Subject: Team Reports From: warvin%InterServ.Com@interlock.mgh.com Date: Wed, 24 May 95 07:33:19 PDT

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Hi everybody,

As things would have it, I didn't have the time to call to get an update on 
the group's progress.  So instead I'm sitting on a plane somewhere over 
Colorado with my trusty laptop writing this memo... isn't technology great!

This memo is meant to clarify what I expect from each team's report -- I'll 
get to that in a minute.  First, however, you should know that the information 
contained in each report will be use to create a single report that will be 
delivered to Jack on June 5th. Please write your report with this in mind.  
Don't worry about fancy intros, they're really not needed.  I need functional 
information written with an eye for future use/consolidation.   Here is the 
outline I think the report will follow (suggestions welcome).

	I.	Executive Summary

	II.	Why is the Internet important to S&P
		  A. What if we ignore the Internet 
		  B. How it fits with an overall online access strategy
		  C. What are our real expectations
	
	III.	Significant Issues
	 	  A. Security and copyright
		  B. Commercial -- how do we get paid
		  C. Content strategy  -- how much free

	IV.	Actual Recommendation
		 A. The Home Page
 		 B. Product offering
		      -  Content
		      -  Presentation
		      -  Pricing Model
		      -  In house vs. outside development (system operator)
		 C. Other uses
		 D. Development timetable
		 E. McGraw-Hill coordination

	V.	Resource requirements

	

Although we could take significantly more time with this project, we have been 
asked to, and can, provide Jack now with recommendations on how Standard & 
Poor's best can use the Internet.  We need to address the concerns McGraw-Hill 
has re security, we should give clear strategic reasons for using the Net, and 
we must present a confident well thought-out strategy for what information we 
are willing to provide, how we want the information presented and how we plan 
to charge for the information.  We also need to show that we can use the Net 
as a solution for customer service and product updating problems.  We should 
not overlook how we will present S&P as a valued member of The McGraw-Hill 
Cos. family -- specific attention to sister companies we should closely align 
ourselves with should also be a part of the final consolidated report.

OK, now for team reports:

Technology alternatives: this team should have really been called security and 
pricing issues.  You don't need to worry about what prices we will charge.  
Your assignment really is to identify what options we have, how rapidly the 
option set is changing and what we feel is in the future (say 6-9 months away 
and then about 2 years down the road).

Competitive analysis: sounds pretty straight forward to me.  What I'm looking 
for here is a couple of paragraphs that detail the state of competition on the 
Internet.  What's out there, what's missing, who are the big players, who is 
missing etc.  We also want to give a couple of examples of sites we admire... 
and, let's get mean and identify some sites that do a bad job.

Presentation: this report should give an analysis of the state of presentation 
on the Net -- are Web sites paying attention to presentation? Is navigation an 
area where we can add value?  What is our recommendation in terms of 
presentation -- graphics, tables, size, etc.

Other uses: we need to identify how else, besides a service offering, we 
can/should use the Internet.  This team might want to interact with the 
technology team to see if they have any automation type stuff that could help 
streamline interaction with certain types of clients.

Home Page: this report should give recommendations as to what function the 
home page will serve.  We should also pay particular attention to coordination 
with McGraw-Hill corporate and other McGraw-Hill units.  The prototype will 
also come in handy.

List of problems: this report should simply provide a list of 
problems/questions that the Net surfer would be asking/facing while looking to 
S&P for advice.  This is critical (everybody pitch in here) as I'd like tosee 
the flow of the service offering follow a question and answer type 
presentation.  Remember, people are coming to S&P for solutions to investment 
problems, not because they what to spend time surfing.  Entertainment value is 
not something that S&P and Wall Street are generally known for.

Despite the last sentence, we really need to come up with a list of potential 
games/contests we can run at our site.  To date, I've only received one 
suggestion.

OK, now for the bad news (face it there's always going to be bad news), each 
team's report is due to me by midnight (eastern time) Tuesday May 30th.  
Please e-mail your reports to me at warvin@interserv.com.  Also send a copy to 
Phil at morsand@aol.com.  Phil and I will work together on the draft.  Our 
goal is to have a draft ready for everybody to review by Friday June 2nd.

As a reminder, I'm traveling Tuesday & Wednesday and on vacation Thursday, 
Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  I'll be home on Tuesday and Wednesday of next 
week and can be reached at 215 736-0527 or 215 736-9258 (fax).  

I hope everybody has a restful/fun holiday.

Regards,

Walt






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