Can e-Consulting Survive the Dot-com Shakeout -- or Will the Big Accounting Firms Put Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again?

Business Editors, High-Tech Writes

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2001

(...sometimes a hot stock price isn't enough)

The speed with which the e-consulting business went from high flyer to yesterday's success story obscures that fact that such market turmoil ultimately will benefit technology and its applications, according to e-business experts at Icon Medialab -- and traditional accounting and consulting firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey may find it difficult to pick up the pieces.

Chad Gallant, co-managing director of the New York office of Icon Medialab, a leading global e-services firm, can address:

-- Why the e-business shakeout is by no means over -- and what major global
companies are looking for as they attack the second phase of e-business
implementation.

-- Why the hype about hot e-consultants obscured the fact that solutions are
far more complex and expensive than first thought -- and why many global
companies are holding back from implementing them.

-- Why the big accountants and consultants may find it difficult to expand from
IT consulting into e-business -- and what obstacles they face as they try to
get there.

Icon Medialab experts can also talk about:

-- Global challenges to e-business.

-- Integration of back-end strategies in local markets.

-- The role of branding in the development of effective

e-strategies.

Icon Medialab (www.iconmedialab.com) is the world leader in providing integrated e-business professional services to companies doing business globally. Recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of the world's pioneering new technology companies, Icon Medialab helps clients attain competitive advantage and generate long term value by utilizing the power of emerging technologies to build stronger, more profitable relationships with customers, business partners, employees, suppliers and shareholders. Icon Medialab delivers on the promise of the New Economy with more than 2,300 employees deployed in 19 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. As a recognized leader in HCI and wireless applications, the company has developed and executed award-winning programs for such clients as Ferrari, Fujitsu, L'Oreal, Motorola, Nestle, Siemens, Sony, Tetra Pak, Telia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Volkswagen. Founded in Sweden in 1996, Icon Medialab's stock is traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (ICON).