Originally Published January/February 2001

Cliff Henke

With all the news of dot-coms crashing daily, some observers may wonder what these companies and their investors were thinking. Among the 30-plus Internet firms in the healthcare sector, none has yet turned a profit. In one indicator of the dot-com economy, several reports have noted that Internet advertising fell precipitously in the first half of 2000 when compared with the same period in 1999. And even the most profitable segment of Internet companies, pornography Web sites, is beginning to show signs of market saturation.

Do these statistics mean that all the hype was phony? Not a chance, say analysts—especially when it comes to the healthcare sector. The savings potential for medical technology companies with the right e-business strategies is enormous, and market reports continue to forecast a very large prize indeed for the right solutions.

The Mighty Have Fallen