on the
web-site. IT Square.com provides
security through Verisign and make it a point to
publicize it among their clients
and vendors to buy-in more trust.
Payment Issues
Payment issues are clearly addressed
in the User agreement of these intermediaries. The IT Services are free
to clients. However the vendors have an annual subscription charge depending
on the size and nature of the company. The vendor has to make a payment
upon winning a bid for Software development or signing a contract (IT staffing)
with the client. Some intermediaries request for payment in advance, while
some others request payment upon receipt of payment from client. This is
usually 5% - 15% depending upon the size of the project. Forms of payment
include credit/debit card or some prearranged mode of payment.