persons behind every new interesting Internet company. Most of the dot.com entrepreneurs who appear on the business channel look young and talk smart.

Others are what can be called older generation business executives who are plunging fearlessly into the Internet rapids. "What a rush! What a ride!'' they seem to be saying using the language of the moment. With all these new companies around there's a demand for talent, and who can judge who's the best man, woman or teenager for the job? "The demand for people to manage online operations is growing so fast that soon we will either have young people who know little about business running multimillion-dollar enterprises, or older business executives running online activities who are clueless about the online world,'' according to John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC consultancy.

We've all heard about the lack of programmers around to help companies start up Internet enterprises. The bigger picture is the lack of bodies to fill all the new positions being created. An IDC study identified the talent crunch as one of the major problems affecting the dot.com world, Mr. Gantz said. The study also identified an internal personality conflict, evolving wireless site access, and a focus on profits as main trends affecting the Internet-based marketplace these days.

The internal conflict trend refers to what IDC says are inherent differences between Internet executives and their colleagues in the information technology department. The IT department is under pressure to get Web sites to work for a variety of departments within the company. The business executive's goal (I hope) is achieving sales and customer satisfaction.

The IT department, whose role is often more of a technical nature, may not necessarily be focused on that goal. As numerous studies have suggested what's needed is an executive who can bridge the gap. Another trend IDC identifies is the emergence of wireless mobile access to the Internet. However IDC believes that while mobile access will surpass regular computer access in a few years, the technology will have a small impact on overall Internet commerce as few Internet services are designed for mobile customers.

And with the increasing demands by investors to show results more and more companies are under pressure to start producing profits -- fast. According to IDC many commerce sites are already profitable, which is counter to accepted wisdom.

One of the latest hypes in the current market these days is the use of application service providers (ASPs). ASPs offer companies the option of outsourcing their information technology requirements. Instead of purchasing software, installing it on their computers, and managing the computer system itself, a company can contract with an ASP to provide such services online.

However, there are some warning signs that users had better have a backup plan if they want to use these relatively new companies. Witness what happened to Red Gorilla as outlined in the National Law Journal. The article tells the story of public relations executive Tony Timmons who used Red Gorilla to manage his billing records.

After a week of not being able to log on, Timmons finally reached Red Gorilla's Web site administrator. "I asked him if the Web site was down,'' recalled Timmons. "He said, 'Actually, Red Gorilla is bankrupt.''' Red Gorilla has not yet filed for bankruptcy. The company shut down on October 6 when it ran out of money. Red Gorilla didn't charge for basic time tracking and do-it-yourself invoicing but attempted to get revenue through add-on services and advertising.

"Many small firms and solo practitioners are drawn to the free services available from startups, and few pay attention to the risk involved when they are too busy keeping an eye on the bottom line,'' according to the article.

Using the Internet to store information or for e-mail is convenient but is fraught with danger. If these sites go down you lose everything -- unless you backup of course.

According to another article at www.electronicaccountant.com using accounting software accessible over the Internet in application service provider arrangements is a risky proposition with limited market demand.

"ASPs are a poisonous snake, and if you're not careful, they're liable to bite you,'' according to Ron Eagle, senior vice president of Centerprise Advisors.

Quote of the week: "When there's a ton of water, a lot of things float and look like boats. When there's a ton of money, a lot of things float and look like companies,'' David Roux, co-founder of high-tech buyout firm Silver Lake Partners in a Fortune magazine article "Dot-Coms: What Have We Learned?'' Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. Contact Ahmed at ahmed yelamin.com or (33) 467901474.