THEIR WAY

A global cyberspace expert dropped by our farm last month to report on the inner workings and plans of the two corporate giants of the stock photo world, Corbis Media and Getty Communications.

They are owned by Bill Gates and Mark Getty, respectively. Mark Getty is the grandson of the famous financier, J. Paul Getty; Bill Gates is, well, he needs no introduction.

Both companies are busily digitizing images they have acquired electronic rights for. The digitization process is slow and laborious. Is this a problem? Not at all. Once "the two big G's" get their respective collections up to a million pictures, they will have achieved their basic cache, their critical mass. Since they own electronic rights to most of the pictures, they are free to combine, manipulate, or enhance each image whichever way they want. And according to Copyright Law, if sufficient "authorship" is invested in the re-making of the new image, the copyright of this composite belongs to the big "G," not to the original copyright holder.

A New Business Process

Big plans are underway by these two giants to blow other competitors out of the water. Here's how they feel it will be accomplished. A representative from one of the big "G's" will arrive at a major buyer (ad agency, major publisher, university library, corporation, etc.).

"Good morning. In this suitcase I have all the digitized pictures you will ever need. Just plug this optical disk package into your network server. All the tools are included in the software. No need to contact us. The software tells us when you choose and lease a picture. Sign right here, please."

Sound far-fetched? A similar process getting very close to this is already happening in more than 6,000 corporations around the world. A German software company, SAP AG, is changing the way large companies, who were using home-grown software, now simplify their complex and inefficient business processes.

The software that accomplishes this, called R/3, eliminates administrative faxes, phone calls, FedEx, and e-mail, by operating as a sort of two-way systemic spreadsheet between supplier and buyer.

Here's how it will work with the big "G's."

The big "G's" will supply each major buyer with a database of a million-or-so pictures. No need for researchers or designers to do any outsourcing with on-line services. Acquisition, distribution, financial transactions, and administration, are all handled in-house by R/3, including language and currency differences.

Apogee's Stock Shots columnist Rohn Engh, is Director of PhotoSource International, Publisher of PhotoStockNotes.

Keeping Up with The Big "G's"

Will this affect the individual photo illustrator? Not if the photographer specializes in selected areas of his/her prime interest. These photographers won't be touched by what the big "G's" do. This is why: When photobuyers need a generic picture today, yes, they turn to a stock photo agency. But if that same buyer cannot use a generic photo because their subject matter is too specific, the buyer turns to highly specialized collections.

The big "G's" are left out of this scenario because their databases, as with any generic stock agency, are both static (going out of date each day they exist), and shallow (do not offer depth of coverage in specialized subjects). If your business plan includes a deep selection of subject matter in one or several specialized areas, you can keep pace alongside the two big "G's".

- Rohn Engh

What Is R/3 Software?

Whether you are a restaurant or a car manufacturer, inventory is always a problem. Too much on hand means you've got to store it somewhere. Not enough means you lose sales.

R/3, a software program from the German company SAP AG, acts like the man we see in the grocery store checking inventory, keeping tabs on what's in stock and what's not.

SAP AG figured this could all be done by software, and not on an annual basis, but daily. Since 1992, the SAP AG R/3 software has been gaining ground in popularity around the world. Like a virtual living spreadsheet, it can anticipate shortages, avoid bottlenecks, and reduce duplication by tying company computers together in one vast system that reaches beyond company walls, out to the vendors who keep the company on track with their raw products.

R/3 Business Process Software: http://www.sap.com 1-800-283-1SAP

Getty Communications, 101 Bayham Street, London, NWI OAG Phone: +44 171 544 3456 Fax: +44 171 267 6540;

Corbis Media, 15395 SE 30th Place Suite 300, Bellevue WA 98007 Phone: 1 800 260 0444, Fax: 1 206 643-9740).

Contact Rohn at: Pine Lake Farm, Osceola, WI 54020 USA Email: info@photosource.com

Fax: 1-715-248-7394

Web site: http://www.photosource.com