Feature Story - June 2000

Asked to describe his inspiration for authoring his book, The E-business (R)evolution, 27-year-old HP consultant Daniel Amor says he happened to "stumble" upon the HP Books and Prentice Hall Web sites one day.

"I wondered if I was able to do such a thing and then just tried," he says, describing his incentive to write the now-critically acclaimed book that's become an international bestseller.

Describing himself as growing up in the Internet Age, Amor has been online-savvy since 1992. Born in Switzerland, his unique background includes an education based in Germany and Italy and an ability to speak eight languages, including Russian, Czech and most recently Slovenian ("My wife is Slovenian," he explains).

"I started working for HP right after I finished university in 1997," he says. "I joined because I like the HP way of life, as I would call it."

Amor's official title at HP is e-business solution architect and consultant for the E-solutions Division in Europe. Working with customers throughout Europe and the Middle East, he's very much an expert on international e-commerce—a worldview his readers have praised since his book was published in September, 1999.

The comprehensive book covers a range of topics for technical and non-technical readers. Introductory subjects include chapters on how to develop your digital business plan as well as the strategies, strengths and advantages of starting an e-business. Internet technologies such as security, Java and credit card solutions are thoroughly explained. Advanced and evolutionary computer concepts round out the book, including the notion of pervasive computing: a network consisting of all types of devices that will create a system thousands of times larger than the current Internet to offer customers a myriad of services. HP, for example, is already working on this next chapter of the Internet through its E-services initiative.

Visitors to Amor's Web site can download the introduction and a chapter from The E-business (R)evolution. Reviews of the book are also available on the site with feedback from the author. Reviewers find the book an excellent introduction to all aspects of e-business for experts, beginners, administrators and non-professionals, and give especially high praise for the international examples.