Adam Chilvers has nothing against shopping around. After all, his company, Wine Country, is built on customers seeking out high-quality products at discount prices. But shopping around for computer gear? That was not what Chilvers expected to be doing after he hired a consultant to get his Winter Park (Fla.) store ready for E-commerce. But the consultant knew software, not hardware, and Chilvers was left to round up the rest of what he needed from various vendors. He felt like a novice who couldn't tell a zinfandel from a merlot. "I'm a wine guy," he says, "not a computer genius." Before long, Wine Country dropped the consultant's piecemeal approach and turned to IBM, which promised a one-stop shopping experience--from keyboards to complex E-commerce software. The job took just four weeks and cost $10,000. More important, says Chilvers, it let him focus on running his company instead of its computers.

Ever since the PC became a tool in small businesses, owners have dreamed of a technology nirvana that spared them the agony of playing systems manager. They've envisioned calling one number, having a vendor ask a few questions, then tell them what they need. A delivery person wheels in new equipment a few days later with a technician who installs it. If anything breaks, the supplier gets it fixed. One call, one stop, one shop.

If some of this sounds familiar, you're right. Before the PC, long-forgotten companies such as Sperry Rand fielded armies of technicians who ensured their big computer systems were set up perfectly at customers' sites and kept running. Not such a bad idea, it turns out. Suddenly, it's a business model many PC manufacturers are pursuing.

As Chilvers' experience indicates, IBM--not surprisingly--is ahead in the race back to the future, dusting off its old playbook to develop the only true one-stop shop serving small business. The giant of the mainframe era recently began selling PCs, servers, and peripherals directly to small companies, and offers an array of services for building custom networks and intranets. Want Web access or hosting, or an E-commerce site? They'll arrange that, too, and host it for $25 to $200 per month.

IBM's rivals are close behind. Compaq Computer Corp. is exploiting a similar heritage, having bought Digital Equipment Corp. last year, and now offers installation services and contracted repair through Digital's extensive field organization. The online component of Compaq's strategy isn't quite as seamless as IBM's plan, but Compaq covers its bases. It has agreements with CompuServe and GTE to provide Internet access, and even offers small businesses E-commerce through an agreement with INEX Corp. What about Dell Computer Corp., lauded for pioneering direct sales? Until now, it didn't install networks; so Dell is partnering with some old mainframe and minicomputer companies that have refocused on service. Ask Dell for networking help, for instance, and it will get Wang Laboratories Inc. to send a qualified technician--whose work is warranted by Dell. A year down the line, a Unisys Corp. rep might be dispatched to solve a nagging server problem. As for the Web, Dell already offers access via AT&T. It doesn't help small companies build customized E-commerce services or intranets. Still, some current Dell customers say they'll take a close look, if only because the convenience promises some relief from the onslaught of new and sometimes incompatible products. "One-stop shopping sure would make things simpler," says Uriel Santiago, chief technology officer for Arial Systems Corp., a communications-software company with 40 employees in Vernon, Ill.

All this service costs extra, although perhaps no more than entrepreneurs are willing to pay. Studies by Ray Boggs, director of small-business research at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass., have found most business owners consider a 10% premium reasonable for the convenience of working with a single vendor. And whatever the real price now, competition is likely to lower it. Gateway Inc. and Micron Electronics Inc. are already making moves toward the one-stop model (they have already signed up Unisys and several Internet providers).

What's not to like? Charles Rutstein, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc. in Boston, notes that issues such as design services and order fulfillment still need to be managed by the entrepreneur. "They're not exactly turnkey," he says. Even if they were, says Chris Goodhue, an analyst with Gartner Group Inc. in Stamford, Conn., using a single vendor means you risk not getting the best of breed for each part of your system; you're locked into a package of hardware and services, taking the good with the bad. The key, he says: Focus on the services. If they are top-grade, it's worth the trade-off.

Just remember, there's nothing like experience to work the bugs out of technology, so it's best to stick with a company that has offered a particular service for at least a year. And hardware vendors are just getting their feet wet with Internet access. It won't be long, though, before they are fully immersed, and nirvana--at least for technology--will be just another purchasing option.

By Wayne Kawamoto

This article was originally published in the August 16, 1999 print edition of Business Week's frontier. To subscribe, please see our subscription policy.

To: TECHNOLOGY